See you in 2013!

So that's it from us here -- 2013 is going to be an excellent year and I can't wait to see you all. I'm pretty excited for a new year!

10 Best Young Adult Novels of 2012

I finally have my coputer back! I've not been around much since November - took a bit of a blogging hiatus - and then my computer died in early December. It's finally fixed and back (my preciousssss), so I am back. I hope to be back to my 4 reviews a week patten by January. But, without further ado, my 10 favorite YA novels, of any genre, from 2012.

Honorable Mentions:

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz

Vaclav & Lena by Haley Tanner

White Cat by Holly Black

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

The City's Son by Tom Pollock

#10. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (The Grisha #1)

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

#9.The Diviners by Libba Bray (The Diviners #1)

 It's 1920s New York City. It's flappers and Follies, jazz and gin. It's after the war but before the depression. And for certain group of bright young things it's the opportunity to party like never before.

For Evie O'Neill, it's escape. She's never fit in in small town Ohio and when she causes yet another scandal, she's shipped off to stay with an uncle in the big city. But far from being exile, this is exactly what she's always wanted: the chance to show how thoroughly modern and incredibly daring she can be.

But New York City isn't about just jazz babies and follies girls. It has a darker side. Young women are being murdered across the city. And these aren't crimes of passion. They're gruesome. They're planned. They bear a strange resemblance to an obscure group of tarot cards. And the New York City police can't solve them alone.

Evie wasn't just escaping the stifling life of Ohio, she was running from the knowledge of what she could do. She has a secret. A mysterious power that could help catch the killer - if he doesn't catch her first.

#8. Unwind by Neal Shusterman (Unwind #1)

 

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. 

Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

#7. This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self.

To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live.

But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside.

When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

 #6. The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna

Eva's life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination--an echo. She was made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her "other," if she ever died. Eva spends every day studying that girl from far away, learning what Amarra does, what she eats, what it's like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.

But sixteen years of studying never prepared her for this.

Now she must abandon everything and everyone she's ever known--the guardians who raised her, the boy she's forbidden to love--to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive.

What Eva finds is a grief-stricken family; parents unsure how to handle this echo they thought they wanted; and Ray, who knew every detail, every contour of Amarra. And when Eva is unexpectedly dealt a fatal blow that will change her existence forever, she is forced to choose: Stay and live out her years as a copy or leave and risk it all for the freedom to be an original. To be Eva.

From debut novelist Sangu Mandanna comes the dazzling story of a girl who was always told what she had to be--until she found the strength to decide for herself.

#5. Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott

On my fourteenth birthday when the sakura was in full bloom, the men came to kill us. We saw them come, Aimi and me. We were excited, because we did not know how to be frightened. We had never seen soldiers before.

Suzume is a shadow-weaver. She can create mantles of darkness and light, walk unseen in the middle of the day, change her face. She can be anyone she wants to be. Except herself.

Suzume died officially the day the Prince's men accused her father of treason. Now even she is no longer sure of her true identity.

Is she the girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother’s new husband, Lord Terayama? A lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama’s kitchens? Or Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands?

Everyone knows Yue is destined to capture the heart of a prince. Only she knows that she is determined to use his power to destroy Terayama.

And nothing will stop her. Not even love.

#4. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

I have two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.

That’s what you do to enemy agents. It’s what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine — and I will do anything, anything, to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.

He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I’m going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France — an Allied Invasion of Two.

We are a sensational team.

#3. Chime by Franny Billingsley 

Before Briony's stepmother died, she made sure Briony blamed herself for all the family's hardships. Now Briony has worn her guilt for so long it's become a second skin. She often escapes to the swamp, where she tells stories to the Old Ones, the spirits who haunt the marshes. But only witches can see the Old Ones, and in her village, witches are sentenced to death. Briony lives in fear her secret will be found out, even as she believes she deserves the worst kind of punishment.

Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and mane of tawny hair. He's as natural as the sun, and treats her as if she's extraordinary. And everything starts to change. As many secrets as Briony has been holding, there are secrets even she doesn't know.

#2. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor 

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

and 

#1. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta 

I'm dreaming of the boy in the tree. I tell him stories. About the Jellicoe School and the Townies and the Cadets from a school in Sydney. I tell him about the war between us for territory. And I tell him about Hannah, who lives in the unfinished house by the river. Hannah, who is too young to be hiding away from the world. Hannah, who found me on the Jellicoe Road six years ago.

Taylor is the leader of the boarders at the Jellicoe School. She has to keep the upper hand in the territory wars and deal with Jonah Griggs - the enigmatic leader of the cadets, and someone she thought she would never see again.

And now Hannah, the person Taylor had come to rely on, has disappeared. Taylor's only clue is a manuscript about five kids who lived in Jellicoe eighteen years ago. She needs to find out more, but this means confronting her own story, making sense of her strange, recurring dream, and finding her mother - who abandoned her on the Jellicoe Road.

Review: Gilded by Karina Cooper

Title: Gilded
Author: Karina Cooper
Genre: steampunk
Series: The St. Croix Chronicles #2
Pages: 384 (Nook ARC edition)
Published: expected December 26, 2012
Source: publishers via edelweiis
Rating: 4/5

The second book in Karina Cooper's stunning steampunk series featuring fearless heroine Cherry St. Croix, in which she is faced with two men after her heart—and one killer out for her blood.

In the gleaming heights of Victorian London, a world of deception awaits an unconventional Society lady whose taste for adventure makes her a most formidable adversary . . .

Though Society demands that I make a good marriage, I, Cherry St. Croix, have neither the time nor the interest. I am on the trail of a murder with no victim, a mystery with no motive, and the key to an alchemical formula that could be my family's legacy.

Yet the world is not so kind as to let me pursue simple murder and uncomplicated bounties. Above the foggy drift, an earl insists on my attention, while my friends watch my increasingly desperate attempts to remain my own woman. From the silken demands of the Midnight Menagerie—to whose dangerously seductive ringmaster I owe a debt—to the rigorous pressures of the peerage, all are conspiring to place before me a choice that will forever change my life.

Second in a steampunk series that continues to grow on me more and more as I get my hands on them, Gilded is a nearly perfect follow-up to the oodles of fun and suspense that was Tarnished.  As before, Karina Cooper's obvious talent for worldbuilding, setting, and for crafting real, complex characters rises to the surface and helps to make this one of the better steampunk novels I've read this year. I raced through and loved the first book earlier this year, and I can say that the months of expecting this sequel was more than worth the wait. The take on the steampunk aspect is still fresh, fun, and above all, wholly original in its execution; Cherry remains the same stubborn, clever, funny heroine she showed herself to be before. 

I've said it before, but I love how uniquely this author incorporates the steampunk aspect into her novel of murder and mystery. So many "steampunk" novels pay bare lip service to the label; supplying an airslip, clockwork or an automaton does not a steampunk novel make. Karina Cooper's version of a London split in two - Upper London, above the smog, and Lower London among it - merged with air canals and sky gondolas. In my review for the first I thought the concept made this London feel like a steampunk, if thoroughly English, Venice. It's creative, it's unique, and most importantly, Karina Cooper makes it work for her story and world. While the world itself isn't expanded too much from what was shown and revealed in the first novel, the solid foundation laid down in Tarnished continues to reap benefits in its direct sequel. This is how I want my retrofuturistic cities to be done - originally, with careful thought, and with relevance to the world it exists within.

The cast of characters of the novel are another bonus. Cherry is just as lively and complex as she had been, but characters that I had been ambivalent towards before were fleshed out and more involved than before. I actually got a feel for Earl Cornelius Compton (who, honestly, I was rooting against in the love triangle for Cherry's attention), and for Cherry's previously aloof governess. The more time and attention spent on these secondary characters made it a more rewarding effort. The villain might have been a tad too obvious for my liking, but overall, was camouflaged well with Cherry's thoughts and through several clever, throughout-out red herrings.

Fast-paced, action-packed, full of revelations and Society intrigue, Gilded is a quick and easy read. The pages really do fly by as Cherry maneuvers among the nobility and collects among the lower classes below the drift. I was never bored, and trying to keep one step ahead of this quick-thinking sleuth was hard to do. The ending was particularly well-done; I did not see that coming, and it throws the trajectory of the series into a new direction. Cooper is a deft and clever writer; one that is more than capable of lulling her readers into a false sense of security and then pulling the rug from under their feet. I was impressed, entertained, and always engaged with this novel.

I must say, I am a fan of Karina Cooper and of this series. It's just that the plot of book two didn't grab me quiiiiiiite as much as the one for the first of the series, Tarnished. That one remains my favorite of the two, but Gilded is no slouch. There is plenty of action, several gamechanging (and very unexpected) plot twists that will keep readers engaged and continually guessing who will win in this deadly game Cherry has begun. Fans of steampunk, clever and capable heroines, and well-done plotting should really pick this series up and give Miss St. Croix a chance. 

Book Tour Review: The Raven's Heart by Jesse Blackadder

Title: The Raven's Heart
Author: Jesse Blackadder
Genre: historical fiction
Series: N/A
Pages: 462 (ARC edition)
Published: January 2011
Source: HFVBT for review
Rating: 4/5

 Scotland, 1561, and a ship comes across the North Sea carrying home Mary, the young, charismatic Queen of Scots, returning after thirteen years in the French court to wrest back control of her throne.

The Blackadder family has long awaited for the Queen's return to bring them justice. Alison Blackadder, disguised as a boy from childhood to protect her from the murderous clan that stole their lands, must learn to be a lady-in-waiting to the Queen, building a web of dependence and reward.

Just as the Queen can trust nobody, Alison discovers lies, danger, and treachery at every turn.

This sweeping, imaginative, and original tale of political intrigue, misplaced loyalty, secret passion, and implacable revenge is based on real characters and events from the reign of Mary Queen of Scots.

An impressive and lengthy historical fiction debut from an author with a unique perspective, Jesse Blackadder explores and animates Scotland in the 1500's with this detailed and epic look at a family desperate for their ancestral inheritance during the time of the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. With some of the hallmarks expected from a novel looking at a treacherous Court of an unsteady Queen like betrayal, deception and unrequited love, Blackadder still manages to inject some new ideas and characters into a story well-known hundreds of years later. With a tagline of "a story of a quest, a castle, and Mary, Queen of Scots" I had a feeling this would be a novel right up my alley - and I was right. I was vastly entertained by Blackadder's vision, and found myself both eager for resolution and reluctant to end my time with such indelible characters.

The strongest aspect of the novel is without a doubt the main character and narrator of Alison Blackadder. I can honestly say that this complicated and realistic young woman is utterly unlike any other historical fiction protagonist I have ever read before. I always love reading about girls disguising themselves as boys - to spy, to learn, whatever the cause may be - and Alison's years masquerading as a young man named Robert left a mark on her character. She is androgynous, bisexual, smart, patient, and above all, authentic in all her various manifestations. There are some obvious parallels between her and her Queenly counterpart - two displaced young woman desperate to come into their own and their inheritance, one as a Queen and the other as noble without her ancestral castle - but Alison is unique, and interesting. Even more so than the Queen she loves and cannot escape, Alison commands a lot of attention. I thought her narration was consistently strong, and the benefit of having such a unique voice is not lost as the pages rapidly add up.

Alison/Robert is the strongest in a strong cast, but Blackadder extends the same believability and roundedness to her other players. Mary, the Queen, is conflicted and willful, dangerous and scared, determined and unsure; one never can know which way this Queen will turn. Her personal evolution over the six years that are covered in the novel is natural, and in tune with the historical record. It can be hard to re-imagine such a prominent figure in English/Scottish history, but Blackadder is more than up to the task, as she proves with The Raven's Heart. Her Mary is just as engaging and compelling as that from more established writers, and can stand up to similar versions like the one Margaret George rendered in Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles. The latter may have been the first novel about this infamous queen I had read, but Blackadder proves she can match and improve on what has been printed before.The relationship between the two central female characters is the foundation of the novel and for much of Alison's actions throughout, and I found it refreshing to have two such varied, but strong, illustrations of women in a time when those few and far between.

Blackadder's personal history with the real-world lost castle that Alison maneuvers for adds another layer to an already fresh take on the story. I loved the historical facts mixed so seamlessly into the novel, but it was Alison's fictional plot about a real castle, one that the author has legitimate ties to, that captivated me the most during my read of The Raven's Heart. Alison and her quest are imagined, but they felt real while I was reading. I invested early with this character, and through her hurts and her far-too-few triumphs, I was always hoping for the best, if not expecting things to fall how I wanted. Blackadder doesn't necessarily end the story the way one would expect, and though the frequent back-and-forth nature during the last 100 pages made me slightly dizzy, I loved how the quest came to its fruition. I could've done without a few of the turnarounds - after the third, I stopped counting - but it was well worth the wait to see how it all fell to for Alison, her father, and her future.

A unique perspective, a well-drawn and realistic main character, an involving plot and a more than well-set scene make The Raven's Heart a welcome addition to the well-known story of Mary, Queen of Scots. A rather dense novel with easy and blunt prose, this is a book that will linger in my memory. I look forward to whatever else Jesse Blackadder does in the future with her considerable talent, and also to the future rereads and fun I will have with her historical fiction debut.

Don't miss the tour stops still to come!

Thursday, December 6 
Review & Giveaway at Griperang's Bookmarks

Friday, December 7
Review & Giveaway at Paperback Princess

Monday, December 10
Review at Book Journey
Review & Giveaway at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!

Tuesday, December 11
Review & Giveaway at Unabridged Chick

Wednesday, December 12
Review at Bonjour Cass
Review at The Worm Hole

Thursday, December 13
Review & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair

Friday, December 14
Review at Book Dilettante

Monday, December 17
Review at Confessions of an Avid Reader

Tuesday, December 18
Review at One Book at a Time
Review & Giveaway at Book of Secrets

Wednesday, December 19
Review & Giveaway at Broken Teepee

Thursday, December 20
Review at The Musings of a Book Junkie
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time

Friday, December 21
Review at JulzReads
Review at A Chick Who Reads
Review at Raging Bibliomania

Book Tour Review: The Master of Verona by David Blixt

Title: The Master of Verona
Author: David Blixt
Genre: historical fiction, retellings
Series: Star-Cross'd #1
Pages: 592 
Published: July 2007
Source: HFVBT for review
Rating: 4/5

In 1314, seventeen year old Pietro Alighieri  travels to Verona with his father, the infamous poet Dante, at the invitation of its leader, the legendary Francesco “Cangrande” della Scala.  A sneak attack from Padua leads Pietro into his first battle, fighting alongside the charismatic Cangrande, and into a tight friendship with Mariotto Montecchio and Antonio Capulletto.  Behind the scenes, repeated attempts are made against the life of a child believed to be Cangrande’s illegitimate son and possible heir.

Pietro is drawn into the web of intrigue around the child and the tension building between Mariotto and Antonio over a woman betrothed to one and in love with the other – a situation that will sever a friendship, divide a city, and ultimately lead to the events of the best known tragic romance in the world.

If you were to create a sweeping historical novel set in 14th century Verona with prophecy, jealousy, conspiracy, deception, murder, betrayal and star-crossed love, The Master of Verona is what you would get. It's a long novel, a dense one as well, that packs in a multitude of players, ideas, themes, and carries them from place to place in convoluted, intricately-woven plot of destiny and desire. Taking favorite novels like Romeo and Juliet, and authors of Italian classics like Dante himself, and reinterpreting/re-humanizing them in a new way, David Blixt has set quite a standard with just the first in his Star-Cross'd series. With a keen eye for period and setting detail as well as for crafting a diverse, interesting cast of engaging heroes (and anti-heroes), Blixt has proven himself a more than capable storyteller with talent to burn.

As the author acknowledges in his (extremely readable and interesting) afterward, certain details from historical record have been hedged or completely changed to suit the version of the story he wanted to create. It's all to the benefit of the story, as the immense detail and description provided do more than enough to create a real feel for both characters and the Italian city-state they fight for, and defend, so staunchly. The place as character is really worth mentioning - it's as top notch as the brisk battle scenes, and as alive as the eponymous master of Verona himself, Francesco "Cangrande" della Scala, himself. So much about The Master of Verona is epic in scope - the characters, the plot - and the setting(s) of the novel are no different. Each time the narrative jumps from one place to another, be it Antonia in Florence or a battle in Padua, each scene set in an Italian city is remarkably vibrant, down to the clothes the characters are wearing. Verona especially receives the time and attention of this detail-orientated author, and it is ever more to the benefit of his readers. Seeing the disparate parts of a war-like and divided Italy recreated by such an able author was endlessly fascinating, from Venice to Verona to Padua.

With new twists on famous people, either fictional (Romeo, Juliet) or factual (Cangrande, Dante), Blixt breathes life into his characters. Main character and chief protagonist Pietro Alaghieri (formerly Alighieri) is one of those most interesting characters, but it is the titular Master of Verona, Cangrande himself, that looms larger than life in this debut novel. His actions affect everyone around him, set the plot in motion, and engage the reader. He's more distant than 3rd-person narrator of Pietro, but he commands a lot of attention from the page he is introduced. As Pietro is drawn ever closer to the Great Hound of Italy, plots and conspiracies grow ever more dangerous. The beginning is the hardest go get a sure grasp on the cast, and their respective agendas - the complicated and multiple names, alliances, marriages, cousins - of each character can make it hard to differentiate between multiple people. While the dramatis personae and supporting characters listed at the front of the novel do help, soon nough Blixt grants each character more than enough time, dialogue and action to distinguish themselves from their compatriots (or enemies, in the case of minor antagonist Marsilio de Carrara), but none more than the illustrious and charmed Capitane of Verona.

Clocking in at a hefty and respectable 592 pages, reading The Master of Verona is no mean feat, or an easy commitment. The daunting page count, the impressive cast of characters, the innumerable plots and subplots can be daunting when starting out on such a detailed, intricate journey. I did find this a rewarding, engaging read -- for the most part. The tendency to wax poetic and get rather longwinded is one of the few faults I found while racing through this novel over a two day period. Obviously the digressions and occasional repetitions were not egregious enough to put me off my read entirely, but certain sections of the novel do seem worthy of editing down a page or five, and kept this from a 5/5 rating for me, personally. It was so close to perfect, but I couldn't completely sign off on the last chapters of this epic novel. The last 150 pages, barring the final 10, were the hardest for me to get through patiently. I was eager to get to the bottom of everything that had come to pass, and it all seemed just a little bit too drawn out - with escapade after escapade coming quickly.

With complicated characters, a truly ingenious plot full of unforeseen - and gamechanging! - twists, Blixt is an author who certainly knows how to subvert expectations skillfully. The ending events and revelations that come at the denouement of The Master of Verona are, without doubt, one hell of a doozy. It was one that managed to take me completely by surprise, due to the actions of characters with even more hidden agendas than I had figured out/assumed. Not afraid to toy with preconceptions or previous hints, Blixt ably and succinctly pulled some very deft maneuvering that felt both natural, as well as remarkable. The revelations are creative, clever, and a smart way to ensure continued readership for the next book in Blixt's series, Voice of the Falconer.

I had a lot of fun with this book. I love when authors aren't afraid to try for a lot, or something new, and Blixt does both here, in a debut, no less! I was impressed by the subtlety of the plot, the complexity of the characters and their motivations, and by the ease with which he re-imagined such pop culture favorites (the new Capulletes and Montecchio's and how complelxly their feud evolved had me more invested in a R&J retelling than any I've read before). Fourteenth century Italy has never been more intriguing, or dangerous, than when penned by this promising and talented author. I can't wait to see what is in store for the final two volumes of the Star-Cross'd series. 

If you're interested, don't miss the other stops on the virtual tour!

Tuesday, December 4
Review (Her Majesty's Will) at A Bookish Affair
Review (The Master of Verona) at Ageless Pages Reviews
Wednesday, December 5
Review & Giveaway (Colossus) at Broken Teepee
Author Guest Post & Giveaway (Her Majesty's Will) at A Bookish Affair
Thursday, December 6
Review & Giveaway (The Master of Verona) at Peeking Between the Pages
Friday, December 7
Review (Her Majesty's Will) at So Many Books, So Little Time
Review (The Voice of the Falconer) at Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books
Monday, December 10
Author Guest Post at Bibliophilic Book Blog
Review & Giveaway (The Master of Verona) at Confessions of an Avid Reader
Tuesday, December 11
Review (The Voice of the Falconer) at Ageless Pages Reviews
Wednesday, December 12
Review (The Master of Verona) at The Musings of a Book Junkie
Author Guest Post (Her Majesty's Will) at A Bookish Libraria
Thursday, December 13
Review (Her Majesty's Will) at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!
Author Interview (The Master of Verona) at The Musings of a Book Junkie
Friday, December 14
Review & Giveaway (Her Majesty's Will) at Kinx's Book Nook
Author Guest Post & Giveaway (Her Majesty's Will) at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!
Monday, December 17
Review (Her Majesty's Will) at Broken Teepee
Tuesday, December 18
Review (Fortune's Fool) at Ageless Pages Reviews
Wednesday, December 19
Review (The Master of Verona) at Enchanted by Josephine
Review & Giveaway (Her Majesty's Will) at The Maiden's Court
Thursday, December 20
Review (Voice of the Falconer) at Enchanted by Josephine
Friday, December 21
Review (The Master of Verona) at Bippity Boppity Book
Review (Voice of the Falconer) at Historical Tapestry & The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader
Author Interview at Enchanted by Josephine
 

TBR Planning for December 2012

So my second year of blogging is winding to a close. It's been a good year but I think I need some more change to get where I want to go with this hobby. I took some steps: I renamed my blog. I took on a coblogger. I found a rhythm, but  I also got into a lot of slumps where I wasn't productive. I put a lot of pressure on myself and then got mad when I couldn't meet those impossible goals. For me? I've realized I can't post every day.

I can read every day, post sometimes, and have a life.

Or I can read sometimes, post everyday, and have a life. I choose the former. I think my content is better that way and I don't drive away people with my verbosity.

But I am not going to post less -- just not feel the internal/external pressure to post EVERY DAY. With Dani around, I have more than enough help to make next year better.

That said, organization is key. I am really going to work on getting myself in a helpful routine. I have found I do a lot better when I review a novel right after reading. I also do better when I try to hold to a loose reading plan. Not a schedule, but an idea of things I definitely need to prioritize in that month.

For the last month of this year, I plan to read and review:

In the gleaming heights of Victorian London, a world of deception awaits an unconventional Society lady whose taste for adventure makes her a most formidable adversary . . .

Though Society demands that I make a good marriage, I, Cherry St. Croix, have neither the time nor the interest. I am on the trail of a murder with no victim, a mystery with no motive, and the key to an alchemical formula that could be my family's legacy.

Yet the world is not so kind as to let me pursue simple murder and uncomplicated bounties. Above the foggy drift, an earl insists on my attention, while my friends watch my increasingly desperate attempts to remain my own woman. From the silken demands of the Midnight Menagerie—to whose dangerously seductive ringmaster I owe a debt—to the rigorous pressures of the peerage, all are conspiring to place before me a choice that will forever change my life.

Gilded by Karina Cooper (St. Croix Chronicles #2)
The second in a romance steampunk series I find myself enjoying more than anticipated.


The Raven's Heart by Jesse Blackadder
LGBT and genderbending history! You know that I signed onto this blog tour as soon as I could finish reading the summary. It looks and sounds fascinating -- plus a fresh POV on English history is always wanted.

Review: Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Scent of Magic
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Genre: fantasy
Series: Avry of Kazan #2/Healer #2
Pages: 416 (Nook ARC edition)
Published: expected December 18 2012
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 2.75/5

Hunted, Killed—Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.

A swing and a miss for veteran fantasy author Maria V. Snyder. The first novel, Touch of Power, was a great introduction to the newest series by this prolific writer, but much like what happened for me with her Study series, the sequel left a lot to be desired. It took me a while to sort out how I felt about this novel after finishing it, especially deciding on the rating. 3 stars? 2.5? I just split the difference and settled with 2/75. What I have decided is that this is a far cry from its action-packed predecessor. All the key elements are here - Avry, Kerrick, their chemistry [for the 30ish pages they're together...], the monkeys, the new spin  on magic. Where Scent of Magic fell apart for me was the slower pace, and the complete and utter lack of any actual plot momentum. I was bored for a lot of this read - and for a novel that clocks in at a hefty 416 pages, that's a lot of time to be bored.

I had to sit and think on this, but I seem to see a pattern with Snyder's inability to follow-up awesome first novels. It's a shame, because this series, with these likeable, usually interesting characters, have a lot of potential. I was frustrated with so much of what doesn't happen over the duration of the book. There's a lot of Kerrick missing/worrying about Avry, and her the same about him. EVERY CHAPTER, it must be stated how worried one is about the other - give me a break. It feels like filler, and it doesn't help that in the first 120 pages, nothing important happened. I distinctly remember thinking, "C'mon, Snyder, you're better than this." Another irk for me was the POV shifts from Avry's first-person to Kerrick's third person. They go their separate ways early on, and while I can see why Snyder's used multiple POVs to show the larger story at play, I will never be a fan of such rapid, and vastly different POV styles.

For all the POV headjumping, all the trekking around from one place to another, the endless woods-traininf and all the hidden identities and secrets and foul play, not much of note happens in Scent of Magic. While the characters can pick up some of the slack, there isn't a whole lot of evolution going on for them, either. It's unfortunate, but it doesn't seem like Avry or Kerrick or anyone else really grew or changed from the version shown of them in the first novel. Avry is well-written and a strong female character in a fantasy world (which are few and far in between), but her trials and tribulations seem small - except in the case of her sister. Kerrick, whom I loved in the first book, was somewhat..... wooden and flat in this. He had moments of brilliance and interest, but I didn't invest in him the same way I had before.  Sequel syndrome struck with a vengeance here, for both plot, characters, pace, and momentum. It's a shame, because this series (still) has the potential to be awesome. I'll hold out hope for book three - Taste of Death - but not my breath.

I always want to like Maria V. Snyder's novels, but I can't help but see patterns and similarities the more of them I read. Even characters can read reminiscently of ones from before (like the "monkeys" from this series and Ari and Janco from the Study series, or Valek/Kerrick). Snyder really seems to struggle and end up disappointing with sequels after a promising first novel (see also: the Study series rapid decline from awesome to blah to baaaad). With so much potential and so many plotlines to engage with, it's a shame that Scent of Magic fails to live up to it's predecessor and fails to advance the plot in any meaningful way. So - 2 stars for fun, interesting - if stagnant - characters, and .75 for all the mess rest.

Here We Go Again

Remember that post, from about a week ago, about how I promised my boyfriend I wouldn't buy any more book this year? I literally have hundreds of books that I've bought and are unread, but I can't keep that promise. It's Black Friday, and through the wonders of internet shopping, I bought 10 books, for under $85 - with 4 of them being hardback copies. I am ashamed, and excited!

I bought all three of Charlie Higson's The Enemy series -  each novel was half off at B&N!

The Enemy - The Enemy #1 - by Charlie Higson

They'll chase you. They'll rip you open. They'll feed on you...When the sickness came, every parent, policeman, politician - every adult - fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry. Only children under fourteen remain, and they're fighting to survive. Now there are rumours of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through the city - down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground - the grown-ups lie in wait. But can they make it there - alive?

Teens battle diseased grown-ups in this post-apocalyptic thriller full of unexpected twists and quick-thinking heroes.

The Dead - The Enemy #2 - by Charlie Higson

  

THE DEAD begins one year "before" the action in THE ENEMY, just after the Disaster. 

A terrible disease has struck everyone sixteen and over, leaving them either dead or a decomposing, flesh-eating creature. The action starts in a boarding school just outside London, where all the teachers have turned into sickos. A few kids survive and travel by bus into the city. The bus driver, an adult named Greg, seems to be unaffected by the disease. Then he begins to show the dreaded signs: outer blisters and inner madness. The kids escape Greg and end up at the Imperial War Museum. A huge fire in South London drives them all to the Thames, and eventually over the river to the Tower of London. 

The Fear - The Enemy #3 - by Charlie Higson

 

The sickness struck everyone over the age of fourteen.

Mothers and fathers, older brothers, sisters and best friends. No one escaped its touch. And now children across London are being hunted by ferocious grown-ups . . .

They’re hungry. They’re bloodthirsty. And they aren’t giving up.

Dog Nut and the rest of his crew want to find their lost friends, and set off on a deadly mission from the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace and beyond, as the sickos lie in wait. But who are their friends and who is the enemy in this changed world?

I bought the first two in Sandra Byrd's Ladies in Waiting historical fiction series. I've already read (and loved) the Secret Keeper when I was granted an ARC, but I wanted a finished copy of both it and its predecessor.  

To Die For - Ladies in Waiting #1 - by Sandra Byrd 

 Meg Wyatt has been Anne Boleyn's closest friend since they grew up together on neighboring manors in Kent. So when twenty-five-year-old Anne's star begins to ascend, of course she takes Meg along for the ride.

Life in the court of Henry VIII is thrilling... at first. Meg is made mistress of Anne's wardrobe, and she enjoys the spoils of this privileged orbit and uses her influence for good. She is young and beautiful and in favor; everyone at court assumes that being close to her is being close to Anne.

But favor is fickle and envy is often laced with venom. As Anne falls, so does Meg, and it becomes nearly impossible for her to discern ally from enemy. Suddenly life's unwelcome surprises rub against the court's sheen to reveal the tarnished brass of false affections and the bona fide gold of those that are true. Both Anne and Meg may lose everything. When your best friend is married to fearsome Henry VIII, you may soon find yourself not only friendless but headless as well.

A rich alchemy of fact and fiction, To Die For chronicles the glittering court life, the sweeping romance, and the heartbreaking fall from grace of a forsaken queen and Meg, her closest companion, who was forgotten by the ages but who is destined to live in our hearts forever.

The Secret Keeper - Ladies in Waiting #2 - by Sandra Byrd

 Mistress Juliana St. John is the lovely, forthright daughter of a prosperous knight’s family. Though all expect her to marry the son of her late father’s business partner, time and chance interrupt, sending her to the sumptuous but deceptive court of Henry VIII.
 
Sir Thomas Seymour, brother of the late Queen Jane, returns to Wiltshire to conclude his affairs with Juliana’s father’s estate and chances upon her reading as lector in the local church. He sees instantly that she would fit into the household of the woman he loves and wants most to please, Kateryn Parr. Juliana’s mother agrees to have her placed with Parr for a season and Juliana goes, though reluctantly.

 For she keeps a secret.

 As Juliana accompanies Kateryn Parr to court, Henry’s devout sixth queen raises the stakes for all reformers. Support of firebrand Anne Askew puts the queen and her ladies in life-threatening jeopardy, as does the queen’s desire to influence her husband’s—and the realm’s—direction and beliefs. Later, without Henry’s strong arm, the court devolves to competition, duplicity, and betrayal. The risks could not be higher as Juliana must choose between love and honor, personal fulfillment and sacrifice. Ultimately, her course is driven by a final kept secret, one that undoes everything she thought she knew.

 And from Amazon:

The Balefire omnibus (A Chalice of Wind, A Circle of Ashes, A Feather of Stone, A Necklace of Water) by Cate Tiernan

After seventeen-year-old Thais Allard loses her widowed father in a tragic car accident, she is forced to leave the only home she's ever known to live with a total stranger in New Orleans. New Orleans greets Thais with many secrets and mysteries, but none as unbelievable as the moment she comes face to face with the impossible — an identical twin, Clio.

Thais soon learns that she and the twin she never knew come from a family of witches, that she possesses astonishing powers, and that she, along with Clio, has a key role in Balefire, the coven she was born into.
Fiery Clio is less than thrilled to have to share the spotlight, but the twins must learn to combine their powers in order to complete a rite that will transform their lives and the coven forever.

Penelope's Daughter by Laurel Corona

The award-winning author of The Four Seasons retells The Odyssey from the point of view of Odysseus and Penelope's daughter.

With her father Odysseus gone for twenty years, Xanthe barricades herself in her royal chambers to escape the rapacious suitors who would abduct her to gain the throne. Xanthe turns to her loom to weave the adventures of her life, from her upbringing among servants and slaves, to the years spent in hiding with her mother's cousin, Helen of Troy, to the passion of her sexual awakening in the arms of the man she loves.

And when a stranger dressed as a beggar appears at the palace, Xanthe wonders who will be the one to decide her future-a suitor she loathes, a brother she cannot respect, or a father who doesn't know she exists...

Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers

From the author of Cracked Up to Be and Some Girls Are comes a gripping story about one girl’s search for clues into the mysterious death of her father.

When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. Culler seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on...but are some questions better left unanswered?

The Tudor Secret - The Spymaster Chronicles #1 - by C.W. Gortner

Everyone has a secret.

Like the oyster with its grain of sand, we bury it deep within, coating it with opalescent layers as if that could heal our mortal wound. Some of us devote our entire lives to keeping our secret hidden, safe from those who might pry it from us, hoarding it like the pearl, only to discover that it escapes us when we least expect it, revealed by a flash of fear in our eyes when caught unawares, by a sudden pain, a rage or hatred, or an all-consuming shame.

I know all about secrets.

Secrets upon secrets, wielded like weapons, like tethers, like bedside endearments. The truth alone can never suffice. Secrets are the coin of our world, the currency upon which we construct our edifice of grandeur and lies. We need our secrets to serve as iron for our shields, brocade for our bodies, and veils for our fears--they delude and comfort, shielding us always from the fact that in the end we, too, must die.

"Write it all down," she tells me, "every last word."

We often sit like this in the winter of our lives, chronic insomniacs in outdated finery, the chessboard or the game of cards neglected on the table, as her eyes- alert and ever-wary after all these years, still leonine in a face grown gaunt with age--turn inward to that place where none has ever trespassed, to her own secret, which I now know, have perhaps always known, she must take with her to her grave.

"Write it down," she says, "so that when I am gone, you will remember."

As if I could ever forget...

and lastly, 

Rival to the Queen by Carolly Erickson

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Wife of Henry VIII comes a novel about the bitter rivalry between Queen Elizabeth I and her fascinating cousin, Lettice Knollys, for the love of one extraordinary man.

Powerful, dramatic and full of the rich history that has made Carolly Erickson’s novels perennial bestsellers, this is the story of the only woman to ever stand up to the Virgin Queen— her own cousin, Lettie Knollys. Far more attractive than the queen, Lettie soon won the attention of the handsome and ambitious Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, a man so enamored of the queen and determined to share her throne that it was rumored he had murdered his own wife in order to become her royal consort. The enigmatic Elizabeth allowed Dudley into her heart, and relied on his devoted service, but shied away from the personal and political risks of marriage.

When Elizabeth discovered that he had married her cousin Lettie in secret, Lettie would pay a terrible price, fighting to keep her husband’s love and ultimately losing her beloved son, the Earl of Essex, to the queen’s headsman.

This is the unforgettable story of two women related by blood, yet destined to clash over one of Tudor England’s most charismatic men.

I'm pretty happy with my haul. Maybe NOW I can hold that promise and not buy any more books for while.