snugglekitty

Title: Relative Magic
Author: Tanya Huff
Genre: Fantasy anthology
Setting: A mix of contemporary and historical, fictional and real settings.
Reason for Reading: I really like Tanya Huff and this was the only anthology of hers my library system carries.
Pages: 317
Copyright Date: 2003
Cover: A fancifully tattooed Egyptian-looking woman lounges with the attitude of a predator.
First line: "'Mom?' Beth Aswith opened her eyes and stared up at the young woman bending over her."
Best part: The mix of stories was very good.
Worst part: After long exposures Huff gets a little predictable.
Imaginary Theme Song: Something by They Might Be Giants.
Grade: C+
Recommended for: Fans of the author, fans of silly fantasy.
Related Reads: Blood Bank by the same author, anything by Terry Pratchett.

I only have one more book to review from 2009 and then I'll be done! Woot! And they were both chosen on the basis that they were pieces of fluff, so the reviews should be easy too.

Title: The Grand Sophy
Author: Georgette Heyer
Genre: YA Victorian goodness.
Setting: Various parts of England.
Reason for Reading: December is my least favorite month, so I try to find a book that will make me smile and read a chapter every day.
Pages: 372
Copyright Date: 1950
Cover: A woman in an upsetting hat looks down at her dog. The pair stand in front of a tall green door. She has a basket of flowers in her hands.
First line: "The butler, recognizing her ladyship's only surviving brother at a glance, as he afterwards informed his less percipient subordinates, favoured Sir Horace with a low bow, and took it upon himself to say that my lady, although not at home to less nearly-connected persons, would be happy to see him."
Best part: Oh, the tangled, funny web we weave.
Worst part: Parts of the book struck me as racist.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Hello Dolly!" by Louis Armstrong
Grade: B+
Recommended for: Those who enjoy fictional romantic tangles with a lot of complications and silliness.
Related Reads: Cotillion by the same author. Romances under the pen name Amanda Quick are pleasingly similar, but with more explicit sex and violence.

Sophy's careless father has sent her to stay with her London cousins while he enjoys a trip to Brazil. He hopes his sister will find her a husband while he's gone. But all is not well at Berkeley Square. The father Lord Ombersley spends as much time away from home as possible. The eldest son Charles is bullying everyone in the house, and engaged to a bluestocking girl as well. The beautiful daughter Cecilia is in love with a poet. They haven't counted on Sophy, though - or her plan to set things right.

Title: Rose: My Life in Service
Author: Rosina Harrison
Genre: Historical autobiography.
Setting: England, 1899 to 1964
Reason for Reading: It was recommended to me because I am interested in domestic service.
Pages: 237
Copyright Date: 1975
Cover: A shaded black and white drawing of a woman in a hat and coat standing in front of a mansion.
First line: "Although this book is about domestic service it is also about people, and apart from myself about one person in particular: Nancy, Lady Astor."
Best part: The intricate details of the running of the household were so fascinating.
Worst part: This is so different from the way that people expect to be treated nowadays. Lady Astor was incredibly mean to Rose and hardly paid her anything. Rose hardly had any life of her own.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Hard Day's Night" by the Beatles
Grade: C
Recommended for: Anyone who really wants to learn about the older traditions of domestic service. Anyone with an interest in the decadent life that nobles used to enjoy.
Related Reads: That's a tough one honestly. I don't read much in the way of autobiography and this is one of the first books I've found on old-school domestic service. I'll have to think about it.

Title: The Season
Author: Sarah MacLean
Genre: Historical YA.
Setting: Regency England.
Reason for Reading: I thought it was the first book in the Luxe series. I may have been wrong about that.
Pages: 336
Copyright Date: 2009
Cover: Three girls in daring Empire gowns. The blond one wears pink, with rose gloves. The darker one wears yellow with white gloves (not a good choice I'm afraid) and the third is in deep blue with matching gloves, in complete disregard of the fact that she has red hair.
First line: "The rain fell steadily on the rocks marking the edge of the Essex countryside, where the land fell in sheer cliffs to a frigid winter sea." I initially typed the first noun of that sentence as "train," which made it a lot funnier.
Best part: I enjoy the trio of friends at the center of the book.
Worst part: It didn't feel Regency. It felt like Gossip Girl in a corset. Well-brought up noble girls of this time period do not talk about their undergarments in mixed company or wear makeup without creating scandal.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Love Cats" by the Cure is about right
Grade: C
Recommended for: Anyone wishing to get lost in the clothing, dancing, and flirtation of a London Season.
Related Reads: Sorcery and Cecilia by Wrede and Stevermer is a much better book. Second Sight by Amanda Quick is slightly more adult but has a more engaging heroine.

Title: Dragon Lovers
Editor: None is listed, which frustrates me. Someone chose these stories, and moreover, they did quite a good job doing so. I would like to find more stories this editor has chosen but I have no way of doing so.
Genre: Fantasy romance.
Setting: We have the mystical kingdom of Saragonda, New Mexico in the present day, medieval England, and colonial Japan.
Reason for Reading: Sometimes you want to read something fluffy.
Pages: 375
Copyright Date: 2007
Cover: A woman in a fur-lined gown stares off the cover. If it really is cold out, her shoulders and bosom are going to catch a chil. There is a stone castle in the distance behind her.
First line: "'Being the Sacrifical Virgin Princess of Saragond stinks.'"
Best part: I liked all four of the stories in the book!
Worst part: Some of the dragons were a bit more, er, involved in the lovemaking than I was really pleased about.
Imaginary Theme Song: Dragon by Tori Amos
Grade: B-
Recommended for: People that love dragons. Anyone who likes the combination of fantasy and romance.
Related Reads: The Marriage Spell by Mary Jo Putney, To Weave a Web of Magic by Claire Delacroix, Lynn Kurland, Patricia A. McKillip, and Sharon Shinn, His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik.

Title: Homecoming
Author: Patricia Briggs and David Lawrence.
Artists: Francis Tsai and Amelia Woo.
Series: Mercy Thompson graphic novel series #1
Genre: Sexy pentacle tattoo, graphic novel.
Setting: Seattle in a dark world.
Reason for Reading: I enjoy Ms. Briggs.
Pages: 112
Copyright Date: 2009
Cover: A woman with more tattoos and accessories than clothing walks among wolves whose eyes glow golden. A warehouse, a chainlink fence and a telephone pole stand behind her.
First panel: Image of a full moon over a desolate landscape. A small yellow text box reads, "Go for... a run... I thought."
Best part: I actually especially enjoyed the interview between Briggs and Lawrence. It gave new dimensions to my understanding of the book and also seeing how a fantasy story gets adapted into a graphic novel.
Worst part: I didn't love the Francis Tsai portrayal of Mercy. Very sexual and not very badass. It talked about this in the interview a bit which helped me to understand why the art looked different in certain chapters.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Home Sweet Home" by Motley Crue
Grade: C+
Recommended for: This would be a decent introduction to the series for those who haven't been sure they wanted to commit. Hardcore Briggs fans will already be reading it.
Related Reads: Moon Called and Cry Wolf by the same author. Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher.

Title: The Game Beyond
Author: Melissa Scott
Genre: Science fiction
Setting: A galactic empire far in the future.
Reason for Reading: Uh, hello? It was a Melissa Scott book. One I had never even heard of, in fact.
Pages: 350, including an interesting nonfiction essay by CJ Cherryh on the future of conflict.
Copyright Date: 1984
Cover: A guy in romanesque robes and wearing a golden laurel wreath sits on a golden throne. He's looking at his console. There are spaceships all around.
First line: "The ambassador's shuttle swung high over the Palace compound, waiting for permission to land."
Best part: I enjoyed the societal conventions about warfare. It reminded me of the Compact in MZB's Darkover books.
Worst part: Scott, I know you love the VR. But fighting for the throne... with videogames? Come now.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay
Grade: C
Recommended for: Fans of "game of throne" type epics written on a galactic stage. Those interested in the idea of martial codes of honor.
Related Reads: The Dark Tower by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Burning Bright by Melissa Scott. The Prince Roger series by David Weber and John Ringo.

Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Genre: YA fantasy
Setting: Principally a graveyard in the present day. Big surprise there, I know.
Reason for Reading: I basically read everything Gaiman writes.
Pages: 307
Copyright Date: 2008
Cover: A tombstone with an angel on it, against a blue background.
First line: "Rattle his bones/ Over the stones/ It's only a pauper/ Who nobody owns"
Best part: It was really sweet.
Worst part: It was over too quickly.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Graveyard" by Tori Amos
Grade: B
Recommended for: Gaiman addicts like myself, fans of ghost stories.
Related Reads: Stardust by the same author. Charmed by Diana Wynne Jones. I'm trying to remember the name of a book I enjoyed as a teenager about a girl who was friends with a ghost, but unfortunately I can't remember it.

I hear that the title of this book comes from Kipling's The Jungle Book. Kipling wrote a book about a boy growing up in the jungle, raised by animals. Gaiman wrote a book about a boy growing up in the graveyard, raised by ghosts. Nobody Owens has loving parents, a mysterious guardian, and a special power - the Freedom of the Graveyard, which lets him see ghosts and work small magics. But he is not content with the small world he knows. What will he put at risk when he begins to explore the boundaries of the permissible?

I think this book is very charming, and not in a smarmy way. In a Gaiman way. If you are friends with an older child that loves weird stuff, get them this book. They'll be delighted.

Title: On the Edge
Author: Ilona Andrews(pen name for the husband and wife writing team of Ilona and Gordon Andrews).
Series: None so far, but I hope they'll write sequels!
Genre: This book gently straddles the line between "sexy pentacle tattoo" and contemporary fantasy.
Setting: Present day, in "the Edge," a rural area in between the domain of magic and the domain of science.
Reason for Reading: A loan from trouble4hire. Also, she and I have been enjoying their other series, featuring such titles as Magic Bites, Magic Burns, Magic Beats You Up and Steals Your Lunch Money, and my personal favorite, Magic Drops an Anvil On You From a Great Height.*
Pages: 326
Copyright Date: October 2009
Cover: A girl stands in front of a red pickup truck. She wears boots, jeans, and a denim jacket. She holds a shotgun with casual confidence. A naked male torso and face is in the upper left, seemingly unrelated to the rest of the picture.
First line: "'Rosie!' Grandpa's bellow shook the foundation of the house."
Best part: The minor characters were beautifully articulated.
Worst part: I found the love interest overbearing in a way that I felt was unfair to the main character.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Redneck Woman" by Gretchen Wilson
Grade: C+
Recommended for: Anyone who would like to see some country grit along with the ever-popular urban fantasy. Anyone who is interested in crossing the line between urban fantasy and sexy pentacle tattoo to see what the other side is like.
Related Reads: Magic Bites by the same author, The Wood Wife by Terri Windling, Moonwise by Greer Ilene Gilman

Those on the Edge can never truly fit in, not with the world of magic (the Weird) or the world of science (the Broken). But for Rose Drayton matters are even worse. She is an outsider even within the tiny suspicious community of Edgers, by virtue of magical power she should not be able to wield - but does. Resented by her neighbors, used by her employers, seen as a broodmare by the powerful nobility of the Weird, she's never had a normal date or enough money to do more than just scrape by. All she has is the weight of her responsibilities, and the promise of a better life for her younger brothers. But when a handsome and powerful stranger comes to town, even her strange magical talent may not be enough to protect what's hers...

I really enjoyed this book. I actually liked it better than the Magic Pushes You Down An Elevator Shaft* books. The characters were very believable and I enjoyed the world-building. I'd love to see a sequel. With all that being said, it frustrated me deeply that the main character was coerced into a magically binding oath. That hit my unfairness button squarely. Still, I think this is a good contribution to the genre.

*Yes, I'm kidding, but wouldn't those be great titles?

Title: Hunting Ground
Author: Patricia Briggs
Series: Charles and Anna, book 2. This series is a spin-off from Mercy Thompson.
Genre: Sexy pentacle tattoo.
Reason for Reading: I loved the first book in this series, Alpha and Omega, as well as the preceding novella.
Pages: 286
Copyright Date: 2009
Cover: A sad-faced woman leans against a large wolf with glowing eyes. When you look at her more closely, you notice that her eyes are amber and her nails are almost claws.
First line: "She observed him from her chosen cover, as she'd done twice before."
Best part: I really enjoyed seeing Anna grow through the course of this book.
Worst part: I found some aspects of the plot a bit predictable.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Whenever You're Ready" - by Mary Chapin Carpenter
Grade: B
Recommended for: Anyone who'd like a fantasy-oriented take on trauma recovery.
Related Reads: Alpha and Omega, first book in the series. Saber and Shadow by SM Sterling and Shirley Meier.

( A short excerpt. )