Backlist Review: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Title: (On the) Jellicoe Road 

Author: Melina Marchetta

Genre: young-adult, contemporary, mystery

Series: N/A

Pages: 419 (hardback edition)

Published: first August 2006

Source: purchased

Rating: All the stars - or 5/5 

Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham, now seventeen, is finally being confronted with her past. But as the reluctant leader of her boarding school dorm, there isn't a lot of time for introspection. And while Hannah, the closest adult Taylor has to family, has disappeared, Jonah Griggs is back in town, moody stares and all.

In this absorbing story by Melina Marchetta, nothing is as it seems and every clue leads to more questions as Taylor tries to work out the connection between her mother dumping her, Hannah finding her then and her sudden departure now, a mysterious stranger who once whispered something in her ear, a boy in her dreams, five kids who lived on Jellicoe Road eighteen years ago, and the maddening and magnetic Jonah Griggs, who knows her better than she thinks he does. If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she might just be able to change her future

Jellicoe Road was my first Marchetta novel - though this is an author highly touted and often recommended, I was strangely hesitant to read any of her books. Example? I bought Marchetta's acclaimed ya fantasy Finnikin of the Rock for Nook over two months ago, when it was on sale for $2.99, and haven't yet peeked at a page. Hype is often a double-edged sword, as many other anticipated YA novels can attest and I didn't want to feel the sting of disappointment here. I have to say that the first 50 pages of Jellicoe certainly intriiigued me, but they didn't quite convince me as I had hoped. I can certainly see why some readers find the beginning off-putting and hard to comprehend initially, but even after the dual narrative of past and present were cleared up, I just didn't get It, the Big Deal about this book and this author. Then, near about 100 pages later and a "save yourself, Taylor," I got it in a big way.  This book made me Feel Things. All of the feelings really: happiness, amusement, sorrow, anger, fear, love. I'm stuck with the feeling that no matter how much I edit and revise and rethink, I will never be able to do this beautiful novel justice. As soon as I finished this, I knew I didn't want to think about other characters, other stories. I wanted to stay here, in Jellicoe, with these characters. So I did the only thing that made sense and flipped the book over and immediately began rereading all my favorite parts. It still packs a punch the second time around, even knowing explicitly what will happen.

I grabbed this on a whim three days ago, having been close to finishing the excruciatingly emotional Code Name Verity but with 100 pages and hours of work to go, I opted for a longer novel that hopefully wouldn't make me cry at work. How wrong I was; tears were streaming down by my lunch break (aka p. 255) I engulfed this absorbing, heart-breaking tale in just over twelve hours, covering work and family dinner, starting just before I left at 9 am, sneaking in pages whenever - wherever - I could. Melina Marchetta is the real deal: an imitable and simple but striking style, a masterful storyteller with impressive authorial sleight-of-hand, capable of rendering complex, fallible and damaged characters I still wholly and completely loved. This novel is a masterpiece of young-adult fiction (the 'territory war' was obviously the weakest part of the novel, but it brought together the core four [Taylor, Santangelo, Raffaela, Griggs] initially and eventually was revealed to have a larger purpose) and Melina Marchetta deserves all the accolades she's garnered. As the lovely Emily May of GoodReads so aptly put it: "[She] plays my emotions like Jimi Hendrix played guitar." Skillfully, elegantly, and above all subtly, Marchetta takes utmost time and care with crafting both her storylines and her compellingly damaged and so so real characters.

And let me tell you: oh boy, did I ever care about Taylor, Jonah, Jude, Hannah, Tate, Jessa, Webb, etc. While it took a while for these many personalities to manifest, I think this might one of my most beloved ensembles. From Jonah to Jude, these characters are real, vibrant, and dear to me. Jonah Griggs: I officially Get It. I officially Want One of My Own. Everyone take note for in Jellicoe Road, with Melina's hand at the wheel, there is an authentic, believable and touching YA romance with a swoon-worthy broody love-interest. I don't go in for broody asmuch now that I'm not 17 and I certainly don't say "swoon-worthy" as a descriptor for men I like, but Jonah Griggs defies that. He is broody and swoon-worthy, but that's not all he is. Like Taylor and Jude (Oh, Jude <3. I think he broke my heart as much as Griggs did.) this damaged young-man is developed and rounded. The scenes between him and Taylor - fighting, teasing, loving - all have electricity, a palpable tension, and their relationship is one of the few credible romances in YA. Jellicoe Road is moving, powerful and dramatic without being emotionally manipulative - when Taylor lashes out at whoever is convenient (not my Griggs!), I feel for her wild pain instead of rolling my eyes at her melodrama. Most of the characters have significant tragedies in their pasts, especially Taylor and Jonah, but this is an author that appreciates retraint and how to show emotion without overdoing it and making it a Production. I finished this novel nothing if not in awe of the talent shown throughout from the author - from plot development to character reveals, this is one of the best.

Before, I was scared to read Marchetta because I feared she/the novel wouldn't live up to expectations. Now I just don't know where to start - I've ordered hardback copies of Finnikin, its sequel Froi of the Exiles, and Saving Francesca. I just can't do this novel justice - whatever I say feels inadequate. This book moved me, like The Book Thief did - at my core, in a place few novels and characters truly reach. I said before that Melina Marchetta could have been a victim of the hype machine but now all I want to do is force all my family and friends to read her novels. I've decided that the hype around this author and this book isn't big enough yet - everyone should be reading this author. Jellicoe Road is a gripping read, one that inspired a wide, fully-felt spectrum of emotions and reactions - all of them complimentary. I love this book like I love few others.

My reactions by page, because by 250 I couldn't think critically, I could just fangirl absorb the words as fast as my eyes would move and jot down impressions/thoughts:

p. 250: Oh my god. I <3 Jonah
p. 255: WTF! NO! What! Yass!
p. 297: I want a Griggs.
p. 304: This is heart-breaking, gut-wrenching and still so lovely. This book... "Who will be my memory" I can't.... this book...
p. 315: Could he be any more adorable?
p. 343: And THAT, ladies and gents, is how you write a credible, romantic teenage relationship.
p. 371: oh no oh no oh no I think I know where this is headed oh no
p. 394: damn right you better keep Raffy around - the rare female sidekick that is fully developed and awesome
p. 399 and on: tears
p. 407: Griggs.
p. 416: I love the narrative structure, the symmetry. "My father took a hundred and thirty-two minutes to die. I counted." "My mother took seventeen years to die. I counted." "Wonder dies." "I wonder."

Favorite quotes (SPOILERY so be warned):

"I wrote you for a year and you never wrote back. I rang you over and over again and you would never come to the phone. What part of that gives the impression that I didn't care?"

“What do you want from me?" he asks.
What I want from every person in my life, I want to tell him.
More.”  

“If you weren't driving, I'd kiss you senseless," I tell him.
He swerves to the side of the road and stops the car abruptly.
"Not driving any more.” 

“But grief makes a monster out of us sometimes . . . and sometimes you say and do things to the people you love that you can't forgive yourself for.”  

“No," I say, looking up at Griggs. "It's actually because my heart belongs to someone else." And if I could bottle the look on his face, I'd keep it by my bedside for the rest of my life.” 

"We sit there, holding each other, kissing until our mouths are aching, and then we're pulling off the rest of our clothes and I'm under him and I feel as if I'm imprinted onto his body. Everything hurts, every single thing including the weight of him and I'm crying because it hurts and he's telling me he's sorry over and over again, and I figure that somewhere down the track we'll work out the right way of doing this but I don't want to let go, because tonight I'm not looking for anything more than being part of him. Because being part of him isn't just anything. It's kind of everything."

“If I had to wish for something, just one thing, it would be that Hannah would never see Tate the way I did. Never see Tate's beautiful, lush hair turn brittle, her skin sallow, her teeth ruined by anything she could get her hands on that would make her forget. That Hannah would never count how many men there were, or how vile humans can be to one another. That she would never see the moments in my life that were full of neglect, and fear, and revulsion, moments I can never go back to because I know they will slow me down for the rest of my life if I let myself remember them for one moment. Tate, who had kept Hannah alive that night, reading her the story of Jem Finch and Mrs. Dubose. And suddenly I know I have to go. But this time without being chased by the Brigadier, without experiencing the kindness of a postman from Yass, and without taking along a Cadet who will change the way I breath for the rest of my life.”  

Review: The Suffragette Scandal Courtney Milan

Title: The Suffragette Scandal
Author: Courtney Milan
Genre: romance, historical fiction
Series: The Brothers Sinister #4
Pages: 281
Published: July 15, 2014
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Rating: 5 out of 5

An idealistic suffragette...

Miss Frederica "Free" Marshall has put her heart and soul into her newspaper, known for its outspoken support of women's rights. Naturally, her enemies are intent on destroying her business and silencing her for good. Free refuses to be at the end of her rope...but she needs more rope, and she needs it now.

...a jaded scoundrel...

Edward Clark's aristocratic family abandoned him to die in a war-torn land, so he survived the only way he could: by becoming a rogue and a first-class forger. When the same family that left him for dead vows to ruin Miss Marshall, he offers his help. So what if he has to lie to her? She's only a pawn to use in his revenge.

...and a scandal seven years in the making.

But the irrepressible Miss Marshall soon enchants Edward. By the time he realizes that his cynical heart is hers, it's too late. The only way to thwart her enemies is to reveal his scandalous past...and once the woman he loves realizes how much he's lied to her, he'll lose her forever.

Reviewed by Danielle. 

"A paper written by women, for women, and about women obviously NEEDS a man to speak on its behalf. If it is a joke for men to speak on behalf of women, then our country, our laws, and our customs must all be jokes, too."

I see what you’re doing with this book, Courtney, and I approve.

The Brothers Sinister series has played a lot with what a romance heroine is. She's a survivor, a prodigy, an individual, a scientist, a feminist. She's more than a love interest. She's a fully realized character. These tenets have come to a raging boil with Free, out titular suffragette. Through her character, Ms. Milan has a lot to say on women's rights in Victorian England and their parallels to modern struggles. It's not your typical bodice ripping fare, and that's why it's so special.

I adore that Free’s able to be open and sexual and throw Edward off his game. Their relationship felt wholly unique. I loved both characters individually and together. At first, their romance is overshadowed by the plot against Free, but as the book progresses and both characters soften, there’s a really interesting part where they’re separated and writing letters, (including Edward’s infamous puppy letter that melted me into goo,) that tied back into Free’s parent’s romance from the prequel novella. It’s a little thing that I didn’t connect initially, but it fleshed out the world and reminded me how much I’m going to miss these characters.

It’s not a perfect book. The villain’s motivations felt thin and I don’t think a lord can just decide he doesn’t want to pay attention to his tenants anymore. Still, this is also the book that gives us TWO beta romances featuring queer characters. That’s something I’ll forgive a lot for. It’s smart, well written, and sexy. I know there’s a coda to the series still coming, but with the epilogue, I’m happy to bid the Brothers Sinister farewell.

Review: Something Real by Heather Demetrios

Title: Something Real
Author: Heather Demetrios
Genre: young adult, contemporary 
Series: N/A
Pages: 403 (print ARC edition)
Published: February 4 2014
Source: ARC from MacMillan
Rating: 5/5

There’s nothing real about reality TV.

Seventeen-year-old Bonnie™ Baker has grown up on TV—she and her twelve siblings are the stars of one-time hit reality show Baker’s Dozen. Since the show’s cancellation and the scandal surrounding it, Bonnie™ has tried to live a normal life, under the radar and out of the spotlight. But it’s about to fall apart…because Baker’s Dozen is going back on the air. Bonnie™’s mom and the show’s producers won’t let her quit and soon the life she has so carefully built for herself, with real friends (and maybe even a real boyfriend), is in danger of being destroyed by the show. Bonnie™ needs to do something drastic if her life is ever going to be her own—even if it means being more exposed than ever before.

After a six hour reading marathon, with breaks only for feeding the dogs and eating, I was finally able to put down the whirl of emotion and entertainment that is Heather Demetrios's Something Real. A YA contemporary that boasts possibly my favorite-ever gay ship and favorite sibling relationship, this charming but impassioned novel demands attention and will not be forgotten. What could have been a sensationalized, fictionalized and thinly-veiled retelling in the vein of real-life tv family Jon and Kate Plus Eight is so much more under the pen of this new but talented author.

Though a lot of YA contemporary is about main characters gaining their independence, learning to trust themselves, and just plain growing up from adolescence to adulthood, none of those prior characters have had the life that Bonnie Baker did with her crazy, mixed family. Though the basic plot of her life shown in the novel is similar to others, the circumstances that force Bonnie to become Chloe are truly affecting and different. Though she is tied for my favorite character, Bonnie/Chloe is the crux of the novel. Her voice and narration are effective and realistic; her circumstances are out of this world but Chloe has a warmth and humor to her that quickly endeared her to me.

For the duration of most of her seventeen years, Bonnie was seen and as a commodity, not a child. She was packaged, coached, and sold to masses, with no regard for her own wants, life, secrets, or pain. When her only job should have been being a kid, her parents used her for fame and perks "to be financially secure." They ply their responsibility as parents on the backs of their own children and when one of them breaks from the pressure, it's hard not to see all three of the parental figures in the novel as heartless. Their depiction is truly saddening and often infuriating, but it is also believable. Bonnie's story feels familiar and authentic because it is, in this modern-day, paparazzi-crazy pop culture we all partake in.

With Chloe, Benton, Matt, Tessa, Patrick, Lexie and more, Demetrios has created a group of people that immediately feel like old friends and make reading Something Real even more enjoyable. They are all so rounded and individual, I feel like I really know these non-existent people. I can't tell you how refreshing and real a lot of the relationships are in this novel. Not only are the romantic ones like Benton and Matt or Chloe and her love interest developed slowly, but there are sibling relationships that evolve and mature, and then there friendships that feature girls who actually love and care about one another. It's astonishing and I totally loved that Bonnie wasn't a character defined by having boyfriend. Her strongest relationship is with her brother and their love for one another is palpable.

Something Real is a book that wears many hats over the course of its four hundred pages -- it's genuinely funny, often quite sweet, frequently able to trounce every feel you possess in your body -- but through it all, it's a just  great read. Even when the author is destroying your heart, she writes so well you can't help but admire her ruthlessness and plotting. Through Chloe's various exploits, Demetrios never loses sight of the plot or the emotional center at the heart of the story. The pace never lags, the story doesn't falter and it ends up being a brilliant, emotional story.

Review: Shadowlark by Meagan Spooner

Title: Shadowlark
Author: Meagan Spooner
Genre: young adult, fantasy, steampunk
Series: Skylark #2
Pages: 336 (ARC edition)
Expected publication: October 1, 2013
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 4/5

Ever since she escaped the city within the Wall, Lark Ainsley's wanted one thing: to find her brother Basil. She's always believed he would be the one to put an end to the constant fear and flight. And now, hidden underground in the chaotically magical city of Lethe, Lark feels closer to him than ever.

But Lethe is a city cowering in fear of its founder, the mysterious Prometheus, and of his private police force. To get the truth about what happened to Basil, Lark has no choice but to face Prometheus.
Facing her fears has become second nature to Lark. Facing the truth is another matter.
Lark never asked to be anyone's savior. She certainly never wanted to be anyone's weapon. She might not have a choice.

Reviewed by Danielle. 

Lethe may be a bigger city than Lark’s hometown, but Shadowlark feels small next to Skylark. Some of that is obviously intentional, Lark’s agoraphobia vs Oren’s claustrophobia. Alone in the wilderness vs joining a revolution hidden, (literally,) within city walls. Finding new friends vs losing them.

Unfortunately where Skylark kept me up late guessing, and failing to guess, the twists, Shadowlark’s major reveal was pretty apparent early on. The first book is big with discovery and magical world building, while the second is much more tightly focused on one city, one fight. That’s certainly not a negative, but because survival in the wilderness was one of the things that made the first book unique, it’s disappointing that more of the Shadowlark doesn’t take place outside. After an early scene in the ruins above Lethe, which, admittedly, was excellent, it becomes a little generic.

I don’t mean to be critical, because I hope my score reflects a great enjoyment of the book. It just didn’t speak to me the way the first did and I was left wanting. But, we are introduced to some very interesting new characters, include queer characters, which always thrills me in YA fantasy. (Or adult fantasy. Or sci-fi. Or contemporary...) The aforementioned scene in the ruins is tense and emotional, and was a real standout for me. Lethe is a hybrid of the city within the Wall and the Iron Forest, giving us our first good look at how magic and technology can coexist. There’s a lot of interest and to like.

Lastly, I appreciate how grey everything has become. Shadowlark asks a lot of questions about the nature of humanity and what evil is. It’s easy to look at cannibalistic shadows and to draw a line, but when they’re not as in-human as you thought? What then? And what expense would you spare for someone you love?

It’s just a shame it came after one of my favorite books of 2013 and has to set the stage for what comes next. Shadowlark may suffer from middle book syndrome, but the conclusion to the Skylark Trilogy remains at the top of my to-be-read list.

Review: Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor

Title: Lips Touch: Three Times

Author: Laini Taylor

Illustrator: Jim Di Bartolo

Genre: mythic fiction, supernatural fiction, young-adult, fairytales

Series: N/A

Pages: 266 (hardcover edition)

Published: October 2009

Source: purchased

Rating: 5/5

Everyone dreams of getting the kiss of a lifetime... but what if that kiss carried some unexpected consequences? A girl who’s always been in the shadows finds herself pursued by the unbelievably attractive new boy at school, who may or may not be the death of her. Another girl grows up mute because of a curse placed on her by a vindictive spirit, and later must decide whether to utter her first words to the boy she loves and risk killing everyone who hears her if the curse is real. And a third girl discovers that the real reason for her transient life with her mother has to do with belonging -- literally belonging -- to anther world entirely, full of dreaded creatures who can transform into animals, and whose queen keeps little girls as personal pets until they grow to child-bearing age.

From a writer of unparalleled imagination and emotional insight, three stories about the deliciousness of wanting and waiting for that moment when lips touch..

Do yourself a favor: if you like imaginative, creepy, and dark fantasy/supernatural tales written in jawdroppingly gorgeous prose, buy this book. If that bundle of win sounds up your alley, Lips Touch: Three Times is the perfect novel for you. Do yourself an even bigger favor and do NOT buy an ebook of this - the illustrations are insane, as the only the print editions can truly show. This quirky husband and wife team hit it out of the park with the pitch-perfect, foreboding art used, as well as the fact that each successive story kept impressing me more and more. Each story is fully unique, described in the lush way that only Laini Taylor can, and fully captivating - from curses than can kill with a word to soul searching, Lips Touch is a rare pleasure. 

This is a sadly rather short novel at 266 pages, but one my advice is to read it slowly, to just luxuriate in the glow of a damn good book and stretch out the exotic and experience as long as possible. This is an all-time favorite of mine after one just one read, but Lips Touch: Three Times is an obvious, seductive winner, done in both Taylor's and Di Bartolo's inimitable styles. This is a book stuffed so full with gorgeous words and gorgeous illustrations, it demands to be reread, and I will certainly indulge that in the future.

#1. Goblin Fruit - 5/5

The shortest and least intense of the three offered, Goblin Fruit is the indicator for the tone and style of this book of short stories. I've read other full-length novel interpretations of Christina Rossetti's classic poem, but Laini Taylor has taken the well-known story and added flair all her own in the form of knife-wielding grandmothers, girls with impossible dreams and imagery ahoy ("Sometimes Kizzy imagined her grandmother knife-fighting her way down the long tunnel of death...") The use, temptation and desire of souls advance much of the plot of all three novellas and Daughter of Smoke and Bone, though in quite distinctly disparate ways, and Kizzy's tale of drastic choices is no different.

In less than 55 pages, Laini Taylor can craft a character more defined and individual than many YA authors can offer up after several books and hundreds of pages. While she (and her characterization) are sadly somewhat hampered by the extremely short length, they operate admirably under the pressure. It's easy to see Kizzy as a real person because what she wants so much, so urgently it and her immediately resonate with the audience. Kizzy's flawed and "deeply susceptible to mortification" and like every other protagonist from Lips Touch, I'd greedily grab for a chance at a full-length novel with her featured.

Favorite quotes:

"The goblins want girls who dream so hard about being pretty their yearning leaves a palpable trail, a scent goblins can follow like sharks on a soft bloom of blood. The girls with hungry eyes who pray each night to wake up as someone else. Urgent, unkissed, wistful girls.
Like Kizzy."

“She could smell the boy spice beneath the thrift-store aroma of his jacket, and the rubbing and the smell began to work to soften her -- like butter before you add sugar, in the first steps of making something sweet. It was her first experience of how bodies could meld together, how breath could slip naturally into rhythm. It was hypnotic. Heady. And she wanted more.”

2. Spicy Little Curses Such As These - 5/5

While I (at the moment) think the third and final story is my favorite, Spicy Little Curses Such As These is a close second place. It's imaginative, rich, dramatic, and romantic. It's ominious and Gothic from the start: 

“This is the story of the curse and the kiss, the demon and the girl. It's a love story with dancing and death in it, and singing and souls and shadows reeled out on kite strings.”  

and

 “Some would assert that Providence was at work shaking out its pockets in Humanity's lap. Other would argue for that mindless choreographer, Chance. Either way it was a simple thing: a lost diary fell into the hands of a soul-sick war hero on a train from Bombay to Jaipur just when he'd grown tired of the scenery and needed something to keep his thoughts from the minefield of his wretched memories.

In such mild ways is the groundwork laid for first kisses and ruined lives.” 

Like both other stories and probably everything this author produces, Spicy Little Curses is eminently quotable in a truly unique vein.  But how beautiful and tactile is that first quote - "souls and shadows reeled out on kite strings"? The image described is compelling, unique and quite dire indeed for those attached to the souls in question.

I like that Taylor switches it up with her mythology and settings - Hatchling is set somewhere in the Kazakhstan/central Asia area, and this particular story here is set in the Indian region, with all the added benefits of a rich and storied culture to pick and choose from. Infusing her fantasy plots and stories with flavors from so many varied cultures keeps each fresh and easy to distinguish between, without sacrificing any essential ingredient from the mix.

Favorite quotes:

"At the British parties in Jaipur, gossip swirled wild on eddies of whiskeyed breath. The old bitch was a popular topic of it. It was generally agreed she had been in India too long. It had "gotten to her." She spoke the native tongue, and not just Hindustani but also Rajasthani and a touch of Gujarati, and she had even been known to haggle once in Persian! It suggested to the British a grubby intimacy with the place, as if she took India into her very mouth and tasted it, like a lover's fingers."

 3. Hatchling - 5/5

The longest and by far the creepiest and most compelling out of Lips Touch, final short story Hatchling is a dark tale with several unpredictable twists and turns. It might be old by now (and obvious that Laini is my favorite YA author), but just when I think the creativity well is tapped out, this is an author that can constantly create new ideas, incorporate old ones and make the subsequent novel read freshly and vividly. Hatchling is beautiful in its poetic prose, in its alien terribleness of the Druj and in the message of hope and love at its core.

Even moreso than the first two, Hatchling left an impression - wistful, surprsingly, and utterly original. 

Favorite quotes: 

“Staring at her face, she began to fancy her outer layer had begun to melt away while she wasn't paying attention, and something -- some new skeleton -- was emerging from beneath the softness of her accustomed self. With a deep, visceral ache, she wished her true form might prove to be a sleek and shining one, like a stiletto blade slicing free of an ungainly sheath. Like a bird of prey losing its hatchling fluff to hunt in cold, magnificent skies. That she might become something glittering, something startling, something dangerous.”

Newly Added To the Bought/Unread Pile

Preordered: Timeless by Gail Carriger, due out March 1st 2012:

Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.

Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

 and

Sherry Jones's, Four Sisters, All Queens, expected May 8 2012:

When Beatrice of Savoy, countess of Provence, sends her four beautiful, accomplished daughters to become queens, she admonishes them: Family comes first. As a result, the daughters—Marguerite, queen of France; Eleanor, queen of England; Sanchia, queen of Germany; and Beatrice, queen of Sicily—work not only to expand their husbands’ empires and broker peace between nations, but also to bring the House of Savoy to greater power and influence than before. Their father’s death, however, tears the sisters apart, pitting them against one another for the legacy each believes rightfully hers—Provence itself.

Told from alternating points of view of all four queens, and set in the tumultuous thirteenth century, this is a tale of greed, lust, ambition, and sibling rivalry on a royal scale, exploring the meaning of true power and bringing to life four of the most celebrated women of their time—each of whom had an impact on the history of Europe. 

I bought the prequel novella for Four Sisters, as well. It's available now, though I won't read it until I have the full-length novel as well. The novella is titled White Heart and it's cheap!

 "A woman's power lies in her beauty."

For years, Blanche de Castille, the White Queen of France, has lived by this maxim -- passed on by her grandmother, Eléonore d'Aquitaine, as she took the girl to marry King Louis VIII. When her husband dies unexpectedly, however, Blanche finds that beauty is not enough to hold, and command, a kingdom against usurpers eager to wrest the Crown from her woman's grasp. Faced with an English invasion, barons' uprisings, and slanderous rumors, Blanche must look within herself for the strength she needs to guard the throne for her young son. Her bold response shocks the kingdom, and shapes her into the formidable, seemingly heartless mother-in-law to Marguerite of Provence, wife of King Louis IX (Saint Louis) and the eldest of the "Four Sisters, All Queens" in Sherry Jones's forthcoming novel.

Also bought in the last few weeks:

Blood Rights by Kristen Painter. I'd previously had the chance to read (and review - 4/5 stars!) this novel thanks to the publishers and NetGalley, but I needed to know what happened so I acquired all three for my own to have and love.

 The lacy gold mapped her entire body. A finely-wrought filigree of stars, vines, flowers, butterflies, ancient symbols and words ran from her feet, up her legs, over her narrow waist, spanned her chest and finished down her arms to the tips of her fingers.

Born into a life of secrets and service, Chrysabelle’s body bears the telltale marks of a comarré—a special race of humans bred to feed vampire nobility. When her patron is murdered, she becomes the prime suspect, which sends her running into the mortal world…and into the arms of Malkolm, an outcast vampire cursed to kill every being from whom he drinks.

Now Chrysabelle and Malkolm must work together to stop a plot to merge the mortal and supernatural worlds. If they fail, a chaos unlike anything anyone has ever seen will threaten to reign

Flesh and Blood by Kristen Painter, aka #2 in the House of Comarre series:

 With the ring of sorrows still missing, and the covenant between othernaturals and mortals broken, Chrysabelle and Malkolm's problems are just beginning. Chrysabelle still owes Malkolm for his help, but fulfilling that debt means returning to Corvinestri, the hidden vampire city neither of them is welcome in.

The discovery that Chrysabelle has a brother could mean reneging on her promise to Malkolm, something that might make him angry enough to loose the beast living inside him. And fulfilling her vow could prove devastating for Chrysabelle --- especially when you throw in power hungry witches, dead fringe vampires, and the Kubai Mata.

Bad Blood by Kristen Painter - the third and final addition to the Comarre series:

Samhain approaches, bringing with it the final melding of the mortal and othernatural worlds. No one knows just how much power the night holds...

Violent murders occur in Paradise City as counterfeit comarré are systematically hunted. The police and the Kubai Mata have more than enough trouble to keep themselves occupied. As war erupts at home, Malkolm and Chrysabelle head to New Orleans to recover the Ring of Sorrows. Chrysabelle is forced to make a life and death decision and will realize that her relationship to Malkolm may have fatal consequences.

The clock is ticking . .

The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner

The truth is, none of us are innocent. We all have sins to confess.

So reveals Catherine de Medici in this brilliantly imagined novel about one of history’s most powerful and controversial women. To some she was the ruthless queen who led France into an era of savage violence. To others she was the passionate savior of the French monarchy. Acclaimed author C. W. Gortner brings Catherine to life in her own voice, allowing us to enter into the intimate world of a woman whose determination to protect her family’s throne and realm plunged her into a lethal struggle for power.

 The last legitimate descendant of the illustrious Medici line, Catherine suffers the expulsion of her family from her native Florence and narrowly escapes death at the hands of an enraged mob. While still a teenager, she is betrothed to Henri, son of François I of France, and sent from Italy to an unfamiliar realm where she is overshadowed and humiliated by her husband’s lifelong mistress. Ever resilient, Catherine strives to create a role for herself through her patronage of the famous clairvoyant Nostradamus and her own innate gift as a seer. But in her fortieth year, Catherine is widowed, left alone with six young children as regent of a kingdom torn apart by religious discord and the ambitions of a treacherous nobility.

Relying on her tenacity, wit, and uncanny gift for compromise, Catherine seizes power, intent on securing the throne for her sons. She allies herself with the enigmatic Protestant leader Coligny, with whom she shares an intimate secret, and implacably carves a path toward peace, unaware that her own dark fate looms before her—a fate that, if she is to save France, will demand the sacrifice of her ideals, her reputation, and the passion of her embattled heart.

Green by Jay Lake - what a gorgeous cover, no? The sequels is beautiful as well - I'll add it on even though I've not yet bought it.

Her exquisite beauty and brilliant mind were not enough to free her from captivity. That took her skills with a knife, plus the power of a goddess.

She was born in poverty, in a dusty village under the equatorial sun. She does not remember her mother, she does not remember her own name--her earliest clear memory is of the day her father sold her to the tall pale man. In the Court of the Pomegranate Tree, where she was taught the ways of a courtesan…and the skills of an assassin…she was named Emerald, the precious jewel of the Undying Duke’s collection of beauties. She calls herself Green.

The world she inhabits is one of political power and magic, where Gods meddle in the affairs of mortals. At the center of it is the immortal Duke’s city of Copper Downs, which controls all the trade on the Storm Sea. Green has made many enemies, and some secret friends, and she has become a very dangerous woman indeed.

Here's the cover for book #2:

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

The Scarlet Contessa by Jeanne Kalogridis

Daughter of the Duke of Milan and wife of the conniving Count Girolamo Riario, Caterina Sforza was the bravest warrior Renaissance Italy ever knew. She ruled her own lands, fought her own battles, and openly took lovers whenever she pleased.

Her remarkable tale is told by her lady-in-waiting, Dea, a woman knowledgeable in reading the "triumph cards," the predecessor of modern-day Tarot. As Dea tries to unravel the truth about her husband's murder, Caterina single-handedly holds off invaders who would steal her title and lands. However, Dea's reading of the cards reveals that Caterina cannot withstand a third and final invader—none other than Cesare Borgia, son of the corrupt Pope Alexander VI, who has an old score to settle with Caterina. Trapped inside the Fortress at Ravaldino as Borgia's cannons pound the walls, Dea reviews Caterina's scandalous past and struggles to understand their joint destiny, while Caterina valiantly tries to fight off Borgia's unconquerable army.

Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Title: The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak

Genre: young-adult, historical fiction, general fiction

Series: N/A

Pages: 550 (paperback edition)

Published: 2006
Source: bought

Rating: 5/5

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.

So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

There are books that you read, that sink tendrils into your heart and never leave. These are almost the very best kind of books, books like:  The Hunger Games, The Onion Girl, The Dogs of Babel or The Alchemist. Then there are those books that you feel, down to your very soul and in your bones. Books in which almost every word resonates perfectly within the reader, creating an enveloping, complete and often heart-wrenching story. Markus Zusak's alternately heart-warming and heart-breaking The Book Thief is one of those latter type of books: completely affecting, gorgeously written and endlessly readable. The Book Thief is not just a book of deeply affecting and believable characters: this is a book with living, breathing people upon its pages. Even Death, that fearful and unknowable force, is shown as compassionate and caring while watching the story of Liesel Meminger's life unfold. It's rare enough for me to add a new author to my favorites list, but Markus Zusak has done so with one novel, and one read of that novel, alone.

This is going to a different kind of review than my normal ones. It's very hard for me to articulate any kind of coherent thoughts about this book, even weeks after reading it. The Book Thief is impressive in scope, in character, in its vast, tangible emotions. Liesel Meminger is a burst of life and color from the page: real in all her imagined flaws, pains and triumphs. Spending over 500 pages with this determined foster child is revelatory and profound. It is best and most easily said succinctly: read this book. You will not be sorry you did. Yes, you will cry. Probably more than once (I definitely did at least three times), but The Book Thief is a novel deserving of your emotion and constant attention. Reading The Book Thief is an experience: draining but oh so worthwhile and rewarding. Encompassing love, war, hatred, fear, anger, infatuation and grief, this is a novel that is utterly unafraid to explore human emotion and human nature across the board.

Though this is by nature a more serious, emotional read, Zusak can come through quite unexpectedly with a sly or subtle humor that keeps the reader from veering into moroseness. I heartily appreciated the smattering of light-heartedness when they came about because this is a sad book, make no mistake. It's ultimately about the triumph of human will, of love and hope, but this is a sad novel to read.What I like best is that even when humor makes an appearace in the novel, it is used to prove or illustrate a point being made. I'm not going to go into detail about how vibrant and real I found Liesel Meminger, or her clinging to the written word in a world of uncertainty and denial. I won't go on about how a simple sentence like, "You never told me you had a son" would make several tears fall from my eyes.

The Book Thief may not be a "life-changer" for me as a reader (I don't know if any book is a life-changer), but it is definitely one I will take with me everywhere I go. And one I will recommend and throw at you until you give in and love read it. With a lyrical and mellifluous style for the chilling (and often heart-rending) events in The Book Thief, it is immensely readable despite the hard subject matter. This is a work of art in novel form, moving and poignant from  its start in 1939 to its all-too-soon finish. Zusak's portrayal of these stand-out characters (Liesel, Hans, RUDY) will linger long in your memory. Don't dismiss this novel out of hand as just "another YA", especially if you are an adult. This book will resonate with and affect you even if you're long gone from the dreaded teenage years.

"Many jocular comments followed, as did another onslaught of 'heil Hitlering.' You know, it actually makes me wonder if anyone ever lost an eye or injured a hand or wrist with all of that. You'd only need to be facing the wrong way at the wrong time or stand marginally too close to another person. Perhaps people did get injured. Personally, I can tell you that no one died from it, or at least, not physically. There was, of course, the matter of forty million people I picked up by the time the whole thing was finished, but that's getting metaphoric..."

Lastly, a final quote from Death that I found particularly apt and poignant:

"  *** A SMALL BUT NOTEWORTHY NOTE ***
I've seen so many young men
over the years who think they're
running at other young men.
They are not.
They're running at me. "

BUY THIS BOOK. 

You won't just passively read it: you'll experience Liesel Meminger's world in all its horror and beauty.

I can't recommend The Book Thief enough. If you take one recommendation from this blog at all this year, let it be this one.

Two Minute Review: Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Title: Fairest

Author: Gail Carson Levine

Genre: young-adult-ish, MG, fairytale retelling

Series: N/A, though set in same universe as earlier novel Ella Enchanted

Pages: 326 (hardcover edition)

Published: September 2006

Rating: 3.5/5

I was born singing. Most babies cry. I sang an aria. Or so I believe. I have no one to tell me the truth of it. I was abandoned when I was a month old, left at the Featherbed Inn in the Ayorthaian villiage of Amonta. It was January 12th of the year of Thunder Songs.

The Fairy Lucinda has once again given a dreadful gift. This time it's a mysterious magical mirror. The gift is disastrous when it falls into the hands of Aza, who never looks in a mirror if she can help it. In the Kingdom of Ayortha, Aza is most definitely not the fairest of them all. Many spurn her. Many scoff at her. She keeps out of sight.

But in the land of singers, Aza has her own gift, one she's come by without fairy intervention: a voice that can do almost anything, a voice that captivates all who hear it. In Ontio Castle, merry Prince Ijori is drawn to it, and vain Queen Ivi wants to use it for her own ends. Queen Ivi would do anything to remain the fairest in the land. 

Gail Carson Levine is one of my longest-held favorite authors; since I was eleven years old and stumbled across a still-current-favorite (Ella Enchanted) this has been an author that I keep my eye out for her novels. That charming, original and fun version of the Cinderella tale stuck in my brain and for years, Ella and Charmant's were two parts of one of my all-time literary couples. Gail Carson Levine returns to her magical and charming fairy-tale world created over ten years ago for another outing in Fairest, but this time the retread is of the classic Snow White story. Like Ella, Aza is a strong female character and one easily identitied with for the intended audience. Even for a reader well outside the target audience for this novel, I still found Fairest to be a creative interpretation of an ages-old myth.

While I readily admit to liking Aza, I didn't fall in love with her or want to be her best friend the way I did with Ella after that novel. I didn't mind the social awkwardness the girl exhibited routinely throughout - it was entirely believable and even to be expected in a peasant girl thrust into a Court with no knowledge, but her repeated lies wore thin. It's hard to feel true sympathy for a character that backs herself into a corner so very effectively. I wish I could invest into her relationship with the prince of Ayortha as well - it was a bit insta!love for my taste. Ijori comes off as nice enough, but there's very little personality there and no further development as the story progresses.

The magic of the novel, though exceedingly slight, serves as a nice backdrop to the more human problems Lady Aza faces with Ivi, Ijori, and missing her family. I liked that the focus was more on the character of Aza, and less upon her rare and unique magic. But sadly, here we are, at The Bad of the novel. I hate to say this, really I do, but for a society built around song and singing . . . the music portion was by far the weakest part of Fairest. The lyrics were odd, didn't fit, or just jarred as a "song" from the musical land. I wish a little more finesse had been applied to that (and pretty much the only) attribute of the Ayorthan people. Well, besides the birds flying in, out, around the palaces and castles. A little more time, detail spent on fleshing out basic elements of the novel would've added up to a more well-rounded, nicely-executed novel.

If you're looking for a quick read (and I mean quick - this tidy little novel only took me two hours to read cover to cover) with humor and singing, Fairest is for you. Though sadly not quite up to the high standard set with Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine once again whisks her loyal readers into a magical land of whimsy, insane and unhinged fairies, wise gnomes, and fearsome trolls with Fairest. 

Review: Widdershins by Charles de Lint

Title: Widdershins

Author: Charles de Lint

Genre: mythic/supernatural fiction

Series: Newford #16

Pages: 560 (hardcover edition)

Published: May 2006
Source: bought

Rating: 4/5

Clearly, I don't wish to begin reviewing a series at the sixteenth book, but since I've been all-over this series in any way but chronologically, here (at my favorite) is where we will start. Considered a direct sequel to de Lint's acclaimed The Onion Girl - a novel revolving around a character named Jilly Coppercorn - this novel launches the reader once again into Jilly's life, Geordie's charm, as well new friends and old faces. de Lint doesn't just focus on the already-well-loved characters: he creates an in-depth background full of tension, anger and distrust in the struggle between the native fae of America (roots in Native American heritage, etc.) and the continuous influx of new Celtic fae from around the world.

"Charming" and "delightful" are two adjectives easily used to describe Widdershins by the always excellent Charles de Lint. That is not to say it is without darker moments, full of controversial and disturbing contents. This is certainly NOT a YA novel in my opinion: the themes and contents are unremittingly dark, though lightened by Jilly herself and the rest of the awesome characters. Jilly truly has a horrific past behind her: it's what has shaped into the woman made of awesome that she is. Completely relatable, sympathetic and kind Jilly is the best kind of protagonist: the kind you want to hang out with in real life. The best thing about de Lint is that he handles such subject matter, like that of Jilly's utterly brutal childhood, delicately; enough detail and horror are supplied in the narrative to let you know why and how someone has/is suffering but not enough to make you uncomfortable or nauseous. Charles de Lint has an infinitely magical relationship with words: I could read a grocery list by this author and be moved.

Jilly Coppercorn returns, with her usual gang of misfits and wonders of humankind. Another story of her redemption and trials with her brother Del from her early childhood, Widdershins deals with some of the same content as The Onion Girl, but this novel is more about Jilly and Geordie, than just the Onion Girl herself.  Jilly still struggles with her guilt over her sister from previous novels: her personal arc in the novel seems to be geared towards redemption and forgiveness. Geordie is one of my literary crushes: a kind, quiet but utterly steadfast man he provides a nice foil to for the manic, always-moving/painting/drawing Jilly. I will say that Del, as once again the bad guy, doesn't just rely on the same old tricks from the previous novels. No, this time his atrocities against Jilly are more cerebral, and thus worse/harder for her to recover. Del is certainly a dynamic antagonist: there's no way any one is on his side, but reading about him is utterly compelling and riveting. It's an interesting though that Jilly represents all that is good and kind, while her own brother torments her and seems to stand for all the hate in the world that Jilly tries to overcome.

Sad, lovely, charming, engaging, impossible-to-put-down, and worth re-reading is exactly how I feel about almost all of de Lint's work and this is no exception. The slow-burning romance is pitch-perfect for both characters involved and I'm not going to lie and say this novel didn't make me tear up a bit. I was honestly quite surprised by the depth of emotion I had over this novel, these characters. I will say that several additions to the story - late in the game - came across as rather deux-ex-machina-y but I didn't mind in light of the whole story/cast. While de Lint can be slightly predictable (especially where Jilly is concerned in particular), I enjoyed the expected outcome and can't wait for the next.