Austen & Reality TV

So, I recently read an ARC of Imperfect Bliss by Susan Fales-Hill, which revolves around Jane Austen & the world of reality television.

I have to admit, the cover is pretty awesome.

The book, on the other hand? Not as enjoyable as I wished.

I knew that the book would somehow involve the concepts of Austen & reality TV, but was a little fuzzy on the details of how these ideas would be combined.

Warning: this blog post will probably be spoilery.

So, Imperfect Bliss is an Austen adaptation - a modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice. The Harcourt family lives in Maryland. Bliss is the Elizabeth equivalent in this novel, a recent divorcee who is still in love with her ex-husband and is raising a special needs toddler named Bella (whose name constantly reminded me of Twilight - probably not the connection Fales-Hill wants to draw) while simultaneously working on attaining her PhD.

Her family, with just enough money to afford a tiny house in their affluent neighborhood, is further ostracized from the community by racial tension (Mr. Harcourt is an Englishman, while his wife is a native of Jamaica).

Bliss and her other 3 sisters are all beautiful (Mary's character has been eliminated); Bliss and her older sister are close and consistently mortified by the behavior of the female constituents of the family. The two younger sisters are fairly silly - one of them is a prissy golddigger intent on marrying her way to a comfortable life, the other is slatternly and her need for attention seems to foretell impending doom (which consists of a sex tape, kind of a let down after all of the build-up, to be honest. & by kind of, I mean completely).

Diana, the prissy younger sister, starts the novel's action by announcing that she is going to be the star of a new reality TV show entitled "The Virgin," which makes her mother inordinately proud, and promises her the fame and fortune that she desires.

The parents in this novel were well done - the mother is completely ridiculous (who, after all, would be proud of their daughter for having a medical exam and subsequent certificate proving and subsequently proclaiming her virginity?), but reasons and rationale are given so that the reader doesn't absolutely hate her (and so she seems more like a human being); the father is often disinterested, a fact that is not glossed over, in the slightest, and points out one of the biggest critiques of the Bennett family in P & P.

Bliss is kind of boring. Her situation is pitiable, but she's just not a likable character. She has the prejudice down, but her judgmental attitude is not tempered by the steady wit and humor that make Elizabeth one of the most beloved characters in literature. Her Mr. Darcy is glaringly obvious, yet does not seem exceedingly prideful, and frankly, seems too good for her.

Overall, this novel was predictable and interesting enough to read, but also slightly boring. I would rate this item as a brontosaurus - it seems like a really awesome find when you first hear about it, but turns out to be fraudulent and really just ruins The Land Before Time.

Is nothing sacred?

This book was received as a reviewer copy, free of charge. It was released in July, and is therefore now available for purchase. The ideas in this review and my opinions of it are wholly my own.

Superheroes

So, I read this novel awhile ago, but have been having trouble finding the energy to review it. I wish I could blame this lethargy on the heat wave, but it is, in fact, simply me giving in to laziness. So, here it is - the long-awaited book review (that you didn't know was coming) of A Once Crowded Sky:

As you can see, it has an intriguing cover. And as the flashy red cape & the fact that the gentleman wearing it is walking on clouds suggests, this novel deals with superheroes.

King's novel delves into the superhero psyche.

What creates a superhero? Like many of our favorite comic book protagonists, the heroes in this novel all have a tragic backstory. After all, it would make sense that an enormous amount of pain and suffering would have to take place before a person was willing to risk his or her own life and limb on a daily/weekly basis for people that he or she did not previously know.

Yet while the reader learns most of the heroes' backstories, this novel actually takes place after the superheroes have sacrificed their powers in order to save the world -- effectively turning themselves into normal humans. This turn of events creates some issues - what do you do when you can no longer save the world on a regular basis?

Yes, there is a therapist/psychologist who specializes in seeing superheroes.

And what do you do when some unknown villain begins attacking everyone again? Specifically, targeting superheroes?

Only one man still retains his superhuman strength - Pen Ultimate, the former sidekick of the ultimate superhero, um, Ultimate. Pen had walked away from being a superhero and/or sidekick years before the superheroes were asked to sacrifice their powers, and he was not present when the sacrifice took place. As a result, he is the one person who is still able to move faster than other people, anyway, if not a speeding bullet. He is the person with the strength of numerous others, if not of 10.

He gets dragged into the world of fighting again, because there's no one else who can. Yet he doesn't like being a superhero, and never has. He walked away years ago because he didn't want to risk life and limb - he wanted to live a quiet life with his wife. Now, he struggles with his promise to his wife that he would be safe, and the imperative to help others that has been drilled into him when younger, and now seems more important than others.

Overall, I found this book interesting. The writing is interspersed with comic book pages of the superheroes & supervillains about whom you are reading. The writing itself is written in a serialized fashion, drawing attention to the comic book world about which author Tom King is writing.

I definitely recommend this novel to people who grew up or are still enjoying reading comic books. It will provide a different perspective, though, and the novel is rather dark. Also recommended for readers who enjoy experimental novels. Also, because this review is rather late, the novel is available for sale now!

Have you read this novel? What was your opinion?

Telepathy & Feminism

Gothic novel. Creepy, small England town. Humor. Hot, new guys who live in a mansion. Magic. Fast pace. All of these elements are part of Sarah Rees Brennan's upcoming novel Unspoken.

Unspoken is the first book in a series, though I'm unsure how many books this series is meant to contain. So many amazing elements, and it continues --

First of all, yes, this means that when the novel ends, the story feels uncompleted. And yes, it ends right on a spot where your mouth hangs open in protest, and you feebly attempt to prevent expletives from spewing forth from your lips, because you unwisely decided to read the end of the novel in public (or under your desk at school, or under your desk at work, or on the bus).

Secondly, the atmosphere and environment of the novel, while very evocative of the English countryside, is not really very eerie and menacing. It has many allusions to gothic literature, though, and handles some of the issues that gothic literature present in an intelligent, well-informed matter.

At the crux of this novel is the relationship between Kami Glass and Jared Lynburn, who have had a psychic connection since birth. Other people have imaginary friends; Kami and Jared have an invisible imaginary friend who doesn't go away. And then they meet, and discover that this psychic connection has been with a real person all along - a boon and a nightmare.

It sounds like soulmates, right? But it really wouldn't be a fun thing to live with. And Kami Glass staunchly opposes the idea that she and Jared are "meant" to be together merely because there is a link between them that isn't easily explained.

This novel builds on gothic influences in a fast-paced manner, while at the same time, making sure not to fall into the traps that are in gothic literature. Violence, while in the novel, is not touted as something inescapable and attractive, and the girls in the novel are just as smart and strong as the boys.

So many things in this novel were done right - but this novel still isn't the powerful tour-de-force I was hoping to read.

The flaws? Might simply come down to expectations. This novel was very humorous, with all of the characters exhibiting the same sense of humor that can be seen in the author's livejournal and twitter posts. Brennan's ability to meld two unlike things together in a jarring yet hilarious simile is spectacular, and at least caused me to smile, if not literally laugh out loud.

Yet when I hear the words "gothic novel," I don't expect to giggle my way through the work. I expect to become enmeshed in another world - a frightening world filled with delicious imagery and beautiful writing. Unspoken is a fun, fast-paced read, with thriller elements - but I don't think it quite reaches the slight insanity of a gothic novel.

My verdict: not a bad read. A good beach read. Did leave me wanting to read the next novel.

Book Review: Chomp

I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of Carl Hiassen's recently released young adult book, Chomp.

Available for sale on March 27, 2012, this book was a lot of fun, while also touching on some dark subject matter.

Essentially, the novel follows the young Wahoo as he helps/watches over his father, a professional animal wrangler. Wahoo's father, the far more sensibly named Mickey, was recently injured (by an iguana that fell out of a tree), and so income has been tight. Wahoo's mother conveniently goes on a trip to the other side of the world (China) for work to earn some extra income, which leaves the boys by themselves.

In the midst of their male bonding time, the opportunity to help out on a popular "reality" television show comes up. And with their increasingly dire financial straits, really, how could they say "no?"

Well, regardless of whether they're capable of uttering negative syllables or not, they agree to help. Wahoo is knowledgeable, and kind of boring, but his father is awesome. Mickey is hilarious and fearless. In the middle of the book, the reader is also introduced to Wahoo's classmate Tuna, a girl suffering from living with an abusive, alcoholic father. Tuna is also fairly awesome, despite introducing an element of danger near the end of the novel.

This book is filled with memorable characters, zany situations, but at the same time, isn't merely frivolous fun. The characters definitely aren't perfect, but they are a pleasure to get to know.

I definitely recommend reading this book. Due to the abusive relationship between Tuna and her father, however, this might not be a book that you want younger (12 and under) reading by themselves. It deals with the relationship in a very open way (although the abuse is only physical), and if your children are reading it, you might want to have an open and frank discussion concerning physical abuse first.

Take a Chomp out of Hiassen; read this book.

Book Review: Fairy Re-tellings in a Predictable Future

I finally got around to reading my ARC of Marissa Meyer's Cinder. A lot of you have probably heard of or already read this novel. It is a re-telling of Cinderella, in a future setting, and has a distinctive cover that highlights the android element that makes up a large part of the story:

Overall, I enjoyed this novel. I had some problems with it, but I wanted to continue reading it, and felt that overall, the writing was fairly accomplished.

So, let me begin by talking about my biggest problem with the book: predictability. I realize that, as a fairy tale re-telling, obviously, some of the plot should be obvious. But the twist at the end, when the main character essentially becomes a princess character, was something that was obvious at the beginning of the novel. What feels like it should be a "clue" is actually a very obvious foretelling.

Yet, despite the predictability, as I mentioned previously, I did want to continue reading.

Also, I liked the setting of the novel. One, it doesn't have that "fake historical" feeling that a lot of novels get by trying to re-tell the fairy tale in a middle ages setting into which the current setting is all too present. I also liked that the novel takes place in China - or rather, New China, in this futuristic setting.

I like that this novel was fairly interesting to read, despite the fact that much of the novel lays out a lot of groundwork for the series of which it is the first book (the Lunar Chronicles series), and is therefore fairly full of exposition.

Upon finishing this book, I am actually interested to continue the series -- which lately, has felt pretty rare to me when I pick up a series.

My First Ellen Hopkins Novel

Today, I am going to review Ellen Hopkins' forthcoming adult novel Triangles. I was lucky enough to receive an Advanced Reading Copy, as the book is not for sale until October, 2011. The cover of my ARC copy is purplish and sexy:

This makes the cover fitting to the book, which is about middle-aged women grappling with family and sexuality issues. As the title suggests, this is the first book written by Ellen Hopkins which I have read.

I was rather surprised, initially, to discover that the book is comprised of poems. I wasn't sure I was going to like it. Yet the poetry reads quickly, and rather like prose, and I grew accustomed to it much faster than I anticipated.

The book chronicles a difficult time in the lives of 3 middle-aged women. Holly seems to have everything a woman could want - a stable home life, a husband who is still completely in love with her, and three good-looking children - but she's not satisfied. The big 4-0 is looming on the horizon, and she is feeling like she has not accomplished anything for herself. Marissa is dealing with a gay son and a sickly daughter who probably won't be alive much longer. Andrea is trying to convince herself that she doesn't need love in her life, but keeps finding herself entangled with men, anyway.

The book is often sad, sometimes uplifting, and often adventurous. The women are all interesting characters, and the reader does get to know them rather well.

It was an interesting book, and if you are a fan of Hopkins' YA work, then I think you will definitely want to check this out. I think it's also a great book, if you're in the mood to read about uncertainty and loss. Or if you're interested to see what a novel comprised of poems is like.

Fairy Tales - Literally

I recently finished the novel Don't Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon.

I really enjoyed it. This was another book that skipped around in time - every chapter took place in a different decade. The book chapters also each featured a different protagonist - the more modern ones featured a woman in her thirties named Phoebe, the chapters from 15 years prior feature a young girl named Lisa.

At the crux of the story lies the mystery of what, exactly, happened to a 12-year-old girl named Lisa, who disappeared one summer. The most logical train of thought - 12-year-old girl disappears and has been missing for 15 years - isn't pretty. The flashbacks and the interesting people Phoebe and her boyfriend (who happens to be Lisa's younger brother) Sam encounter when the possibility that Lisa's returned, however, makes the reader question this concept of reality.

Lisa was an interesting little girl - very pretty, very imaginative, and one of those people that other people tend to like. & Lisa believed in fairies.

In fact, the summer that she disappeared, Lisa thought she was contacting fairies, and was going to be brought into the fairyland to become Teilo (the fairy king) 's queen.

So 15 years later, Sam and his cousin Evie begin receiving strange messages and encountering odd situations that seem like the sorts of things that fairies who are complete assholes might be perpetrating, & have to wonder - was Lisa right? Was she in the fairy kingdom for 15 years? & is she now back?

I really, really enjoyed this book. For some reason, the length of the book surprised me (464 pages). The novel still read very quickly, however, while not being insipid or stupid. This isn't really a beach read, but I do recommend reading it.

There was one thing that sometimes irked me about the book - the protagonist changes. Every chapter had that different focus - one for Phoebe, one for Lisa - and sometimes, it was a little jarring. I think, however, that it did actually work in the way that the author intended. When you're discussing subjects such as child kidnapping, possible rape, murder, and not-very-nice fairies, jarring the reader a little bit is a good thing.

So it's a serious book, and it questions the concepts of reality and perception. Really, at the end of the book, I was slightly spooked, though while reading the majority of the book I wouldn't say it was a horror story.

If you're interested in reading some more about the book, other reviews, or pre-ordering, the author's website is here. The book is being released in May of this year.

A YA Book I Didn't Much Like

I recently received an ARC of brother/sister by Sean Olin.

I didn't much like it.

In fact, I didn't finish it. In general, I try to make a point of finishing a book sent to me for review. At times, however, as a reader, I just know when a book isn't for me. This was one of them. After diligently plowing through more than 50 pages, I decided to follow a Pearl of wisdom & quit.

The novel is narrated by two siblings, a brother & a sister (just like in the title! It must be a coincidence, right?), named Will & Asheley (yes, that's really how her name is spelled). When the book opens, we as readers know that something terrible has happened. As the story keeps unfolding, we realize that someone is dead and that the siblings are in Mexico. They are talking to the police, and it seems that one or both of them is the suspect with regards to the death. The kids are isolated and kind of weird - the result of divorced parents and an alcoholic mother - and a day when both of them accomplish sports feats, they are also shamed by actions by their mother and boyfriend.

Each chapter is narrated by a different sibling, and the story itself isn't that bad. I didn't, however, like the writing style. I didn't like the characters of Will and Asheley, and I didn't like the way that the story was taking for. ev. er. to unfold. It was like it took five chapters to relate an hour time span. Like much of America, I have ADD - I don't have the attention span for this.

So the stuff happening was interesting, but honestly, I don't even care that I don't know exactly who was murdered, or how, by whom, etc. So the interesting stuff was not related in an interesting way, and that makes this a book that I wouldn't recommend.

Another Disappointment

A few weeks ago, I finished reading The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady by Elizabeth Stuckey-French. With a title like that, I expect it's going to pique the interest of a lot of readers. It's also got an arresting retro cover:

In a nutshell, TROTRL is about an elderly woman who has suffered health issues as well as the death of her daughter because of radioactive cocktails she was given in the fifties. These cocktails were part of an unofficial study, and the women who drank them (all in the lower economic stratus) were told that it was a "vitamin cocktail." Bitter and alone, this particular woman (named Marylou) has decided that she needs to get revenge on the doctor who was in charge of the study. So she buys a house in Tallahassee, begins essentially stalking the doctor and his family, and contemplates the best way to kill him. Sounds like a great, fast, zany read, right?

Wrong.

This novel has all the potential to be crazy & amazing, but instead, wallows in the mundane. Some crazy shit happens, but the manner in which it is related makes it seem almost boring & nondescript, while more time & care is spent on the small and everyday. The marketing, the title, the synopsis all indicate something wacky, along the lines of a Christopher Moore novel or that novel I adore, Fated.

It's not a bad book. It looks through the eyes of a lot of different characters, really giving both sides of the story, and all-in-all, the book and the author have a good heart. It wasn't, however, what I was expecting, and what I was expecting was more interesting than what I read.

I recently received an uncorrected proof, special ARE of Lisa Genova's LEFT neglected. Lisa Genova wrote the bestselling novel Still Alice. Her new novel LEFT neglected will be released January 2011.

This book is....interesting. The cynic inside of me secretly thinks that it's entirely possible this novel was solicited by the police in an attempt to get drivers to stop using cell phones while they're driving.


The book tells the story of Sarah Nickerson, a woman who lives in a nice neighborhood, has three children, and is a very successful businesswoman. She likes the challenges and power that comes with her job, she wants to be a great mom, and balancing things is a bit difficult, if not impossible some days. Basically, Ms. Nickerson tends to feel that she either isn't devoting enough time to her family, or that she isn't devoting enough time to her work, though she simply keeps going, trying harder, pushing herself further. All very cliched things that you've read plenty of times in fiction before.


While the book feels like it's going for a "& she had to re-prioritize when her husband Bob filed for divorce papers" or "& she had to re-prioritize when she was fired from her job due to recession cuts," the book ACTUALLY goes towards something completely different:


She had to re-prioritize b/c she was fumbling for her cell phone & ended up crashing her SUV on the side of the freeway, bumping her head & ending up with a condition called "Left Neglect."


Frighteningly, left neglect is an actual brain trauma injury where the person wakes up and forgets that the left side exists. To anything. Like, you're looking at your house & you only notice the right side of the house. But you also don't realize anything's missing. You think that's the way your house has always been.


This injury, of course, makes Ms. Nickerson pretty alarmed & frustrated & the majority of the book is about her recovering & realizing that her life is never going to be the same.


I would say this book is all right. It's not amazing, it's not particularly elegant, & Sarah can be pretty annoying. Most people, however, are annoying at one time or another, and waking up with a traumatic head injury is probably one of the best reasons for getting pissy.


I would recommend this book if you like books that revolve around the medical community or if you like chick lit or if you're really bored & can get your hands on it, for free. Otherwise... you might want to pass.

Let's Talk About the Kids

So... I have been crazy busy. I've still found time to read, because that's one of my relaxations & escapes, but I have been getting behind on reviews. So today you get a 2 for 1 deal! That's right - I'm going to review TWO books in ONE blog entry! Do you feel special? Because you are.

The two books I'm going to write about today are:

Museum of Thieves

and Radiance

Both of these books have been written for a middle-school aged audience. Both books felt appropriate for that age group.


I will look at Lian Tanner's Museum of Thieves first.


Tanner's book is a fantasy. It primarily follows the activities of Goldie, a young girl who is always getting in trouble in the over-protective society she lives in. The adults in the community, frightened by all of the horrible things that can't really be explained but just exist (i.e., plague, children dying, etc.), have allowed their freedoms to be quashed in order to be protected.


This book did a really good job of pointing out that kids need to be kids. That it's good for them to have enough freedom to find strength and have fun. That it's bad for them to feel like their life is in peril at every turn. For while bad things do occasionally happen, the good things don't often happen, either, if you only focus on protecting yourself.

I liked the characters in this book. I liked the world that Tanner created. I liked the messages, and I had fun reading this book.

Now, on to Radiance, written by Alyson Noel. You've probably heard of Noel's Evermore. It's the first in a series of books, none of which I have read, but which have sold well.

Radiance was my first Noel novel, and it was okay. I think it would mean more to the teens who have read Evermore and are avid fans of that series, as Radiance follows the adventures of Ever's younger sister Riley after the car crash that left Ever pretty much all alone in the world.

Riley is understandably upset that her life has been cut short because she wasted the time spent on Earth hounding her sister, and now she will never have boobs. That's kind of this book in a nutshell.

Riley is learning how to be dead, which is remarkably like being alive, except that you can materialize shit and have whatever kind of awesome wardrobe you want. Really, I found this book somewhat depressing.

"Don't worry about your life getting cut short. You still get to go to SCHOOL in heaven! & you get assigned a JOB! It's pretty much all of the soul-sucking shit people hate on Earth, but it's NEVER-ENDING because you're dead now!"

Yay?

Anyway, Riley was probably a realistic tween, which means that she got on my nerves. She was impulsive, disrespectful, and somehow, amazingly good at everything, anyway.

I don't really recommend Radiance unless you're a big fan of the Evermore Immortals series and want to round out your collection. It's okay, but I much preferred reading Museum of Thieves.

Both of these books are now on sale. Have you read them? What are your thoughts?

Book Review: Mr. Toppit

A few days ago I finished reading Mr. Toppit, the debut novel by Charles Elton.

This novel has already been released, and done very well, in England, and is slated to be released in the U.S. in September of this year.

Mr. Toppit is the story of a children's book series, written by a man named Arthur Hayman. The protagonist of the series is based on Arthur's son Luke, and after Arthur's death, and an American woman's influence, the books become bestsellers. The remaining Haymans - Luke, his mother Martha, and his sister Rachel, then have to deal with the sudden fame. The allusion to the Winnie the Pooh franchise is noticeable, although Arthur's series is supposed to be a quite a bit darker. The title of the novel comes from the overbearing, unseen antihero of the novels, who consistently gives Luke tasks that cannot be fulfilled to Mr. Toppit's satisfaction.

Overall, when I finished the book, I did not feel like it was one of the most amazing books ever written. I did feel, however, that it was entertaining, that it wasn't predictable, and that it was addicting. I wanted to keep reading. I wanted to know what crazy things were going to be said and done next. I sympathized with Luke, and I was not expecting the fitting ending. I kept reading because I wanted to keep reading, not because I felt like I had to in order to write an adequate review.

Mr. Toppit is a dark novel, in which the characters act like real people. Some of the things they do don't make sense, and those that do make sense are often slightly horrifying.

It is an entertaining read, and I recommend it. I think it is interesting, slightly depressing, and the characters stay with you, both while you're reading the novel and afterwards.

Review: Juliet

I recently received an ARC of Anne Fortier's Juliet, which is going on sale August 17, 2010. Here's a link to pre-order the book. Update: image of the cover -

My feelings towards this book are ambivalent.

As you might have guessed, the title alludes to the female half of those famous star-crossed lovers Shakespeare wrote about. When the aunt who raised her (and her twin sister) dies, Julie Jacobs returns to the house. She is upset that she didn't utilize the time she had left to say goodbye to her aunt, and becomes further upset when she discovers she was written out of her aunt's will (or was she? An interesting discovery springs up later).

The servant who was like a father to her growing up gives her a letter her aunt left to her, which essentially says her aunt has been lying to her all of these years by changing her name to Julie Jacobs. Her real name is Guilietta Tolomei. Her aunt's letter also claims that her mother was searching for a treasure in Siena, Italy, and that this treasure was meant for Guilietta, and not her sister, which is why the house was left to the sister. The sibling rivalry in the beginning is thick enough to eat with a spoon.

Julie is surprised, as partisan gifts are rather out of character for her aunt, but hops on a plane to Siena with the passport her aunt left her. She is deeply in debt, having always relied on the idea that her aunt was going to give her money, and is grieved to discover that now she will have to find her own way to climb up the mountain of debt she has accrued.

It gets worse when she discovers that this "treasure" her mother searched for was really more of a genealogical thing. Her mother found documents that indicate that she is related to Guilietta Tolomei, the girl whose love with a boy named Romeo Marescotti inspired several dramas about their doomed love, one of which was done by Shakespeare. Her mother was also consumed by the idea that the way the young lovers and those who helped them were treated had left a curse on their family lines, and was desperately trying to find a way to resolve it.

Honestly, with the exception of some frank selfishness that's a little disconcerting, but probably more honest than plain grief, I like most of that. It's suspenseful, it's interesting historical fiction.

Then, the romance had to get involved.

First, the fact that Guiletta/Julie is STILL a virgin, despite being - gasp - in her twenties, is made an enormously big deal. Give. Me. A. Break. Someone who's waiting for the right person shouldn't allow herself to feel like shit because her sister makes fun of her. I mean, maybe it's realistic to be a little embarrassed. At the same time, she obviously consciously makes the decision to wait - so what is there to be embarrassed about? If she wants to have sex, she could have and still can. If she doesn't, cool; she won't get knocked up.

Second - when she realizes that there is a present day Romeo Marescotti in her presence, the love story line becomes unbearable. I guess Fortier wanted it that way - a mirror to Shakespeare's. A redemption of a historical romance gone awry. But I have the same problem with the book that I have with Shakespeare's couple - these people fall in love too hard, too fast. Usually, when that happens in real life, you realize: "Shit. I don't know this person. The sex (hopefully) is great, but I'm not really in love."

Basically, I feel like the modern day Romeo & Guilietta in Fortier's book are too adult to be acting like their love struck, historical teenaged counterparts.

Other than the love story line, I thought this book was tolerable. Pretty well written, and pretty interesting. The love story line really only gets annoying in the last half or third of the book. Prior to that, it's pretty well done, too.

If you want a quick read, and/or you're interested in a taste of the historical background and influences on Shakespeare's play, and/or you like romance novels, I say give this one a try. In general, it's interesting.

Expanding My Horizons: Aka, Reading Fiction about Charlotte Bronte

The latest ARC I received is entitled Romancing Miss Bronte, and is written by Juliet Gael. Here's a link to the Barnes & Noble page about this book, and here's the cover:

Romancing Miss Bronte is an historical fiction concerning Charlotte Bronte, the author of Jane Eyre, Shirley, and Villette.

Frankly, I wasn't expecting to like this book, as I'm picky regarding historical fiction and romance novels.

But I did like it. Immensely.

Overall, the story was entertaining, and felt pretty authentic. It's obvious that the author did her homework. Charlotte Bronte went through some tough times - and if you know nothing about Miss Bronte's history, this book is an interesting introduction to them.

Charlotte's other siblings come to life, as well. Emily Bronte, who wrote Wuthering Heights, Anne Bronte, who wrote Agnes Grey, and their brother Branwell, who wasn't particularly famous for his literary works.

My interest was kept throughout the entire novel. At the end of the novel, I felt like I knew more about the Brontes, and I really cared about what happened to the characters.

The title is a bit misleading, however. The title makes this book sound like a romance - and while there is romance in it, that lovey-dovey stuff doesn't come into the picture until the narrative has already progressed fairly far. There is yearning, loss, and many other strong feelings, but love that is felt by both parties takes awhile to evolve. Personally, I like this. If a reader is expecting a predictable romance, however, this book is not one of them.

In summation, Romancing Miss Bronte is a very enjoyable read. Its' sentiments often resemble the Romantic era more than the Victorian, and love is dealt with in various ways, not just the predictable ways in which romance novels often do. Based on my prior knowledge of Charlotte Bronte's life, the book seems to be mostly historically accurate. I read through this book quickly, and I recommend it to anyone who is fond of fiction, who is, in particular, a fan of the Brontes, and/or a fan of romantic or literary fiction.

Romancing Miss Bronte is released April 27, 2010.

Book Review: White Cat

I didn't win her "con"-test, but I managed to snag my hands on a copy of Holly Black's White Cat, anyway. Here's the cover, and a link to the Barnes & Noble webpage whereby you can pre-order a copy (and you should).

White Cat is the first book in a series called "The Curse Workers." In this series, Black is creating an alternate world, in which some people have special abilities that are exciting and terrifying to those who do not have such abilities. Thus, they are referred to as "Curse Workers."

Black has such a way with words. If you haven't read one of her books, then you may not realize this, and I suggest remedying the situation immediately. She has also written a trilogy of interrelated YA books: Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside. (Amazing.) She wrote The Spiderwick Chronicles, working with her friend and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi - a fantastic series meant to be a good read, while still being more reader friendly, so that people aren't overwhelmed.

Black tends to write fantasy works, but she is able to make them believable. You read Tithe, and suddenly, the fairy world doesn't seem that far away. I read White Cat, and personally thought "Wouldn't it be cool if everyone wore gloves?" (See, you have no idea what I'm talking about - but you CAN know, if you purchase the book.)

The action moves smoothly, the characters aren't all perfect, aren't all stereotypes, and cause the reader to feel for them.

I cannot rave enough about this book. I highly suggest reading it, and I know I'm looking forward to the sequel Red Glove.

A Mystery Book I Didn't Much Like

So...that ARC I bragged about on Twitter? Took me forever to read. It's not even an "Advanced" copy anymore, since it's been available for purchase since February 23. Here's the cover, and a link to purchase the book from Barnes & Noble:

Why did this book take me a long time to read? It didn't hold my interest.

It's historical fiction, using as its' protagonist detective the actual "renegade monk and excommunicate Giordano Bruno." It takes place at Oxford University. Giordano Bruno goes there with his pal, poet Sir Philip Sidney (whose poetry I rather adore, really...if you haven't heard of Sidney, you should read some of his work), to engage in argument with the Rector (the dude in charge) about whether or not the universe is heliocentric. On this trip, the university "fellows" (basically, guys who have been around for awhile and have some power) begin dying. Bruno, apparently some great philanthropist, looks into the murders, and discovers Oxfordian secrets.

Heresy fell into a problem that I have with a lot of historical fiction - in trying to sound "authentic" and "old" it came across as "fake" and "boring." The dialogue, and the tone of narration throughout the book was very off-putting. I realize that it's hard to write historical fiction that sounds authentic - but if you're going to try to make it sound authentic, then you need to read a lot of primary sources from that time period, and have someone you trust, also familiar with primary sources, read it over, in order to appease fickle readers such as myself.

But really? This is FICTION. If I wanted to read "authentic" sixteenth century writing, I would literally read authentic sixteenth century writing. I personally felt that a more modern tone of voice would have made this book much more enjoyable.

Worse than the off-putting tone, however, was the characterization. I did not care about these characters. Any of them. I didn't care about the protagonist Giordano Bruno.

Do you ever watch horror movies, and want to yell at the person who is entering someone else's house? It's like: "Yeah, I know you're curious, but that's RUDE. Don't go in there unless you're invited, asshole!"

That's how I felt reading this book. I was like: "Why are you investigating these murders?" I really got the impression that Mr. Bruno was a nosy jerk who thought he had the right to know everything about everything because he wanted to. Um, no.

I did not care about the person who ended up being a murderer.

I did not care about the people who were murdered. I mean, murder is wrong, but I just didn't feel like I knew these people.

I certainly did NOT care about Bruno's love interest. She struck me as an annoying slut. I couldn't comprehend why he cared about her so much. Oh, wait. Yes I could. B/c she has tits. Congratulations, Bruno. Your taste in women rivals that of Hugh Hefner.

Perhaps worse than the poor characterization and off-putting tone of narration, however, was the plot. Mostly b/c there wasn't one.

Okay, okay, that's too harsh. There was a plot. It was just strung out so much that in the lengthy course of time it took me to read the book, I wasn't really following it that well. It kind of felt all over the place.

The book has all of this talk about how persecution and torture about beliefs that aren't going to harm anybody is WRONG (thus the title: Heresy). Frankly, when the book was wrapped up, I didn't much care. I was just glad not to be tortured any longer.

I'm sorry, S.J. Parris. I feel like you had some interesting ideas, and really good intentions. I just don't feel like they were carried out very well.

Benjamin Pratt Book Review

I received an ARC of We the Children, the first book in the Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School book series. These books are written by Andrew Clements, and illustrated by Adam Stower.

Aimed at the age group from 7-10 years old, this book is a quick read. The plot is sort of ridiculous, but fun, and character development is started, but doesn't feel fully fleshed out. Yet. It is clear that the series will need to be read as a whole for completion of the story. This book begins the tale, but feels mostly like exposition. It's setting the scene, giving the necessary background information for the story arc to follow.

To be fair, I don't tend to read books intended for this age group, anymore. At the same time, I wouldn't recommend reading this book yet, because I feel that a book should be more well-rounded on its' own. I might be willing to recommend the book series as a whole, but it's not finished, so I can't really say yet.

I would say this first book is interesting, and I'm curious as to what will happen next. It's a Simon & Schuster book that comes out in April of this year. If you think this book might be for you or someone you know, click the picture above for more information.

Directing You to a Contest

If you're not in love with Holly Black's writing, it's probably because you haven't read her work. She's amazing & she's offering ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies) of her novel White Cat to certain people who tell her about a con they've pulled. Go here to enter!