snugglekitty

Title: Legacies
Author: Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill. Based on the writing style I'm pretty sure it was mostly the latter.
Series: The Shadow Grail book One.
Genre: YA fantasy.
Setting: A rich, expensive, snarky private school where Weird Things are happening.
Reason for Reading: I basically read everything that Mercedes Lackey writes. I'm only occasionally embarrassed by this.
Finished In: Days
Pages: 320, including a sneak preview of the second book.
Copyright Date: 2010
Cover: An androgynous teen with long hair in a white tank top, black leather jacket, and blue jeans stands in front of an old building with barred windows. This makes little sense as the students are only allowed to wear the school uniform except on special occasions.
First line: "Someone was moaning."
Best part: I liked the descriptions of the school.
Worst part: The main character struck me as a whiny brat.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Oakhurst We Shall Not Forget Thee," the techno remix. (This song is not a real song but one featured in the book.)
Grade: C
Recommended for: Folks who like the "magic at a snobby private school" theme.
Related Reads: Vampire High by Douglas Rees. These authors haven't done other books similar to this one (thank goddess!) but you could try Burning Bright by Lackey or Speak Daggers to Her by Edghill to get more of an idea of their work.

So, what happens when good authors try to copy a crappy genre? If this book is any indication, they get more crap.

Title: Lord of the Changing Winds
Author: Rachel Neumeier
Series: The Griffin Mage Trilogy: Book One.
Genre: Fantasy.
Setting: The imaginary land of Feierabiand, where everyone has an affinity.
Reason for Reading: It was a loan and recommendation from my metamour.
Finished In: Days.
Pages: 387, including an interview with the author and a preview of the second book in the series.
Copyright Date: 2010
Cover: A raptor's eye, close up, shows the reflection of a woman's face. She looks back at the eye as though she may be frightened or resigned.
First line: "The griffins came to Feierabiand with the early summer warmth, riding the wind out of the heights down to the tender green pastures of the foothills."
Best part: Wow, this is an original fantasy. The ending was fantastic.
Worst part: At some points, I felt that some of the characters seemed to be acting out of character. "No, he wouldn't really do that!" I don't think this was the author's intention.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Honey" by Moby
Grade: A
Recommended for: Any fantasy enthusiasts that enjoy exploration of cross-species interaction.
Related Reads: Color of Distance by Amy Thompson, Carnival by Elizabeth Bear.

This book was so good that I am afraid to read the sequel, because what if it's not as good?

I think I mentioned in my user profile that I'm not really into dragons. Well, I'm not. But griffins - griffins to me are interesting. They are typically portrayed as being really majestic and noble and having inscrutable motives. I loved the griffins in this book, they did actually read as inhuman to me. I strongly recommend this title.

Another note - the related reads I mention are sf, not fantasy. I can't actually think of any other fantasies I've read that treated this cross-species stuff so seriously. If you can, mention it in the comments? Because maybe I've read something like this before and just can't remember that I did.

Title: Blood Orchid
Author: Stuart Woods
Series: Holly Barker #3 (These books are like crack, people.)
Genre: Thriller, police procedural.
Setting: Orchid Beach, a small town "the way Florida should have turned out but didn't."
Reason for Reading: Wanted a distraction.
Finished In: Days
Pages: 342, plus a sneak peek at the next book
Copyright Date: 2002.
Cover: A pink and red orchid on a bright red background. The author's name is embossed in gold.
First line: "Sara Tennant arrived at her office building in downtown Miami promptly at seven forty-five A.M., as was her habit."
Best part: In this book I enjoyed watching Holly interact with the different men in her life - her father, her second-in-command, her FBI buddy, her friends and love interests and suspects.
Worst part: Daisy didn't have a big part in this book and that disappointed me.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Tempted by the Fruit of Another"
Grade: C
Recommended for: Anything in this series is good for the plane, beach, or bathtub.
Related Reads: The first book in the series, Orchid Beach. Flint by Paul Eddy.

Title: The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After: Being the Private Correspondence Between Two Prominent Families Regarding a Scandal Touching the Highest Levels of Government and theSecurity of the Realm
Author: Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
Series: Sorcery and Cecelia, book three
Genre: YA fantasy, Letter Game
Setting: ... ten years after Sorcery and Cecelia.
Reason for Reading: I really enjoyed Magic Below Stairs and wanted to follow up.
Finished In: Days
Pages: 336
Copyright Date: 2009
Cover: A young girl stares into a scrying bowl. A ray of light emanates from it, illuminating a tower behind her in the distance. In the middle ground a smiling woman strolls through a field with a letter in her hand.
First line: "Dearest Kate, It was splendid to see you and Thomas and your boys again this fortnight past."
Best part: I loved the use of the railroad in this book.
Worst part: It was a little too cloying for me. Everyone is all settled down and cozy, and the antics of children are more interesting to me from the first person perspective. From the perspective of indulgent parents not so much.
Imaginary Theme Song: John Henry by Woody Guthrie
Grade: C+
Recommended for: People who like writing about children from the parents' perspective. I know they're out there. They're just not me.
Related Reads: Sorcery and Cecelia, which began the series. The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters.

Title: Magic Below Stairs
Author: Caroline Stevermer
Series: This seems to be a spin-off from the Sorcery and Cecilia series. It is not cowritten with Patricia Wrede, nor is it in the form of a Letter Game, but it features many of the same characters.
Genre: Young adult fantasy.
Setting: Post-Napoleon England, in a world where magic is known.
Reason for Reading: I'm pretty much a sucker for YA fantasy set in this time period.
Finished In: Days
Pages: 208
Copyright Date: June 2010
Cover: A boy in a cravat stands before a fireplace. A snake made of smoke lurks behind him.
First line: "In which Frederick makes himself useful."
Best part: It was really funny. I also enjoy it when minor characters get to take the lead in later books - this book was actually in my view much better than The Mislaid Magician, which features the original leading characters of the series.
Worst part: I wanted it to be much longer than it was. Over too quickly!
Imaginary Theme Song: "Scarborough Fair" has some of the old-fashioned feel of the book.
Grade: B. I would read it again but not right this minute.
Recommended for: Any reader over the age of ten who likes magic or Harry Potter.
Related Reads: Sorcery and Cecilia, first book in the series this spun off from. Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge. The Book Thief by Cornelia Funke.

Title: Flint
Author: Paul Eddy
Series: Grace Flint, #1
Genre: Suspense
Setting: Mostly the UK, with some vignettes in other places. In between the time of faxes and cell phones.
Reason for Reading: It was at the book swap, and oddly compelling.
Finished In: Weeks. In places it was oddly boring.
Pages: 422
Copyright Date: 2001
Cover: A black and white picture of a woman holding a gun. Her hair in blond and her face is grim. A targeting sight is locked on her. "Revenge has a new name. FLINT" is towards the bottom of the cover.
First line: "Grace Flint has a device smaller than a pack of cigarettes that she can hide in your car, or on your boat or plane - even, if it suits her, in your briefcase - that will track your precise location for the next six months. Unless the batteries give out, or the satellite goes on the blink." A little dated, isn't it?
Best part: I liked the different faces of Grace - the ways she presented herself when she went undercover, the various aspects of her "real life."
Worst part: I don't think that Eddy can write women very convincingly.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Good Girls Don't"
Grade: C-
Recommended for: This could be a plane read for those who are not picky. I don't suggest going out of your way or paying money for it.
Related Reads: The Blue Place by Nicola Griffith, Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten, and even The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo. The main character is not Scandanavian, but those books all have this odd flat bleak quality which Flint shares.

Current Location: Cambridge Public Library, main branch
Current Music: A New Groove - Putumayo

Title: Crazy for You
Author: Jennifer Crusie
Genre: Romance
Setting: A small town in America.
Reason for Reading: I had the goal of reading trashy fiction on my vacation.
Finished In: Days
Pages: 323, including a preview of Welcome to Temptation, which I actually already read.
Copyright Date: 1999
Cover: A pickup truck with a dog on top of the cab. From beneath the body, two pairs of legs are poking out, one male and one female.
First line: "On a gloomy March afternoon, sitting in the same high school classroom she'd been sitting in for thirteen years, gritting her teeth as she told her significant other for the seventy-second time since they'd met that she'd be home at six because it was Wednesday and she was always home at six on Wednesdays, Quinn McKenzie lifted her eyes from the watercolor assignments on the desk in front of her and met her destiny. Her destiny was a small black dog with desparate eyes, so she missed the significance at first."
Best part: I loved the side characters Darla and Nick and the way their relationship is portrayed. Novels almost never bother to spend time on established relationships, especially in the romance genre.
Worst part: This book is not as fluffy as I imagined. Anyone who has ever had a stalker might want to skip it.
Imaginary Theme Song: Of course, Crazy for You by Madonna.
Grade: C. It was good, with some parts that were great. I don't know if I'll reread it.
Recommended for: Fans of the romance genre, or those who'd like to try it, who, again, have never had stalkers.
Related Reads: Welcome to Temptation by the same author, and Agnes and the Hit Man which she cowrote with Bob Mayer. Also, Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews.

Title: The Peshawar Lancers (I can't see this title without thinking of my favorite naan, which is actually sort of horrible - to reduce a whole area and its culture and history to coconut flatbread?)
Author: SM Stirling
Genre: Alternate history with fantasy elements.
Setting: An India ruled by Britain - the capital of the Empire since comets changed Earth's climate rendering the Isles mostly uninhabitable - in a twenty-first century that seems more like the time of Victoria.
Reason for Reading: It seemed like the Change novels but set in a more Victorian world, and I found that very appealing.
Finished In: Days
Pages: 458, plus three appendices which I didn't choose to read.
Copyright Date: 2002
Cover: A man in cavalry dress looks out of a huge window toward the city before him. There is a dirigible on the horizon. Behind him, a woman rises from bed, showing a generous amount of leg. An excessively ornate clock sits on a small table between them.
First line: "Captain Athelstane King rinsed out his mouth with a swig from the goatskin water bag slung at his saddlebow."
Best part: I really enjoyed the female characters in this book.
Worst part: ( Cut for the squeamish. )
Imaginary Theme Song: An upbeat track from the Tantra Lounge, though I don't have a particular one in mind.
Grade: C
Recommended for: Alternate history buffs.
Related Reads: Dies the Fire by the same author, of course. Anno Dracula by Kim Newman. Works by Harry Turtledove.

Title: Fool's War
Author: Sarah Zettel
Genre: Sci fi, toward the "hard" end of the scale.
Setting: A farflung spacegoing empire that has not been able to forget its old prejudices, even while it acquires new ones.
Reason for Reading: I found this in a used book store while

mrpet and I were in Michigan.
Finished In: Weeks. It was very engrossing but also very dense.
Pages: 455
Copyright Date: 1997, though some of the cultural stuff reads like it was written after 9/11.
Cover: An androgynous figure juggles planets while floating in front of a spaceship hatch.
First line: "Curran watched the man whose life he required settle onto one of the faux leather couches scattered around the station's reception modules."
Best part: It made me think.
Worst part: At times there were too many characters to keep track of.
Imaginary Theme Song: "The Rodney King Song" by Fred Small
Grade: A-. Definitely a genre-changer.
Recommended for: Any fans of sci fi should give this one a look.
Related Reads: Galatea 2.2. by Richard Powers. The Remarkables by Robert Reed.

Every first-class spaceship needs two things - a great chef and a fool. Good food and humor help keep tempers from fraying on long voyages. But every fool has a secret. And the secret that Master Fool Evelyn Dobbs is holding could be fatal. For her and for everyone she holds dear.

I haven't read a lot of first-class books this year, but this was one. I particularly enjoyed the two female main characters, one of whom is Muslim. The portrayal of cultural intersections as humans expand into new worlds was amazing. Highly recommended.

Title: The Sleeping Beauty
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Series: 500 Kingdoms #5
Genre: Fairy tale retellings
Setting: The Five Hundred Kingdoms, where the Tradition rules all life.
Reason for Reading: I have enjoyed the previous books in this series.
Finished In: Days
Pages: 345
Copyright Date: 2010
Cover: Very pink. A woman in a fuschia gown has her hand to her face, as though she just woke up. Roses are around her, and a knight lurks in the background.
First line: "Mirror, mirror, in my hand, who's the fairest in the land?' Fairy Godmother Lily stared intently into the book-size, gilt-framed mirror she held cupped between her palms, and muttered under her breath, 'And if you say you are, Jimson, I am going to hurl you so hard against the wall they'll be looking for your shards with tweezers for years.'"
Best part: The inclusion of the Ring Cycle in this was quite frankly hilarious.
Worst part: A few aspects of the story seemed a little too easy.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Nolita Fairy Tale" by Vanessa Carlton
Grade: C+
Recommended for: Anyone who enjoys the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale should give it a look.
Related Reads: The Fairy Godmother by the same author. Godmother by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter.

Title: Spider's Bite
Author: Jennifer Estep
Series: Elemental Assassin, #1
Genre: Sexy Pentacle Tattoo
Setting: The Southern town of Ashland, in a world where elemental magic users are known for what they are.
Reason for Reading:

trouble4hire reviewed it favorably in her journal
Finished In: Weeks. The beginning was a little slow, though it picked up after that.
Pages: 395, plus a preview of the next book, Web of Lies
Copyright Date: 2010
Cover: Classic SPT - a woman stands in front of a barbecue joint. She's wearing cuffs, a "rune" is branded on her hand, and she's holding a knife behind her back. Tight jeans and a white tank complete the ensemble.
First line: "My name is Gin, and I kill people."
Best part: I feel like this book had just the right amount of bad stuff happening to the characters, if that makes sense. If there's not enough, it seems a little fluffy. If there's too much, it's depressing.
Worst part: It was perhaps too obvious that this book was setting up for a sequel. Several important plot lines were introduced without any resolution.
Imaginary Theme Song: "You're Not Alone" by ATB (If you click through, let me know how that experience was for you, I'm thinking about including more links to the imaginary theme songs.)
Grade: B-
Recommended for: Any fan of paranormal romance who is feeling a bit frustrated with heroines that don't stand up for themselves is going to find this a treat.
Related Reads: Karma Girl, a superhero romance by the same author. Staying Dead by Laura Anne Gilman. Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready.

Title: Good Morning, Irene
Author: Carole Nelson Douglas
Series: Irene Adler, book two
Genre: Mystery, pastiche
Setting: England, Paris and Monaco in the time of Sherlock Holmes
Reason for Reading: I enjoyed the first book, and ran across a cheap used copy of this.
Finished In: Days
Pages: 374
Copyright Date: 1990 (It weirds me out sometimes to read a book that's new to me, knowing it's been around a long time without my encountering it.)
Cover: A woman stares down at a body. Her expression is calculating. A sailor stands behind her in foul-weather gear.
First line: "The tragic and premature death of my friend Irene Adler was perhaps the most difficult circumstance of her life."
Best part: It's funny.
Worst part: I didn't find the plot all that engaging. It was a little too cozy for me.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Alice Blue Gown" (mentioned in the book)
Grade: C-
Recommended for: Holmes fans may wish to give it a look.
Related Reads: Good Night, Mr. Holmes by the same author, The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R King.

Title: Dexter by Design
Author: Jeff Lindsay (see cute little thing he wrote about the series popularity here, down at the bottom.
Series: Dexter #4
Genre: Thriller. Villainous protagonists. Serial killers.
Setting: Miami in the present day - only the first chapter happened in France.
Reason for Reading: I watched a few episodes of the series based on these books and it made me want to go back to the source.
Finished In: Days - two of them to be specific.
Pages: 304
Copyright Date: 2010
Cover: A man in a Hawaiian shirt stands in front of an easel overlooking the ocean. The ocean, the moon, the canvas, and the palette are all varying shades of red, not to mention the knife he's holding behind his back.
First line: "'Pardonnez-moi, monsieur. Ou est la lune? Alors, mon ancien, la lune est icic, ouvre la Seine, enorme, rouge, et humide. Merci, mon ami, I see it now."
Best part: There were some plot twists I didn't expect and thought were neat.
Worst part: This book was billed as taking place in Paris, but actually that was only the first chapter.
Imaginary Theme Song: "The Bug" by Mary Chapin Carpenter (eg, "sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug")
Grade: C
Recommended for: Any fans of the series will pretty much want to keep reading it. This book could attract some new fans though there's a lot of backstory at this point - if you start here you will want to go back to the beginning afterwards.
Related Reads: Darkly Dreaming Dexter, the first book, and the Hit Man series by Lawrence Block. I feel that the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn has some similarities, mostly around living with a predator in your inner landscape.

Title: Assassin Fantastic
Author: Martin H Greenberg
Series: The thematic "Fantastic" anthologies. Cat Fantastic, Fellowship Fantastic, Magic Banana Fantastic, you get the idea.
Genre: Fantasy, anthology.
Setting: Variable.
Reason for Reading: I enjoy reading about assassins, so I'd been looking for this book for a while.
Finished In: Days
Pages: 308
Copyright Date: 2001
Cover: Three assassins growing out of a flame in someone's hands. The hands are mysteriously floating over a dark landscape. I have no idea what that means.
First line: "What price a human life?" (Cheeeze!... I mean that this line is cheesy. Not that I would kill someone for cheese. ...even though I really, really like cheese.)
Best stories: "He" by Leyte Jefferson, "War of the Roses" by Rosemary Edghill, "A Touch of Poison" by Jane Lindskold
Worst story: That dubious honor goes, surprisingly, to "Myhr's Adventure in Hell" by PN Elrod, whose stories I usually enjoy a great deal.
Imaginary Theme Song: There aren't many songs about assassins. Or if there are, YOU MUST TELL ME NOW.
Grade: C-
Recommended for: I don't think I'd recommend it.
Related Reads: Finding Magic by Tanya Huff, though it's a much better book.

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

Title: Orchid Blues
Author: Stuart Woods
Series: Holly Barker #2
Genre: Mystery
Setting: Florida
Reason for Reading: I enjoyed the first one and wanted a light plane read.
Finished In: Hours
Pages: 377 including an author's note on how to reach him, plus an excerpt from the third installment, Blood Orchid.
Copyright Date: 2002
Cover: A simple black cover with a white orchid and red letters.
First line: "He waited until the last of the line had entered the cinema for the eight o'clock movie." (The beginning of an odd and mostly pointless first chapter.)
Best part: Wow, I did not see the plot of this book coming, AT ALL.
Worst part: The unexpected plot piece also made me sad.
Imaginary Theme Song: Another Lonely Night by Queensryche
Grade: C+. I didn't actually love it but I liked it a whole lot.
Recommended for: Folks who read Orchid Beach. I think others might be a bit confused by the many characters with whom Holly has a history.
Related Reads: Orchid Beach by the same author, 1st to Die by James Patterson.

Title: The Royal Treatment
Author: MaryJanice Davidson
Series: Alaska Royals, Book 1
Genre: Speculative chicklit?
Setting: An independent Alaska, ruled by a royal family.
Reason for Reading: I like Davidson for light, summery reads.
Finished In: Hours.
Pages: 320, including an excerpt from Hello, Gorgeous
Copyright Date: 2004
Cover: A woman stalks forward in boots and a long red robe. She holds a tiara in her hand and her hair is in a ponytail. There is a penguin sitting on the train of her robe.
First line: "Even today, with all the comforts of a peaceful twenty-first century, Alaskans are a hardy group, and none more so than the royal family."
Best part: Laugh out loud funny.
Worst part: The premise is slightly bizarre.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne
Grade: B
Recommended for: Penguin lovers, people entertained by celebrities in fiction.
Related Reads: Undead and Unwed, Hello, Gorgeous by the same author. Happy Hour of the Undead by Mark Henry, though naturally that one is a lot more creepy.

Title: The Golden Rose
Author: Kathleen Bryan, a pen name for Judith Tarr. I will note that it seems disingenuous to me when writers say it's their first book when it's a pen name.
Series: The War of the Rose, Book Two
Genre: Alternate history fantasy.
Setting: An alternate medieval Europe.
Reason for Reading: I liked book #1.
Finished In: Weeks, though not many. It was slow in places.
Pages: 287
Copyright Date: 2008
Cover: A woman in a black dress lies on the shore, staring blankly. Dead merpeople are beside her. An androgynous figure holds her in its arms. Waves come and go.
First line: "It's time."
Best part: Engrossing.
Worst part: Oddly predictable in places.
Imaginary Theme Song: Wild Child by Steppenwolf.
Grade: C+
Recommended for: Anyone who likes elaborate conspiracies. Conspiracies within conspiracies. Conspiracies against the conspiracies.
Related Reads: The Serpent and the Rose by the same author, The Magicians and Mrs Quent by Galen Beckett.

Title: The Girl Who Chased the Moon
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Genre: Magical realism.
Setting: The small town of Mullaby, North Carolina in the present day.
Reason for Reading: I enjoyed Allen's first book, Garden Spells, very much.
Finished In: Days
Pages: 269, cryptically including a list of the names of the full moons at the end.
Copyright Date: 2010
Cover: A deark-haired girl walking up stone steps that seem to lead nowhere. She is barefoot, wearing a red dress and carrying a lantern. The moon is full and the sky a deep shade of blue.
First line: "It took a moment for Emily to realize the car had come to a stop."
Best part: It pulls you in and rolls you through the pages with a scent of summer.
Worst part: The plot twist toward the end felt forced and confusing.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Small town" by John Mellencamp
Grade: B-
Recommended for: Fans of Alice Hoffman would enjoy her work.
Related Reads: Garden Spells by the same author, Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman.

Title: Burning Lamp
Author: Amanda Quick, aka Jayne Anne Krentz
Series: Book two of the Dreamlight Trilogy, which is part of the popular Arcane Society series. What I find interesting about this trilogy is that the first book takes place in modern times and the second in the Victorian era.
Genre: Fantasy romance.
Setting: Victorian England.
Reason for Reading: I think the Arcane Society books are some of Krentz' best, and I especially enjoy the historicals written under the name of Amanda Quick.
Finished In: Days
Pages: 340, including a previous of the last book in the trilogy.
Copyright Date: 2010
Cover: A woman's face peers out from behind a veil.
First line: "It took Adelaide Pyne almost forty-eight hours to realize that the Rosestead Academy was not an exclusive school for orphaned young ladies."
Best part: I enjoyed the side romance between Pyne's housekeeper and Winter's valet. I wish she'd devoted a few more pages to it.
Worst part: The plot managed to be both predictable and unbelievable.
Imaginary Theme Song: "After All" by Peter Cetera and Cher
Grade: C+
Recommended for: Anyone who's hooked on the series. It would not make a good starting place.
Related Reads:

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Entries tagged with books 2010

Legacies by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill

Lord of the Changing Winds by Rachel Neumeier

Blood Orchid by Stuart Woods

The Mislaid Magician by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

(no subject)

Flint by Paul Eddy

Crazy for You by Jennifer Crusie

The Peshawar Lancers by SM Stirling

Fool's War by Sarah Zettel

The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey

Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep

Good Morning, Irene by Carole Nelson Douglas

Dexter by Design by Jeff Lindsay

Assassin Fantastic edited by Martin H Greenberg

A Mighty Fortress by David Weber

Orchid Blues

(no subject)

The War of the Rose by Kathleen Bryan

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Burning Lamp by Amanda Quick