Lisa Lutz's Trail of the Spellmans
Well, this was a Spellmans book, so I loved it, but I loved it slightly less than the previous ones--the usual low-key mysteries and their wrap-ups were entertaining, and I liked all the business stuff, but I'm kind of disappointed about what Lutz is doing with Izzy's personal life in this one (it makes sense in context, it just bums me out). Yes, maybe I am overly wrapped up in these characters! I will say that Demetrius is an excellent addition to the cast, and as usual I loved Lutz's narrative voice (though fewer footnotes next time would be appreciated). I guess there was no way this could top book 4 for me, and I can't believe I have to wait like two years to find out what happens next. A-.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
2012 book 59
Meg Howrey's The Cranes Dance
Howrey--author of Blind Sight, which I loved--is apparently a former ballet dancer, which means she brings more than a little credibility to the story of Kate Crane, a soloist in the New York Ballet (or whatever it is), who has recently called her parents to rescue her more talented and very troubled younger sister, also a dancer in the ballet, who was apparently having a breakdown. And Kate isn't taking all of that very well, not to mention she's injured her neck during a performance. It's to Howrey's credit that this is a completely riveting story, even to someone who has absolutely no interest in ballet (me) (though I do like stories about sisters, and this is a doozy in that regard). Great characters and pacing--I seriously can't recommend this enough. A.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in May.
Howrey--author of Blind Sight, which I loved--is apparently a former ballet dancer, which means she brings more than a little credibility to the story of Kate Crane, a soloist in the New York Ballet (or whatever it is), who has recently called her parents to rescue her more talented and very troubled younger sister, also a dancer in the ballet, who was apparently having a breakdown. And Kate isn't taking all of that very well, not to mention she's injured her neck during a performance. It's to Howrey's credit that this is a completely riveting story, even to someone who has absolutely no interest in ballet (me) (though I do like stories about sisters, and this is a doozy in that regard). Great characters and pacing--I seriously can't recommend this enough. A.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in May.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
2012 book 58
Jessica Spotswood's Born Wicked: The Cahill Witch Chronicles
Set in an alternate version of America where witches once reigned but now everything is run by a religious oligarchy called the Brothers and witches are punished severely, the story here focuses on Cate, the oldest of three sisters who are all witches. Cate just wants to protect them per their mother's dying wishes, but the political situation might interfere. This is YA so there is a romance, but it works really well in the context of the story, and doesn't take too much of the focus away from the fascinating world-building and characters. Parts of the plot are easy to see coming, but the story is interesting on the whole, the wrap-up is pretty intense, and I look forward to reading the inevitable sequel(s). A-/B+.
Set in an alternate version of America where witches once reigned but now everything is run by a religious oligarchy called the Brothers and witches are punished severely, the story here focuses on Cate, the oldest of three sisters who are all witches. Cate just wants to protect them per their mother's dying wishes, but the political situation might interfere. This is YA so there is a romance, but it works really well in the context of the story, and doesn't take too much of the focus away from the fascinating world-building and characters. Parts of the plot are easy to see coming, but the story is interesting on the whole, the wrap-up is pretty intense, and I look forward to reading the inevitable sequel(s). A-/B+.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
2012 book 57
Lauren Fox's Friends Like Us
Pretty great novel about a twenty-something woman, and what happens when she reconnects with her (male) high school best friend--and he starts dating her roommate/new best friend. The reader knows from the beginning that things won't end well, and occasionally I got impatient waiting for the inevitable trainwreck, but I did really relate to these characters and felt for them. I was going to give this a B+, but went back and reread the prologue when I was finished and that somehow upped it to an A-.
Pretty great novel about a twenty-something woman, and what happens when she reconnects with her (male) high school best friend--and he starts dating her roommate/new best friend. The reader knows from the beginning that things won't end well, and occasionally I got impatient waiting for the inevitable trainwreck, but I did really relate to these characters and felt for them. I was going to give this a B+, but went back and reread the prologue when I was finished and that somehow upped it to an A-.
2012 book 56
Megan Crewe's The Way We Fall
This reminded me a little bit of Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It, in that a teenage girl is chronicling a semi-apocalyptic event (in this case she's technically writing a letter to her estranged best friend, but it basically is a diary--though the verisimilitude here leaves a bit to be desired--I mean, would a teenager faithfully recount dialogue in a grammatically correct fashion? That's a minor point though). Anyway, the event here is a deadly virus striking down the denizens of an isolated Canadian island; soon they're cut off from the mainland and left to their own devices. For all the bad things that happen, this is a fairly tame book, and I thought the very end was a bit silly (and it really left me wanting more). The emotional depths were not plumbed--this is more akin to the less-serious YA I grew up reading. I mean, I liked it well enough, it just could have been a lot more harrowing. B.
This reminded me a little bit of Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It, in that a teenage girl is chronicling a semi-apocalyptic event (in this case she's technically writing a letter to her estranged best friend, but it basically is a diary--though the verisimilitude here leaves a bit to be desired--I mean, would a teenager faithfully recount dialogue in a grammatically correct fashion? That's a minor point though). Anyway, the event here is a deadly virus striking down the denizens of an isolated Canadian island; soon they're cut off from the mainland and left to their own devices. For all the bad things that happen, this is a fairly tame book, and I thought the very end was a bit silly (and it really left me wanting more). The emotional depths were not plumbed--this is more akin to the less-serious YA I grew up reading. I mean, I liked it well enough, it just could have been a lot more harrowing. B.
Friday, February 24, 2012
2012 book 55
Shannon Hale's The Book of a Thousand Days
Hale has written a bunch of other fairy-tale themed books that I've enjoyed, so I was glad to read her take on the lesser-known Maid Maleen story, where a maid and her lady are bricked into a tower for seven years when the lady refuses her father's choice of who to marry. Even without knowing the original story, this is somewhat predictable, but Hale's writing keeps things going, and there's some great stuff with animals. B/B+.
Hale has written a bunch of other fairy-tale themed books that I've enjoyed, so I was glad to read her take on the lesser-known Maid Maleen story, where a maid and her lady are bricked into a tower for seven years when the lady refuses her father's choice of who to marry. Even without knowing the original story, this is somewhat predictable, but Hale's writing keeps things going, and there's some great stuff with animals. B/B+.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
2012 book 54
Leah Stewart's Husband and Wife
This has been on my to-read list for a while, since I enjoyed Stewart's first two novels a lot, but I just wasn't that interested in the subject matter--a man confesses to his wife that he cheated on her. But I finally read it, and more or less enjoyed it--Stewart's writing is good, but I couldn't relate to the main character, a poet-turned-Duke-administrator (hilariously, the few bits about her job I totally got) with two small children, married to a jerk novelist. In the end, I didn't really care much about what would happen to their marriage. No fault of the book, it just wasn't my kind of thing at all. B.
This has been on my to-read list for a while, since I enjoyed Stewart's first two novels a lot, but I just wasn't that interested in the subject matter--a man confesses to his wife that he cheated on her. But I finally read it, and more or less enjoyed it--Stewart's writing is good, but I couldn't relate to the main character, a poet-turned-Duke-administrator (hilariously, the few bits about her job I totally got) with two small children, married to a jerk novelist. In the end, I didn't really care much about what would happen to their marriage. No fault of the book, it just wasn't my kind of thing at all. B.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
2012 book 53
Edward Eager's Half Magic
I've started and stopped reading a couple of books over the last couple of days, and probably could have gone on like that for a while, so I reread this awesome classic children's book as a palate-cleanser. Can't go wrong with magic charms and the 1920s (I think? They go see a silent movie and cars are a novelty).
I've started and stopped reading a couple of books over the last couple of days, and probably could have gone on like that for a while, so I reread this awesome classic children's book as a palate-cleanser. Can't go wrong with magic charms and the 1920s (I think? They go see a silent movie and cars are a novelty).
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
2012 book 52
John Irving's A Widow for One Year
With Irving's new novel coming out later this year, I've had a few conversations about his other books, especially about this one, which is definitely one of my favorites. I'm always sad more people don't feel the same way, but I really do find this much more appealing than most of his other works. Maybe it's the rare woman protagonist, maybe it's the way Irving weaves about eight different books into one. It does have a few of the Irving Themes--infidelity, dead child, Exeter, writers--but really takes a much different approach than his earlier works, I think. It's compelling stuff--I stayed up way too late to finish a book whose ending I already knew.
And I still can't believe they made the first chunk of this book (about a marriage dissolving in grief and infidelity) into a movie starring Kim Basinger, Jeff Bridges, and what must have been a very tiny Elle Fanning. Anyway, I hadn't read this in years and was pleased that it still held up, especially since I couldn't get into his most recent one at all. But it looks like they're releasing more of his backlist for the Kindle, so I imagine I'll be revisiting more of his stuff soon (I reread and reread his books in high school and college but haven't really read them since).
With Irving's new novel coming out later this year, I've had a few conversations about his other books, especially about this one, which is definitely one of my favorites. I'm always sad more people don't feel the same way, but I really do find this much more appealing than most of his other works. Maybe it's the rare woman protagonist, maybe it's the way Irving weaves about eight different books into one. It does have a few of the Irving Themes--infidelity, dead child, Exeter, writers--but really takes a much different approach than his earlier works, I think. It's compelling stuff--I stayed up way too late to finish a book whose ending I already knew.
And I still can't believe they made the first chunk of this book (about a marriage dissolving in grief and infidelity) into a movie starring Kim Basinger, Jeff Bridges, and what must have been a very tiny Elle Fanning. Anyway, I hadn't read this in years and was pleased that it still held up, especially since I couldn't get into his most recent one at all. But it looks like they're releasing more of his backlist for the Kindle, so I imagine I'll be revisiting more of his stuff soon (I reread and reread his books in high school and college but haven't really read them since).
Sunday, February 19, 2012
2012 book 51
Lisa Lutz's The Spellmans Strike Again
I can see why so many people (me included) thought this was the last book in the series--it ends on such a great note--but I'm thrilled that there will be at least three more. No other mystery series floats my boat as much as this one.
I can see why so many people (me included) thought this was the last book in the series--it ends on such a great note--but I'm thrilled that there will be at least three more. No other mystery series floats my boat as much as this one.
2012 book 50
Lisa Lutz's Revenge of the Spellmans
The third Spellmans book really, really holds up on multiple re-readings, I have to say. Interesting low-stakes mystery and more hilarious family interactions. 9 days till the new one comes out, and I'm off to reread the fourth right now.
The third Spellmans book really, really holds up on multiple re-readings, I have to say. Interesting low-stakes mystery and more hilarious family interactions. 9 days till the new one comes out, and I'm off to reread the fourth right now.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
2012 book 49
Lisa Lutz's Curse of the Spellmans
I've said a few times that I find the mystery in the 2nd Spellmans book to be the weakest, but actually, it's a pretty solid story--it's one that just is a bit frustrating to reread, knowing the outcome. I think the humor balances that out--and this book is what made me want to watch Doctor Who. :)
I've said a few times that I find the mystery in the 2nd Spellmans book to be the weakest, but actually, it's a pretty solid story--it's one that just is a bit frustrating to reread, knowing the outcome. I think the humor balances that out--and this book is what made me want to watch Doctor Who. :)
2012 book 48
Lisa Lutz's The Spellman Files
This is at least my fifth time reading this book, but a) The new one in the series comes out in ten days! and b) It never stops being awesome. I really wish I could find another mystery series with such a hilarious bunch of characters and non-stop pop culture references, but Lutz is really the only one who does it.
This is at least my fifth time reading this book, but a) The new one in the series comes out in ten days! and b) It never stops being awesome. I really wish I could find another mystery series with such a hilarious bunch of characters and non-stop pop culture references, but Lutz is really the only one who does it.
Friday, February 17, 2012
2012 book 47
Nina LaCour's The Disenchantments
I loooooved LaCour's first book and so was super-excited about her second YA novel, which was getting a lot of pre-publication raves--and it totally lived up to my expectations.* LaCour does these heartbreaking stories so well--though this one isn't nearly as heartbreaking in a serious way as her first one was, it's heartbreaking in a more typical teenage way. It's about a boy who's coming on a small tour with his best friend and her terrible girl band after their high school graduation, and of course he's secretly completely in love with her. And they're planning on spending a year traveling through Europe together, but, you know. It's also a great road trip book. It just feels so authentic! All the kids were great characters (best friend Bev is perhaps overly mysterious, but that mostly works in context) and I loved all their conversations about music, and LaCour makes all the people they encounter feel real too. I really loved this. A.
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*I did spend wayyyyy too long trying to figure out when this was set based on the music they listened to--the main character and his friend go to a Sleater-Kinney show at some point in the past, but Sleater-Kinney haven't played together in like 6 years, and they also listen to Bon Iver on their road trip, and that first album came out in 2008, so I guess a few years ago? Not that it's at all relevant to the plot or anything else, it just was bugging me.
I loooooved LaCour's first book and so was super-excited about her second YA novel, which was getting a lot of pre-publication raves--and it totally lived up to my expectations.* LaCour does these heartbreaking stories so well--though this one isn't nearly as heartbreaking in a serious way as her first one was, it's heartbreaking in a more typical teenage way. It's about a boy who's coming on a small tour with his best friend and her terrible girl band after their high school graduation, and of course he's secretly completely in love with her. And they're planning on spending a year traveling through Europe together, but, you know. It's also a great road trip book. It just feels so authentic! All the kids were great characters (best friend Bev is perhaps overly mysterious, but that mostly works in context) and I loved all their conversations about music, and LaCour makes all the people they encounter feel real too. I really loved this. A.
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*I did spend wayyyyy too long trying to figure out when this was set based on the music they listened to--the main character and his friend go to a Sleater-Kinney show at some point in the past, but Sleater-Kinney haven't played together in like 6 years, and they also listen to Bon Iver on their road trip, and that first album came out in 2008, so I guess a few years ago? Not that it's at all relevant to the plot or anything else, it just was bugging me.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
2012 book 46
Deborah Henry's The Whipping Club
God, this book was just DRAMA heaped on DRAMA. I have no idea what the point of it was, except to show how much the 1950s SUCKED. It's about a young woman in Ireland in 1957 who gets knocked up by her Jewish boyfriend, and her priest uncle convinces her (b/c she is a moron) to give the baby away, even though she and the boyfriend are planning on getting married. And then they do get married and have another baby, but this TERRIBLE SECRET is driving a wedge between them. And then everyone does everything wrong that they possibly can do wrong, and everything gets WORSE and WORSE till a weird and unresolved ending and it is all just unbearably annoying. And the writing keeps flashing back in this weird way, and quickly switching POVs, and you're just like, wait, is this now, or ten years ago, and who is thinking what? ARGH. This book was really awful and I have no idea why I even finished it. F.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher.
God, this book was just DRAMA heaped on DRAMA. I have no idea what the point of it was, except to show how much the 1950s SUCKED. It's about a young woman in Ireland in 1957 who gets knocked up by her Jewish boyfriend, and her priest uncle convinces her (b/c she is a moron) to give the baby away, even though she and the boyfriend are planning on getting married. And then they do get married and have another baby, but this TERRIBLE SECRET is driving a wedge between them. And then everyone does everything wrong that they possibly can do wrong, and everything gets WORSE and WORSE till a weird and unresolved ending and it is all just unbearably annoying. And the writing keeps flashing back in this weird way, and quickly switching POVs, and you're just like, wait, is this now, or ten years ago, and who is thinking what? ARGH. This book was really awful and I have no idea why I even finished it. F.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
2012 book 45
Gail Carriger's Heartless
Haha, this series is the best. This one involves our heavily pregnant heroine trying to foil a plot against the Queen. But, you know, with vampires and werewolves and ghosts involved. Carringer has done a really excellent job of fleshing this world out from book-to-book and still writing insanely entertaining stories. A/A-.
Haha, this series is the best. This one involves our heavily pregnant heroine trying to foil a plot against the Queen. But, you know, with vampires and werewolves and ghosts involved. Carringer has done a really excellent job of fleshing this world out from book-to-book and still writing insanely entertaining stories. A/A-.
2012 book 44
Gail Carriger's Blameless
As Arianne noted in a comment for one of the earlier books in this series, the world-building here is really interesting--not the usual vampire and werewolf stuff. I love how action-packed these are, and how they maintain a sense of humor throughout. But enough with the dumb steampunk devices! I am so not into fake old-fashioned science. A-.
As Arianne noted in a comment for one of the earlier books in this series, the world-building here is really interesting--not the usual vampire and werewolf stuff. I love how action-packed these are, and how they maintain a sense of humor throughout. But enough with the dumb steampunk devices! I am so not into fake old-fashioned science. A-.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
2012 book 43
Gail Carriger's Changeless
Man, this series is so right up my alley. In this second volume, there's all sorts of crazy werewolf politics going on, plus something is taking away the supernatural beings' powers--not to mention poisonings and other murder attempts. But who (or what) is behind it all? I love the characters here--the central romance is just great--though one major plot point will be very obvious to a reader and annoyingly hard to figure out for the protagonist. I did wish there was less steampunk in this one--I really didn't need the pages of descriptions of dirigibles and ancient fax machines. Still, great fun. A-.
Man, this series is so right up my alley. In this second volume, there's all sorts of crazy werewolf politics going on, plus something is taking away the supernatural beings' powers--not to mention poisonings and other murder attempts. But who (or what) is behind it all? I love the characters here--the central romance is just great--though one major plot point will be very obvious to a reader and annoyingly hard to figure out for the protagonist. I did wish there was less steampunk in this one--I really didn't need the pages of descriptions of dirigibles and ancient fax machines. Still, great fun. A-.
Monday, February 13, 2012
2012 book 42
Gail Carriger's Soulless
I've meant to read this series for ages--does anything sound more appealing than a Victorian-era fantasy series involving vampires, werewolves, and a woman with the ability to negate their powers with a touch? Or is that just me? Well, if that didn't convince you, let me assure you that the writing is full of sly humor, the inevitable romance is actually well-done (and somewhat swoon-worthy), and the whole thing is entirely entertaining. A/A-.
I've meant to read this series for ages--does anything sound more appealing than a Victorian-era fantasy series involving vampires, werewolves, and a woman with the ability to negate their powers with a touch? Or is that just me? Well, if that didn't convince you, let me assure you that the writing is full of sly humor, the inevitable romance is actually well-done (and somewhat swoon-worthy), and the whole thing is entirely entertaining. A/A-.
2012 book 41
L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables
Sometimes you just have to reread a book b/c it's awesome. I can't tell you how many times I've read this, and I laugh and cry and am delighted anew every single time.
Sometimes you just have to reread a book b/c it's awesome. I can't tell you how many times I've read this, and I laugh and cry and am delighted anew every single time.
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