Almost to Die For by Tate Hallaway

Posted on December 15, 2010 by janicu

Tate Hallaway

I won this book over at The Book Pushers blog. I’d read a couple of books in the Garnet Lacey series (still plan to get around to the rest one day), and was interested in seeing what this new YA series would be like.

The Premise: Anastasija (Ana) Parker has just turned sixteen, which is the day she becomes a full witch in the coven which she and her mom belongs. Ana dreads the ritual which will prove that she has no magic: although she can feel spells, she can’t cast any herself. Her birthday turns out to be even more of a disaster when her father, a man Ana never met, turns up. And he’s the vampire king. Ana discovers she’s a dhampyr, and each parent wants her to reject the other and embrace their particular heritage.

My Thoughts: At 241 pages, this is a really fast read. Ana is a typical high school student, albeit one who has been put into the “weird” crowd because of her different colored eyes, and odd friends (Bea is witchy, Taylor is one-of-a-kind). Besides a jock trading barbs with her at school, and interactions with the coven, she’s nothing very special. This all suddenly changes overnight on her birthday when her vampire father shows up and the cat is out of the bag. Her mother flips out and begins throwing spells like crazy. Ana has no idea why and her mother refuses to explain anything. Things get worse at the ritual, but Ana seems to be catching the eye of both Nicolai – a witch her age with a family tradition of vampire hunting, and Elias, the captain of her father’s guard. Ana finds herself ping-ponging between parents and trying to decide what she should do.

There are a few things that I liked about this book, but I think I had more problems than I had positive reactions. The main issue was the feeling like this was very well-trodden territory – there were too many things in this book that I’ve read before. This in itself is I suppose OK, but it wasn’t balanced by enough original ideas to keep me connected to the story:

Teen girl discovers that her parents have been hiding information about herself
Teen girl discovers she’s the daughter of a king and is therefore a princess
Teen girl gets a bodyguard of supernatural origin who is immediately interested in her
Teen girl must choose between new hot guy and hot guy she’s known for a while. Cannot decide. Dates both.
Teen girl likes boy who is basically a hunter of whatever she is, but makes exception for her
Teen girl has unique special powers no one else has and has some special Destiny

The fact that I didn’t really like her mother (who kept Ana’s half-vampire status hidden when a lot of the coven knew about it, and then puts spells on Ana which basically enslave her) did not help. I had a lot of questions about why her mother was like this that didn’t feel explained. I didn’t quite believe her explanation for keeping Ana in the dark either. Maybe that’s for another book, but it frustrated me in this one. The beginnings of the love triangle in this story was another issue. I think both guys were interesting, but I couldn’t buy their attraction to Ana because it almost seemed like both guys liked a concept of her, but didn’t really knew her. Perhaps this is something else that gets addressed in a sequel.

What I did like was Ana’s friendships with Bea and Taylor. I liked that Bea was someone Ana didn’t always like, but there was love there – I was interested in what their history was and I wished there was more room in this book to explore their friendship. Taylor has an even smaller role – she’s basically a friend with a lot of interesting (if a bit geeky) interests, who wears a hijab with jeans to school. She doesn’t know what’s going on with Ana’s supernatural life, but when she’s on the page, I loved her. I also liked the particular spin on the origins of vampires and the world building there. The explanation behind the enmity between witches and vampires was a good one. Finally – I thought that the way cell phones/communication in this story was well thought out.

Overall: An average read. I wanted to like this book, but there was a lack of freshness to the story that left me feeling underwhelmed. Maybe this would work better as an introduction to paranormal YA genre than someone who has read a lot of these.

Buy: Amazon | Powell’s | The Book Depository

Other reviews:
I couldn’t find other reviews yet. Let me know if you have one and I’ll link it here.

Scott Pilgrim graphic novels (Volumes 1 to 6) by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Posted on December 2, 2010 by janicu

Over the weekend I’ve been reading all 6 volumes of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels:

1. Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life
2. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
3. Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness
4. Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
5. Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe
6. Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour

These are my husband’s books which he nagged me to read because.. heh, I didn’t want to watch the movie without reading them first, and he’s been dying to watch the movie.

The series is about Scott Pilgrim, a 20-something slacker, living in Toronto, Canada. He falls for a mysterious American girl, Ramona Flowers and has to defeat her seven evil exes in order to continue dating her (this is neither her idea or Scott’s. It seems to be something concocted by the League of Evil Exes).

1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life
I was a little concerned in reading Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life that I would ultimately be rather annoyed by this series, because I thought that Scott was a big fool. I mean, he’s got the adorably clueless thing going on, but he’s twenty-three and he’s dating a seventeen year old innocent who is still in high school (Knives Chau). And then he sees another girl (Ramona), and becomes obsessed with her, but continues to date Knives, who is falling in love with him. Even though he’s not blatantly malicious, he sure is incredibly oblivious. Luckily, he is the only one, and everyone around him has more sense. Part of the humor comes from Scott’s doe-eyed blundering and inability to take care of himself while his friends watch him with exasperation.

The story is full of video game and some music references (Scott is both in a band and plays a lot of video games), with lots of odd, off the wall going-ons thrown in. There’s little hints throughout the story that there’s a reason for some of the oddness, but it’s hard to say. I wasn’t sure if I was just missing some video game reference, or if this was a story clue, but these hints actually do go somewhere (you have to wait for later volumes to find out).

2 & 3: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness
These two volumes have Scott fighting the second and third evil exes, and also shed a lot of light on Scott’s dating past, including a past relationship with Kim Pine, who is now the drummer in his band, Sex Bob-omb. There’s also some fallout from his dating two girls at once. I liked his roommate Wallace because he’s the one to tell Scott he has to break up with Knives if he wants to date Ramona. In fact, Wallace is my favorite character – what a friend, he pays for EVERYTHING for Scott – he’s practically a surrogate parent. I think that in these two books, there are the seeds for some growth in the characters, including Knives. My husband thinks that Knives gets annoying in these two books, but although I thought she went a little uh, strange, I felt rather sorry for her despite not quite connecting with how she acted. My favorite book in the whole series ended up being volume 3 – Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness, because it focused on his most recent ex, Envy Adams. There’s something about their bad breakup and the aftermath for Scott that was strangely compelling, and I liked how things got resolved when she returned to his life.

4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
This is the Scott Grows Up volume. The previous books kind of got Scott to the point where he’s willing to be more than a moocher, and he also begins to move forward in the relationship with Ramona. This is also the book where we get a significant clue about Ramona’s recent Big Ex. He’s been mentioned before (she even names her cat, Gideon after him), but this hint moves the story towards the climax.

5 & 6: Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe and Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour
These last two volumes are where Scott fights the last three exes (two of which are twins, and the last is, like video games the final Boss he has to defeat). It’s also where Ramona’s breakup with Gideon and this whole league of evil exes and all the odd things to do with Ramona are explained. Things sort of fall apart, there’s introspection, then things come to a head.

I don’t know how I feel about the ending. Sigh. To tell you the truth, it got a little too weird for me, and the weirdness seemed rather… I don’t know, it took a metaphor a little too far and it ended up feeling like it was weird to be weird. I don’t think I really got it. And just about everyone in Scott’s world – all his friends, had big life changes. The wrap up jarred me, even if it happened over two or three volumes. I’m not really sure why, but I felt somewhat dissatisfied by how everything played out. When I compare the books to the movie, I missed some of the details that were in the book but not in the movie (and I missed the storylines from volume 3 in particular), but I preferred how the movie ended because it didn’t have the metaphysical weirdness of the book or the bittersweetness I suppose.

Overall: I enjoyed reading it. It has geek humor and I liked the interactions between Scott and his friends and I could identify with the twenty-somethings hanging out and living their lives, although I suppose I was a lot more focused than this group is. But there was something that didn’t work, and I haven’t put my finger on it, but I just wasn’t satisfied by the way these books ended. I think maybe it was the use of unreality mixed in with the relationships. I just didn’t connect with the concept. I don’t want this issue to dissuade others from reading these graphic novels though because they were otherwise quirky and charming.

Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn

Posted on November 29, 2010 by janicu

Dark Road to Darjeeling

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

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Posted on November 24, 2010 by janicu

Firelight

Sophie Jordan

This is a review of an ARC copy of this book that I picked up at BEA.

The Premise: Jacinda is a draki – a dragon descendant who can shift into human form. She’s also the only fire-breathing draki of her pride, and because of this, they have her earmarked as a pride asset whose genes they want bred with Cassian, the leader’s son. When Jacinda impulsively breaks pride rules and sneaks out for a flight, and subsequently is almost killed by hunters, the punishment promises to be severe. Rather than continue to let her daughter be controlled, Jacinda’s mom takes her twin daughters and escapes their secret draki town in the middle of the night. However, where they relocate to (a desert town miles away from the mountains and rivers that sustain the draki), may prove to be more dangerous. Not only is this where Jacinda’s abilities begin to fade, but it’s also where a draki hunter family lives, and Jacinda can’t seem to stay away from Will, who is one of them.

My Thoughts: I’ve been a little bit wary of the young adult shape shifting dragon subset of fiction ever since I read MaryJanice Davidson’s Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace (). I had huge, ranty problems with the way the parents acted and many of the characters, but it’s been a while since that experience, and I was drawn to the subtlety of the Firelight cover. In comparison, Firelight comes out as the better book, but it’s not without its problems.

The story begins promisingly enough, with Jacinda narrating to us about her (restricted) life within the tribe, giving us some back story about her being a draki. She was aware that ever since she manifested as a draki (her twin Tamra never did), that everyone has looked at her differently. Rather than Jacinda, they now see The Only Fire-Breathing Draki In Generations, and so they’ve been suffocating her with their expectations. They’ve all decided that to preserve her unique genetics she must be married off to the strongest young male, the Alpha’s son, Cassian. Jacinda chafes at this because she doesn’t particularly want Cassian, but she’s started to resign herself to this fate. When Jacinda breaks the rules and almost gets caught by hunters (a certain death), her worth to the tribe promises a particularly ugly punishment. Fortunately, her parents aren’t sitting idly by while their daughter gets treated like chattel. Jacinda’s mother packs up and sneaks out of town with her daughters.

Jacinda goes along with this, but unlike them, she fears leaving her home. Her sister Tamra has always wanted to be normal, and is sick of living in Jacinda’s shadow ever since Jacinda manifested, and Jacinda’s mom has voluntarily let go of her draki side. For them it’s easy to live among humans, but for Jacinda, who LOVES being a draki, it’s extremely difficult to let her draki die. This conflict within the family was pretty interesting. Although I did find the family dynamics frustrating at times (there seem to be a lot of arguments where Jacinda and Tamra didn’t really try to understand each other or just shut down), her relationship with her mother and her sister feel realistic. Jacinda can come off as a little whiny around them, but I don’t particularly fault her for it because of what she’s been going through, and I don’t fault her mother or her sister’s reactions or feelings either.

What I did have a problem with in this story is Jacinda’s relationship with Will. It’s overly-dramatic for me. When Jacinda finds him at her new school, she practically has an attack and changes into a draki in front of a crowded hall of students, and from then on their reactions to each other are along this same vein, with Jacinda hyper-aware of Will and longing stares between the two of them. Will is some kind of fantasy boy: rich, good-looking and has never shown interest in a girl before. Jacinda’s mom and sister don’t approve of a guy who makes her so emotional she could the manifest, and that’s without knowing he’s a hunter. And Will doesn’t want anyone near him so he can keep them away from his creepy killer family. Will and Jacinda sneak around, imagining that they are Romeo and Juliet, but an incredibly indecisive Romeo and Juliet. They swing back and forth between “no, I must stay away” and “Oh no, I can’t stay away” so much that I was really irritated – particularly because there is all this hand-wringing when I have no idea why Will and Jacinda even like each other. Jacinda and Will barely speak and when they do it’s about how they shouldn’t be together or how much they want to be together. I think this idea of an impossible love is why it’s touted as something that will appeal to fans of Twilight (the hunter falls for his prey in Firelight, the lion with the lamb in Twilight), but there’s something missing in the formula here which Twilight had. (And Jacinda didn’t win any points when she finds herself musing on Cassian’s attractiveness when he reenters the picture!)

If not for this forbidden love, the people around Jacinda and Will, and the consequences of who they both are make for an intriguing plot. I had questions about what the reaction of Will’s cousin would really be if he found out what Jacinda was, what really happened to her father, and what would happen to her if she was dragged back to her pride. There’s plenty of room for more revelations here, and I wish some of it was explored further, but the Jacinda/Will relationship took much of the room.

Overall: I liked the ideas in this one, it has thoughtful world building, and the writing isn’t bad either. I’d call this a solid read, but I had really big problems with the superficiality of the relationship between Jacinda and Will, so the romance brought down my enjoyment. The ending leaves the reader wanting more, but I’m not eager for more of Jacinda’s love life (I feel like a cynical curmudgeon, but there you have it), so I’ll pass on book 2.

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

Other reviews:
Lurv a la Mode – 1 scoop (out of 5)
The Vampire Book Club – 4/5
Jawas Read, Too – 6 (out of 10)
My Favourite Books – positive review
Chachic’s book nook – mixed
All Things Urban Fantasy – 4/5
Debbie’s World of Books – 4/5
Books and Things – 4/5
YA Book nerd – positive

Book Trailer:

Although my review shows I had problems with this story, I know others may not have the same kind of reaction. I’d like to pass it forward. I’ve done this before and just asked that whoever got the book write a review for it, but it’s Thanksgiving so this time – no need for a review. If you think you’ll like this one, let me know, and I’ll send along my copy which is a ARC signed by the author. Open to everyone, but first come, first served! Taken

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

The President’s Daughter by Ellen Emerson White

Posted on October 29, 2010 by janicu

The President’s Daughter

Ellen Emerson White

Angie is continuously pimping Ellen Emerson White so I finally took the plunge and bought the whole President’s Daughter series this year. This is the first book.

The Premise: “Sixteen-year-old Meghan Powers likes her life just the way it is. She likes living in Massachusetts. She likes her school. And she has plenty of friends. But all that is about to change. Because Meg’s mother, one of the most prestigious senators in the country, is running for President. And she’s going to win.”

My Thoughts: I had to steal the blurb for The President’s Daughter because when I tried to come up with the premise myself, all I could think of saying was: “Meghan’s mom, a senator, runs for president. The title gives you a clue to how that turns out.” The premise is simple, and the plot is straightforward. There aren’t any crazy plot twists, or drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what happens next. Although the election happens throughout the book and Meghan is politically aware, the book follows Meg, not her mom, so the political life is conveyed by someone in the periphery. It’s fascinating to see glimpses of the election process from someone close to a candidate and to see how the media treats Meg’s family (and how Meg herself deals with it), but it’s not what I feel the heart of the book is about.

What the focus of this book is Meghan and her family. At the first glance, the Powers are incredibly All-American and privileged. When the book begins, Meghan (or Meg), is at a country club meeting her mother to play tennis. The other members of the club greet her mother as “Senator Powers” and afterward, they go home to a housekeeper, Meg’s two precocious brothers, and her lawyer dad. It’s all very American Dream, but the dynamics within this family that are universal. If you’ve ever smart mouthed at a parent to get a laugh, or said something cutting which you immediately regretted, then you’ve been a teenager and you will understand Meg.

I found Meg to be one of those girls you admire in high school. She knows how to present herself well and she has a quick wit and her mother’s looks. She’s aware that people are watching her for any mistakes she may make, and she is smart about how she acts, but on the other hand, she isn’t thrilled she has to keep herself in check. Knowing that she looks like her mom, and that boys are suddenly asking her out after her mom started running, Meg isn’t above secretly wanting her mother to lose the election so her life can go back to normal. The years growing up with a mom who has a job that keeps her away from home is another bone of contention. These are the undercurrents that run throughout the book, and yes, something comes out of them, but the drama in this book is over quickly. Meg is a kid with a certain amount of sense, and when she makes a mistake, she recognizes it fairly instantly. This includes boys. Meg is not immune to a pretty face, but she sorts through who the good guys and the not-so-good guys are in a way I found very satisfying.

Overall: I had a hard time with this review. After I finished, if someone asked me what happened in this book, I’d find it difficult to make the plot sound exciting, but I really enjoyed it for the humor in the day-to-day lives of the Powers family. Don’t read the book for pulse pounding action, read this book for the interactions between people. When Meghan is with her family, they play off each other. They zing.

(This is a review for the reissued version of the book, not the original that came out in the 80s. I believe it has been updated to make it more modern).

Buy: Amazon | Powell’s | The Book Depository | Book Closeouts (currently 99 CENTS!!!)

Other reviews
Robin McKinley reviewed it! (and liked it quite a bit)
The Book Harbinger – positive
Chachic’s Book Nook – had a lukewarm reaction

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

Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

Posted on October 12, 2010 by janicu

Glimmerglass

Jenna Black

This was a book that calico_reaction was kind enough to pass along to me earlier this year (I’d like to pay it forward and pass it along to someone else, but more on that later). I read this during the 24 hour readathon this past weekend.

The cover is also gorgeous. I love this cover design – the pale colors against the black, the gray spots, even the font of the title and author’s name. The cover for the second book looks equally dreamlike and lovely.

The Premise: The narrator of this young adult paranormal is Dana Hathaway, a teen who is sick of dealing with her alcoholic mom. When her mom arrives at her recital sloppy drunk, Dana has finally had it. She knows that her father, Seamus Stuart, is Fae and lives in Avalon, an independent city-state in England. Dana calls him and before long she’s running away to Avalon to stay with her father. Although Dana’s mom told Dana that her father was something of a bigwig, Dana doesn’t realize how big or that her arrival in Avalon would make her the target of political manipulations from pretty much every faction you could think of.

My Thoughts: This is a pretty fast read. It’s only 294 pages but it moves quickly. I was surprised by how quickly I got through this one during the readathon.

It’s in the first half of the book that I hit most of my problems with the story. That’s unfortunate, because I found the second half much better. The biggest issue I had was with Dana herself. I found myself repeatedly wondering why she didn’t ask more questions! First, Dana decides to run away from home, but doesn’t question why her father was OK with her going to Avalon without knowing how Dana’s mother felt about it. When Dana arrives, she find out that her father is in jail. Dana never asks what her father was in jail for and just accepts that he will be there a couple of days. I found that incredibly surprising. I also found it surprising that she knew who her father was but didn’t bother to find out as much about him as possible. She didn’t bother to google him, she didn’t bother to research into her heritage or to ask him about her other relatives? She had no questions about being half Fae? I could go on. It was incredibly naive, and as a result she looks like a fool when she learns that her father is in the running for the Council (Avalon’s governing body), that she has an aunt, and that there are possible complications in being half-Fae.

What made this worse was that the naïveté contrasted sharply with Dana’s upbringing. Her mother is an alcoholic and it’s clear that Dana has had a lot of responsibilities thrust upon her. Dana is used to a mother who lies to suit her own purposes. You would think that this would make Dana wary of being lied to. Yet, she’s very gullible when she gets to Avalon. It bugged me to see how she reacted to obviously suspicious behavior. For example when strange people burst into her room, Dana notices the intruder’s pretty eyes and is disappointed when he (a young Fae named Ethan) is clearly chummy with the girl he brought. Then chastises herself .”Why on earth would I care?” – YES, why on earth would you care about this when this strange guy just broke into your room? To compound this, when Dana becomes friendly with Ethan’s sister, Kimber, she is warned about Ethan, yet Dana continues to lose all sense. When she’s betrayed – yep, that’s a big ol’ surprise to her, but not the reader.

It was frustrating to read about these initial mistakes. Thankfully Dana learns some lessons, and in the second half of the book and she finally begins to question people’s motivations. Once this happens, I found her a much less annoying and could just enjoy the story. At this point we’re also introduced to Dana’s father (finally out of jail), along with Finn, a Fae Knight who acts as Dana’s bodyguard, and Keane, Finn’s son who teaches Dana some self defense. I liked Dana’s interactions with these characters a lot better than her interactions with characters in her first couple of days in Avalon. Dana’s dad takes honesty to painful extreme, but we do get the feeling like he is being honest and that he acts like a parent. He has rules and boundaries that he makes clear to his daughter. There’s still a question of who should be trusted and what everyone wants from Dana, but at least Dana knows this. It’s too bad that it took half the book to get to this point.

Dana’s mother’s alcoholism is a big part of the story (it’s why Dana left her, and is said to be the result of Dana’s mom’s stress of leaving Avalon), and I want to put in my two cents about the way it was depicted. What I thought worked: Dana has a conversation on the phone with her mother who had been drinking and Dana can tell. The description of her mom’s clear but slightly sleepy-sounding voice and indignation at being called out do fit. Dana wanting to blackmail her mother into going into detox and her father telling her that that would not work was also true to life. What didn’t work so well: I already mentioned that Dana not having a very good lie detector didn’t seem to mesh with dealing with her mom. I also thought that if Dana is so used to hiding what’s going on at home, she would have a better poker face than she did. Lastly, Dana’s dad said that Dana’s mom didn’t drink any more or less than anyone else and she must have become alcoholic after she left Avalon. I don’t think this is something where someone can be “normal”, then after some traumatic event become alcoholic. I think it’s always there.

When this book was done, I think what we have is an introduction to a series. Dana’s heritage and particular talents are established along with the possible political ramifications it could entail. Avalon and the factions within it are set up. And so is a potential love triangle between Dana and the two boys close to her age – Ethan and Keane. I think that I’m in the Keane camp because I found Ethan on the swarmy side (and it’s a big warning sign that his sister is telling Dana to watch out). Keane seems to be pretty up front in comparison and I liked how Dana was around Keane. I’d like to see where that goes and also to see what else Dana finds out about being half-Fae, but I’d like to avoid the naïveté that I saw in the first half of this book. I also had the impression that the plot could have been tighter (the climax has a cartoony evil villain wants to rule the world feel). I think I’d wait and read the reviews before picking up the second book (Shadowspell).

Overall: It falls in the “OK, but I had reservations” camp for me. The second half balances off a pretty poor beginning, which is hampered by a teen protagonist who fits an overly naive, silly girl stereotype. Dana improved a lot by the end of the book, but ultimately this feels like a set-up-for-a-series book.

Buy: Amazon | Powell’s | The Book Depository

Other reviews:
calico_reaction – Glad it was free
Karin’s Book Nook – positive review

Although my review shows I had problems with this story, I know others may not have the same kind of reaction. I’d like to pass it forward. If you are someone with a book blog who is willing to review this book, let me know and I’ll send it along (first come, first served). The book has been claimed!