Grave Mercy: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Brittany, 1485: Ismae bears a deep red stain from her left shoulder to her right hip–a tangible reminder of the herbwitch’s poison that her mother used to try to expel Ismae from her womb. The poison didn’t work. Proof, according to the herbwitch, that Ismae was sired by the god of death himself.

Even without her wicked scar, Ismae’s parentage would be a burden to bear. Fearful of the wrath of Mortmain everyone tolerates Ismae’s presence but little beyond that. Her life is not one of comfort or compassion. Not until a priest gives Ismae one small kindness that will forever change her life.

Taken from a brutal arranged marriage, Ismae is spirited across Brittany to the convent of St. Mortmain–a sanctuary where women like Ismae, her sisters of Mortmain, work to execute their god’s work throughout Brittany.

Staying at the convent will mean a new life. One where Ismae will be trained as an assassin to serve as a Handmaiden of Death. The decision, of course, is an easy one. After being the prey of others all her life, Ismae is more than ready to be the hunter.

The life she chooses and the training are simple. At first.

After Ismae completes her first assignment for the convent several complications arise. Thrown together with a man she cannot trust and little likes, Ismae finds herself at the center of Brittany’s tangled politics as the country’s young duchess struggles to hold onto her tenuous authority. The more Ismae learns about her country and her own heart, the less she understands about her teachings at the convent. Soon Ismae will have to decide if she can follow the will of her god while also following her own heart in Grave Mercy (2012) by Robin LaFevers.

Grave Mercy is LaFevers’ first young adult novel. (She is the author of several middle grade novels included my beloved Nathaniel Fludd books as R. L. LaFevers.)

While the setting and language make for an immersive read, Grave Mercy takes a bit of time to get to the core plot not only starting years before the main story but also leading with tangentially related pieces of Ismae’s training at the convent and her assignments. Readers expecting immediate action might be disappointed though rest assured patience will pay off in the end.

Ismae, though sometimes frightening in her fierceness, is an engaging heroine as she makes her way through the labyrinths of both Breton politics and the inner workings of her own sisterhood. LaFevers handles the complicated matter of faith versus service well as Ismae works reconcile her own wants with her duties as a Handmaiden of Death. Although the latter part of the story drags as LaFevers works to resolve several plot threads, the tension is high enough to make up for it. Ismae’s personal journey remains compelling throughout.

Filled with intrigue, murder, and more than a few shady characters Grave Mercy is a definite page turner even if some shocking revelations are not so shocking when finally revealed. An excellent choice for fans of Megan Whalen Turner’s Thief books or an alternative/follow-up to Kristin Cashore’s novels. Grave Mercy is the first book in the His Fair Assassin trilogy but this book works just as nicely on its own.

Possible Pairings: Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken, The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, Fire by Kristin Cashore, The Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coats, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder, The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: Grave Mercy

The Wicked and the Just: A Review

Cecily’s father ruins her life abruptly and irrevocably when he announces his plan to move them to Caernarvon in occupied Wales. The King needs good Englishmen to manage the newly-acquired Welsh lands and teach the primitive Welshman how to behave. Cecily wants none of it but at least she will finally be the lady of the house. Even if it is a house among barbarians.

Unfortunately for Cecily her initial misgivings about Wales are confirmed when she discovers the native Welsh speak something that barely sounds like a language as well as being impudent and rude. Though they are at least Christians–supposedly. In addition to being saddled with a surly Welsh servant girl she cannot dismiss, Cecily is also looked down upon by the local honesti who consider her little better than the Welsh peasants.

Gwenhwyfar is equally unhappy as servant to the brat. While she scrambles to find enough food for herself and her family, Gwenhwyfar watches Cecily leading the life that rightfully belongs to Gwenhwyfar and the other displaced Welshmen. The English took everything from Gwenhwyfar and her people. Now all she can do is watch and try not to starve.

As the English take and take, frustration grows among the Welsh. As tensions rise both Cecily and Gwenhwyfar will be caught up in the disastrous moment when the tension finally has to break and there will be justice for those who deserve it in The Wicked and the Just (2012) by J. Anderson Coats.

The Wicked and the Just is Coats’ first novel.

Set in the years of 1293 and 1294 Coats expertly* captures a volatile period in history for Wales.

While I enjoy a great many historical novels, I usually do not gravitate toward medieval period books. In addition to being a period I know little about, it is also not always an area of high interest. That said, there was something about The Wicked and the Just that made me want to read it.

Perhaps you already know why 1293 marks an important time for Wales in history. I did not. I have to say going in knowing nothing save that Welsh is unpronounceable when I try to read it made for a dramatic finish to The Wicked and the Just. An ending, I might add, that completely took me by surprise.

With segments told from both Cecily and Gwenhwyfar’s points of view, the book is well-rounded and examines the tensions within the Welsh town of Caernarvon from every angle. While that makes The Wicked and the Just an excellent look at the period, it does not make for many likable characters. Every character has redeeming qualities, but each one is also very nasty. There is justice for those who deserve it, but there is also name-calling, pettiness, and plain old cruelty along the way making for a mid-point where almost no character warrants much admiration.

Coats’ ends the book with a historical note explaining the politics of the period that Cecily and Gwenhwyfar either ignored or only alluded to during the actual story. While historical events are explained and relatively resolved, much is left up in the air for the characters. While the lack of closure makes sense given the content of the story, I must admit it does leave quite a few questions about what happens to Cecily and Gwenhwyfar as well as some other secondary characters.

Coats’ writing is clear and hauntingly evocative of the period in this story of many, many displaced people. As much as any book can, The Wicked and the Just brings medieval Wales to life.

*I’m not kidding when I say expertly. In addition to being a fellow Master of Library Science, Coats has a master’s degree in history.

Possible Pairings: Black Potatoes by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta, The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley, Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan, Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: The Wicked and the Just

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick: A Review

Perry Stormaire had no intention whatsoever of attending his senior prom. Not when his band had their first ever actual gig in an actual club in New York City.

Unfortunately his parents have other ideas when the foreign exchange student staying with Perry’s family expresses her wish to attend prom before going home to Lithuania.

Why Gbija Zaksauskas wants to attend prom is anyone’s guess. Frumpy, quiet, not to mention epileptic it seems like Gobi’s entire mission as a foreign exchange student was to blend into the background.

All of that changes on prom night.

As Gobi embarks on a night-long mission of vengeance, Perry is dragged along–sometimes literally–for the ride. A week ago Perry’s biggest problems were choosing a college and working up the nerve to defy his father. Now, Perry isn’t even sure if he’ll make it through his prom night in one piece in Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick (2011) by Joe Schreiber.

Though completely improbable and often needing a lot of suspension of disbelief, Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick remains a fast exciting read of pure escapism with refreshing humor and oddly authentic characters for such an outlandish story.

Schreiber has created a fun blend of unlikely adventure and the more usual coming-of-age story. Structured with college essay question at the start of each chapter, Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick perfectly captures the panic and scrambling so often associated with the college search and application process.

Possible Pairings: Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynne Barnes, White Cat by Holly Black, Heist Society by Ally Carter
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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick

Wisdom’s Kiss: A Review

Princess Wisdom, known as Dizzy, does not much care for the staid and boring life of a princess. Tips does care much for the life a miller’s son with his brutish brothers in their small bucolic town. Fortitude, more often Trudy, could be perfectly content if only her foresight would let her.

When these three souls venture out to seek their fortunes their lives entwine in unexpected ways that could save the kingdom. Or bring it to ruins. With the help of a singular cat, Dizzy’s cunning grandmother, and just a tiny bit of magic everyone might get everything they never knew they always wanted in Wisdom’s Kiss (2011) by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.

Wisdom’s Kiss is an epistolary novel or sorts. Chapters alternate between play scenes, encyclopedia entries, excerpts from memoirs, diary entries and even letters (with cross-outs, misspellings and all).

Writing a novel in letters is a tricky thing. It offers the option to include many different writing styles as well as a variety of viewpoints. Sometimes it can also create a distance between the readers and the characters as the book  never, really, lets readers see the inner emotions of the characters. Such is the case here.

While Trudy and Ben were delightful characters with engaging storylines, it was very difficult to connect with Dizzy or Tips who are largely selfish and impulsive throughout the novel. Given the direction of the plot it was particularly frustrating to watch these two take the leading roles in the story. Other aspects of the book also seemed to enter the narrative far too late while also being abrupt–at which point Trudy really became the saving grace of the whole plot.

Wisdom’s Kiss is still a clever story with many fun twists on fairy tale characters (including Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and a certain boot-wearing feline) that will appeal to fans of fractured fairytales and retellings alike.

Possible Pairings: Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock*, The Game of Triumphs by Laura Powell, Sorcery and Cecelia by Patrica C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer, A Well-Timed Enchantment by Vivian Vande Velde

*Wisdom’s Kiss is a companion/follow-up to Princess Ben. Dizzy’s grandmother in Wisdom’s Kiss is the protagonist of Princess Ben which is about Ben’s own youth.

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Always a Witch: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

The Greene family has always been very talented–magically Talented, that is. Except for Tamsin. Instead of a Talent she had a cryptic prophecy from her grandmother declaring that Tamsin would one day be a beacon for her entire family.

At least, that’s what she thought for the first seventeen years of her life.

Now she knows the truth about her Talent and her family’s past. Unfortunately so does Alistair Knight and he’s gone back to Victorian era New York to share what he knows with his ancestors and possibly destroy the Greene family forever.

With Alistair Traveling to the past, time is running out and Tamsin realizes she has no choice but to follow.  Alone in 1895 New York Tamsin soon finds herself disguised as a lady’s maid in the Knight mansion. She still has a crucial role to play in her family’s struggle with the Knights even if she isn’t sure what that role is yet. All she knows for sure is that it will involve a terrible sacrifice and, in the end, she may not have any choice at all in Always a Witch (2011) by Carolyn MacCullough.

Always a Witch is the sequel to MacCullough’s delightful novel Once a Witch.

As some regular readers might already know, Carolyn MacCullough is one of my favorite authors of all time and also an author I was lucky enough to meet a while back which remains one of the high points of . . . my life. All sounds like tangential information unless you got to see a galley of Always a Witch.

On the covers of the advanced reader copies (and in the image attached to this post) part of my review of Once a Witch was quoted. There are a lot of reasons for any reader to love this book but for me a lot of that love is wrapped up in MacCullough being one of my favorite authors and also my excitement at being quoted on the galleys* and being so fond of these characters.

In other words, I’m delighted my words got to endorse this book, however briefly. (The quote didn’t make it to the final cover but I’ll always have the galleys.)

Once a Witch was a clever urban fantasy with an original take on magic as well as a fast-paced, funny and entertaining story. It was a delightful introduction to Tamsin and her world. Always a Witch is just as good as the first–maybe even better. Definitely good enough that I finished it in one day.

Family is still a central element of this book, as it should be when the family is as splendid as the Greenes, but there is a lot more to this story with the extended time travel and Tamsin’s choice looming throughout the narrative.

As a sequel there is always the risk of summarizing too little or explaining too much. MacCullough strikes a perfect balance of summary and new material here. The inimitable Gabriel also returns along with other favorite characters. Tamsin’s same fierce love for her family permeates these pages.

Always a Witch is a great fantasy with a well-realized look at old New York besides. Tamsin is one of my favorite heroines with her strength, resilience and general charm. Like Once a Witch before it, this book is a wonderful story about family and love and, yes, about magic too.

*I’ve had to sit on this information since December because the pub date was so far away. I also wasn’t sure if the cover was finalized yet–I first saw it on a galley when a colleague pointed it out–and it’s been absolute torture waiting to share this big news with you, dear readers. The news is slightly less big since the quote isn’t on the final cover but I decided to mention it anyway because the quote was such a big part of my experience with this book.

You can also read my exclusive interview with Carolyn MacCullough!

Possible Pairings: White Cat by Holly Black, Heist Society by Ally Carter, Clarity by Kim Harrington, Hourglass by Myra McEntire, The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan

Exclusive Bonus Content: Let’s take a moment to consider the titles together. See where I’m going here?

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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: Always a Witch

The Unicorn’s Tale: A (Rapid Fire {Nathaniel Fludd}) Review

The Unicorn’s Tale by R. L. LaFevers, illustrated by Kelly Murphy (2011)

Book 4 in the Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist series

Since I have already reviewed book 1, book 2 and book 3 of the Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist series I decided that for book 4 I didn’t need to go in depth with background information. SPOILER: I loved all of the books. Much as it pains me to say this, we’re really at the point in the series where you have to read the previous books to keep up.

In addition to featuring one of my favorite mythical creatures (I’m on Team Unicorn) this book gets back to basics established in book one. Nathaniel and Aunt Phil stay together for the entire story, Cornelius the Dodo is back. And we learn more about Nate’s parents.

The mythological beast story was charming and worked well with the more ongoing story of Nathaniel’s missing parents. We are also treated to an excerpt from the Book of Beasts (instead of a glossary) filled with information on the various kinds of unicorns. As usual Murphy’s illustrations are gorgeous and add a fun dimension to the story.

I love this series and am kind of obsessed with it. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an old fashioned adventure-fantasy for the younger set.

The Vespertine: A (rapid fire) Review

The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell (2011)

You guys, I don’t even know how to talk about this book. I’m pretty sure this will have spoilers. Or maybe it has fundamental plot basics? I’m not sure. You have been warned.

From the looks of the pretty cover and the intriguing jacket text, this book looked like it would have everything I wanted. Historical fiction, check. Romance elements, check. Paranormal, fantastical visions, check.

The Vespertine has a lot of similarities to A Great and Terrible Beauty with its historical fantasy blended with ruminations on feminism and young women struggling against societal mores of the nineteenth century. Except for the girls in this book that struggle doesn’t turn out so well.

I was telling my mom earlier, I like my fantasies straightforward. I don’t need questions about whether it was all a dream or insanity or whatever. I want to take things at face value and when I hear supernatural I want to know it is true.

That didn’t happen here.

Amelia’s summer in Baltimore turns strange when she begins to see visions at sunset (vespers). But are the visions real? Are they madness? Is it both? Hard to say.

Nothing came together quite to my liking. The writing was a bit too stilted. Amelia was a bit too histrionic. She should be a likable narrator and her romance should be epic. But, for me, it just wasn’t.

I still don’t know what to make of the ending. Literal? Figurative? Again, hard to say.

The other problem, one that’s beyond the writing and my questions and everything else, is the fact that everything–Amelia included–is ruined at the start. There is no fixing anything, there is no hope. In any format, in any genre, that is my least favorite structure; looking back on a catastrophe from the aftermath. It’s hard to really follow that kind of destruction. It’s hard to care about a character when you already know, from the outset, that all hope is lost.

What I can say is that this book will have a lot of appeal to anyone with the patience to unravel the threads of a not entirely linear narrative (the story shifts a few times between Autumn and Spring of 1889) and draw their own conclusions–even if a lot of them are not, shall we say, optimistic. It’s an interesting blend of historical detail and something else–maybe fantasy, maybe not. And it’s a very interesting commentary on feminism and women of that period.

It just also happens to be a book I can’t connect with much as I wish it could be.

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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: The Vespertine

The Wyvern’s Treasure: A Review

Nathaniel Fludd has protected a phoenix and contained a basilisk as well as adopting a gremlin as his unlikely (and possibly unsuitable) companion. Nate is ten yeas old and he is a Beastologist-in-training; one of the last of the Fludd family line, charged with the responsibility of caring for and protecting some of the world’s more unusual beasts.

While Nate has grown to care deeply about Aunt Phil on their whirlwind travels across Africa, he misses his parents who were declared lost at sea. He hopes that news of a mysterious intruder tracking the beasts for ill purposes will lead to clues about their mysterious disappearance and possibly even reveal that they are alive after all.

But before Nate and Aunt Phil can make sense of his parents’ disappearance or the intruder, they will have to travel to Wales to appease an angry lair of Wyverns. An intruder (perhaps the intruder) is wandering their caves breaking an ancient Covenant that, once broken, will lead to Wyverns wreaking havoc across the Welsh countryside. There is less than a day left to restore the Covenant and stop the intruder, but by the end it all comes down to one question: Will Nathaniel Fludd be able to outsmart a Wyvern in The Wyvern’s Treasure (2010) by R. L. LaFevers with illustrations by Kelly Murphy?

The Wyvern’s Treasure is the third installment in the Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist series. It is also probably my favorite of the three because I have a special fondness for Wyverns in all of their huge, dragon-y glory.

This was a fun installment in an already enjoyable series. Readers get to see a bit more of Cornelius the Dodo and learn more about the mystery surrounding Nate’s parents (though not much more). This volume also brings a new landscape and more background about the Fludd family. The only flaw, really, is that it was so short that there wasn’t much room for more information about the backstory of Nate’s parents where readers get more questions than answers. (Questions that will hopefully be resolved later in the series.)

The main story, of negotiating with the Wyvern’s and stopping the intruder is excellent; filled with action, humor and a fair bit of charm. Over the course of the series, Nathaniel is really coming into his own as a beastologist at the same time that his pet, Greasle the Gremlin, is learning more about how to deal with things in the human world.

Murphy’s illustrations are, as ever, wonderful additions to the story with representations of the beasts, the characters and the landscape as well as some of Nate’s own drawings for good measure.

All in all, a delightful read.

Possible Pairings: The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerrlizzi, The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley, We Are Not Eaten by Yaks by C. Alexander London, The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

Exclusive Bonus Content: This might also be my favorite cover of the series so far.

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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: The Wyverns’ Treasure

Nathaniel Fludd Beastologist: The Basilisk’s Lair

Nate Fludd, Beastologist in training, has just barely recovered from his adventure protecting the Phoenix egg and rescuing Aunt Phil from the Bedouin when adventure once again comes knocking while Nate is struggling with his (lacking) navigation skills. A basilisk, the King of the Serpents, is loose and must be contained before he destroys a Dhughani village and poisons the entire region’s water supply.

Nate would much rather return to London with his new pet/friend Greasle the Gremlin than trek through Africa with Aunt Phil and her secret weapon to face one of the most fearsome creatures documented in the Fludd’s Book of Beasts. But where trouble goes, beastologists tend to follow. As he grapples with his own fears and the usual problems that come with dealing with beasts of a mythical nature, Nate might just find he’s braver (and more of a beastologist) than he thought in The Basilisk’s Lair (2010) by R. L. LaFevers with illustrations by Kelly Murphy.

There are not enough words to say how much I love this series. Nathaniel Fludd is everything readers will want to see in a young hero. Murphy’s illustrations perfectly capture the essence of the characters and the atmosphere of the story while LaFevers’ writing creates a funny, exciting story that will appeal to readers of any age.

The book comes equipped with a handy glossary of real (and imagined) terms to help readers better make sense of the slighly Steampunk world of Beastologists and the era of 1928.

The series started with a powerhouse debut in Flight of the Phoenix and if this book is any indication, the series will only get better with each new installment.

Possible Pairings: The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley, The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer

Exclusive Bonus Content: I NEVER use the Sisters Grimm books as possible pairings because I hate them with a passion beyond all reason but I do love Nate Fludd and the book’s premises are kind of similar. I make no claims about how you will feel about the Sisters Grimm but it might be a good read alike (I am essentially the only person in the entire world who dislikes that series so the odds are good on that point) but in the spirit of full disclosure I thought I’d mention my own . . . quirks with that series.

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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: The Basilisk’s Lair (Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book 2)

Swoon at Your Own Risk: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

You could say Polly Martin wrote the book on love–specifically on why to avoid it all costs. Despite all of the sensible advice from her grandmother’s syndicated advice column Miss Swoon and the cautionary tale of her own mother’s divorce, Polly’s junior year was filled with dating disaster after disaster. After disaster. And a few more disasters besides.

Polly has learned her lesson and is trying to focus on making her life a boyfriend free zone and making up to her best friend for spending the better part of a year focusing on guys instead of, you know, being a best friend.

The only problem is that Polly’s exes keep turning up in all the wrong places. A misguided job application has her working with Sawyer at the Wild Waves water park where he keeps asking her about her feelings. Running for student council to impress Hayden has landed her the unenviable position of planning the senior prom.

Then there’s Xander Cooper who seems determined to become Polly’s next ex boyfriend. Except Polly is done with boys. For real.

Polly is surrounded by people, especially ex boyfriends, who think they know her. Except Polly has spent so much time trying impress or please other people that she isn’t even sure who she is herself anymore. But maybe a self-declared relationship failure really can find herself and fall in love while working at a Western-themed water park in Swoon at Your Own Risk (2010) by Sydney Salter.

Swoon at Your Own Risk is a light, summery book that packs a punch and won’t disappoint readers looking for a book with some depth. Salter writing effortlessly brings to mind summer and madness of a water park during summer vacation to create a setting so vivid readers would be advised to keep their inner tubes handy.

Beyond that, Polly is a really astute character and one of my favorite narrators so far this year. Emotionally, Polly is a mess. She can’t tell where her own interests end or where her efforts to pursue boys starts. In a lot of ways Polly does everything wrong; she does things she dislikes to attract boys and she pretends she isn’t smart to avoid attention and she avoids talking about her feelings like nobody’s business. But even at her lowest, Polly is endearing and so incredibly smart that readers are willing to follow her crazy journey throughout the book to see where it all ends.

The amazing thing is all of Polly’s crazy mixed emotions and motivations are conveyed so clearly with Salter’s writing. Her narrative voice is strong and original, tossing around SAT vocabulary words and chemistry(?) references in the same breath as she explains how important it was, at the time, to be interested cars so that she could have something to talk about with a boy.

As the title might suggest Swoon at Your Own Risk is part romance and part humor. But it’s also a lot more. And it’s really clever. Salter has  has created a delightful story and introduced a complex heroine that is a breath of fresh air.

Possible Pairings: The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti, Sea Change by Aimee Friedman, An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Exclusive Bonus Content (because I haven’t gushed enough yet): I also really, really, love the cover because I think it so perfectly captures the essence of this book. And I also need you all to know that Xander is amazing. He’s like the coolest male lead ever. He does origami and he writes in a notebook and I really wish I knew someone like him.

Finally, I also want to take a minute to mention how cool the structure of the book is. Polly’s first person narration is interspersed with excerpts from Miss Swoon’s advice column, a certain character’s notebook, and one of Polly’s coworker’s gossip blogs. That’s a lot of different voices and formats to juggle and Ms. Salter makes it look absolutely effortless.
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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: Swoon at Your Own Risk