Review: 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad

Title: 172 Hours on the Moon

Author: Johan Harstad

Genre: young adult, horror, sci fi

Series:  N/A

Pages: 368

Published: first September 2008

Source: publishers for review

Rating: 4/5

It's been decades since anyone set foot on the moon. Now three ordinary teenagers, the winners of NASA's unprecedented, worldwide lottery, are about to become the first young people in space--and change their lives forever.

Mia, from Norway, hopes this will be her punk band's ticket to fame and fortune.
Midori believes it's her way out of her restrained life in Japan.
Antoine, from France, just wants to get as far away from his ex-girlfriend as possible.

It's the opportunity of a lifetime, but little do the teenagers know that something sinister is waiting for them on the desolate surface of the moon. And in the black vacuum of space... no one is coming to save them.

In this chilling adventure set in the most brutal landscape known to man, highly acclaimed Norwegian novelist Johan Harstad creates a vivid and frightening world of possibilities we can only hope never come true.

The United States, hoping to breathe some life back into its space program, holds an international lottery for three teens to take a trip to the moon. Ostensibly for mining resources, there is more to this voyage than meets the eye. A journey to the moon might become a real life nightmare for this small crew.

Mia, Midori, and Antoine are chosen as the lucky teens who get to spend 172 hours on the moon. All have very personal reasons for going, which are well fleshed out by the author. Those backstories, though, are one of the book's few weak points. Nearly half the book is spent explaining the lives of these three young people. Regardless, the pages will fly by, as the writing style is easy to read and doesn't waste time bogged down in unnecessary details.

The relationships between the three teens is very well realized. Author Harstad creates a true to life microcosm of teenage existence in the small space he has to do so. Love interest, jealousy, and companionship are addressed in a satisfying manner.

Once on the moon, things quickly take a turn for the worst. Harstad pulls out all the stops here. Events move rapidly, and readers will find themselves on the edge of their seats. Unexplainable, frightening things are happening, and soon it is a race against time for the three young heroes to discover why and find a way out of their hopeless situation. Beware, reader: you might find the dark a little uncomfortable while reading this.

The book's biggest flaw is in its lack of explanation. We come to understand what is going on, but the why and how remain elusive. A look into this universe through the eyes of the antagonists would be a great idea for a sequel. But are there even antagonists, really? Or is what is going on just a natural phenomenon, a reflection of a collective unconsciousness' fears? The addition of just that little bit of information could turn this very good book into a great one.

Overall, 172 Hours on the Moon delivers on its promise of a rising star in young adult fiction. The ending especially packs quite a punch. A slightly slow buildup as well as the aforementioned lack of explanation are relatively small flaws in an otherwise well told, downright creepy story. A strong 4/5 stars.

Review: Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear

Title: Innocent Darkness

Author: Suzanne Lazear

Genre: steampunk, historical fiction, young-adult, supernatural fiction

Series: The Aether Chronicles Book One

Pages: 407 (Nook ARC edition)

Published: expected August 8, 2012

Rating: 2.5/5

A steampunk faerie tale with romance, danger, and a strong-willed heroine.

When spirited sixteen-year-old Noli Braddock and her best friend Steven "V" Darrow take a flying car out for a joyride, neither expects Noli to be sent to reform school to mend her hoyden ways. While at the dreadful school, Noli's innocent mid-summer's eve wish summons Kevighn, a mysterious man who takes Noli with him to the Realm of Faerie. At first Noli believes she has been rescued. But the sinister reason behind the handsome huntsman's appearance quickly become clear--he wants to use Noli as a blood sacrifice to restore his dying world. V, who has secrets of his own, shows up to help Noli escape and return to the mortal realm--but first, they must navigate the dangerous intrigues of the Otherworld.

If they are successful, Noli will live. But if Noli lives, the entire Otherworld civilization will die.

This seemed to have a lot going for it, based on superficiality and blurbs - steampunk elements and a tale of the fae courts? Not many authors would think to meld such different ideas, but Suzanne Lazear went for it with this. Does it work out well in Innocent Darkness? Unfortunately, no, no it does not. The author certainly tries for a lot - a strong heroine, a quirky and unique storyline - but not all ideas are explored as fully as they should could have been. The 'steampunk' shown in Suzanne Lazear's first book in The Aether Chronicles leaves a lot to be desired, as does much else about this first novel. Based on an alternate version of the real world, Innocent Darkness gets off to a fast, seemingly good and intriguing start with a suicide and ominous hints of danger but the rest of the novel can't and doesn't hold up to that level of originality or strength. This is going to get spoilery so do not read if you don't want some events spoiled for you before reading the novel.

The writing of this is pretty much just there - it's not purple and bloated but nor is it beautiful and a joy to read. I liked the story but it never fully hooked me - though this is 400+ page book, I've been known to down such novels in a day. But here, I found myself  strangely dragging my feet when it came to reading Noli's story. Maybe part of it is unfulfilled expectations because immediately I realized that the steampunk aspect wasn't going to be what I had desired, nor were the fae. Suzanne Lazear is an adequate storyteller, I suppose, but work could be done on narrative consistency, streamlining exposition, less repetition and better POV changes as those in the ARC version were often abrupt and jarring. Innocent Darkness also doesn't read like it is set in 1901 and that's for sure. I have to also complain that the "twists" were often easy to spot - especially those about main character and love interest "V". I first called that he was exiled fae (though the 'royal' tag surprised me because it's so cliche and been there-done-that (coughAshcough), and that the evil, reviled High Queen was his mother. I wish more restraint had gone into the foreshadowing for both - there is no punch to either reveal because both are transparent to any ready paying any attention. I also have to wonder why so many plotlines are just dropped and never mentioned - unless they're ploys to ensure continued reading the series. Like: Noli's father and Kevighn's connection to his disappearance,

It must be said that this novel certainly lives up to the second word in the title. This is a surprisingly dark book given the synopsis and overall impression it gives. There are several creepy factors at play that up the ick factor (Kevighn, the doctor, Kevighn, etc.) but the reform school takes the cake.The punishments (waterboarding? sensory deprivation chambers?), though based on fact, are absolutely horrid to read about. The repeated attempt to squelch out any life from the girls at Findlay House bothered me the most outside of creepster Kevighn. The girls are powerless, abused, neglected and isolated and that's considered a good thing by society. Sure, the fae murder a girl every seven years to keep their magic, but the humans are equally horrific in their treatment of "hoydens" and unwanted troublemakers - they're shunted to the side where no one has to look at them, much less deal with them. Innocent Darkness doesn't stop there, though, for also included on this "steampunk faerie tale with romance, danger, and a strong-willed heroine" are such things as rape, abuse, abandonment, opium dens, prostitutes, suicide and murder. 

Noli is spirited, willfull and disobedient - but the girl also spends a lot of time running away from boys and crying. I don't begrudge anyone a good cry but it seems to happen to Magnolia Braddock. A lot. Noli has to fight classism and elitism as a member of "distressed gentry" but it doesn't endear her to the audience as much as the author thinks it does. Of course Noli is special and perfect and beautiful and remarkably intelligent - it's just too much. There's just not much about Noli that defines her or makes her unique among a thousand YA heroines who are special and the only one who can save the world. Characterization throughout the book is done in broad strokes -V, Kevighn, the High Queen - all are one dimensional and unexplored.  Why is Tiana so evil? What caused her to change so abruptly? Why does Kevighn do her bidding, what does he get out of it besides pain? The cast at large feel like they  are just there to play cliched roles behind Noli and V and the inevitable love triangle I can practically see forming already. I also got tired of the sheer repetition of everyone's vocabulary - "hoyden" is way, way overused, as is "soft women", "giggled"  and other often goofy monikers.

This is where it gets the most spoilery because finishing this was when I felt the most frustrated by Innocent Darkness. Flat out? I felt cheated by the incredible lack of an ending. Not only does it feel completely rushed and simplified, all the twists and turns feel so completely convenient for the main characters dream. V needs another sacrifice to 'keep' Noli? Voila - Charlotte has the Spark! Noli doesn't want her friend to die for her? Voila - said friend has a terminal brain tumor anyway that the fae can't heal. Sure other complications come up, thanks to the Queen, but the whole ending felt like a cop out, a cheap ploy to ensure reader continue with the next book. And then. And then, after all of the events of the novel being about securing a sacrifice and the fae have a willing girl lined up... it doesn't happen. What? The Noli/V storyline is presented prominently and exclusively once the deal is struck and we are left with that as the cliffhanger. I can only assume that Charlotte's fate will be sealed or revealed in book two but damn if that didn't feel like a bait-and-switch.

Review: From What I Remember.... by Stacy Kramer & Valerie Thomas

Title: From What I Remember...

Author(s): Valerie Thomas and Stacy Kramer

Genre: young-adult, contemporary

Series: N/A

Pages: 475 (Nook ARC edition)

Published: May 2012

Source: publishers via NetGalley

Rating: 3/5

 KYLIE: Tijuana WHAT? I should be putting the finishing touches on my valedictorian speech. Graduation is TODAY, and is this a wedding band on my finger.

MAX: It all started with Kylie's laptop and a truck full of stolen electronics. Okay, it was kind of hot, the way she broke us out like some chick in an action movie. But now we're stranded in Tijuana. With less than twenty-four hours before graduation. Awesome.

WILL: Saving Kylie Flores from herself is kind of a full-time occupation. Luckily, I, Will Bixby, was born for the job. And when I found out she was stuck in Mexico with dreamy Max Langston, sure, I agreed to bring their passports across the border -- but there's no reason to rush back home right away. This party is just getting started.

LILY: I just walked in on my boyfriend, Max Langston, canoodling with Kylie Flores, freak of the century. Still, I can't completely hold it against him. He NEEDS me. It's even clearer now. And I'm not giving him up without a fight.

From What I Remember is exactly what that synopsis makes it sound like: fluff. Utter, complete, involving, engaging, occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, and compelling fluff. It's light, it's charming and it's fun, despite the near 500-page length. Aside from a few (5) vocabulary choices that had me seeing red, this was an unexpected and amusing roadtrip coming-of-age story.  The characters may veer a little too close to stereotypes at times in their presentation, especially the flamboyant, cross-dressing Will and the uber mean-girl Lily, but on the whole, From What I Remember does what it aims to - it entertains the reader while making them care about these flawed, human and vastly entertaining characters. It's a beach read for teens and adults that enjoy a fluffy, sweet romance. 

I'm usually wary of a rotating POV scheme, especially when it's used by so many characters, like it is here. Kylie, Max, Will, Lily and Jake (Kylie's brother with Aspberger's) all get a shot to share their inner monologue. Fortunately for both myself and the novel, each of these unique perspectives actually managed to bring something different to the table, while adding to the overall picture and plot of the novel. I do wish Lily and Will had been less of cliches in their expected roles (seriously, Lily mean-girls the shit out of Kylie for 460 out of 475 pages and it got old fast), but Will, especially, grows into an actual, rounded person instead of a caricature. These are characters that actually evolve and grow over the course of the book - it's refreshing to read and makes it easy to invest in most of the cast.

This is a happily-ever-after type of novel, and that's not a spoiler. The romance is the most obvious part of the entire plot, and though one of my least-favorite plot devices (the miscommunication!) stalls the inevitable for a while, this remains engaging to read through the predictable ups and downs of teenage love. The payoff in reading From What I Remember... isn't in seeing if these two end up together, but in reading how everything comes together as they grow up significantly this 48-hour adrenaline-fueled adventure. Max and Kylie are two interesting people who work well together; one of the few YA pairings that aren't based off instalove or pure lust. Kylie is the perfect foil for Max's studied cool-act, and he complements her outrageousness nicely. 

This was so close to being a perfect, lazy read for a relaxed and lazy day. But. There's always a "but." For From What I Remember, the problem honestly surprised me. It wasn't isntalove, or Mysteriously Missing Parent Syndrome, but something else I've been noticing in a fair few YA novels. Kylie has a brother with Asperger's syndrome and persists in using the word "retard" as an insult. Repeatedly. That bothered me immensely, enough that I was jerked out the book every time it was uttered. No. Just no. First: it's wrong. Second: Kylie has a brother that in all likelihood, would've heard that leveled at him in a mean way. That is life, but that doesn't make it okay, especially for his sister to use so glibly. For a novel that takes care to show so many awesome examples of gay youth, I was disappointed not to see the same civility and consideration for the handicapped. 

Fun but flawed, From What I Remember... was a nice escape for a few hours. Despite its impressive length, this is a book that reads both easily and well. It's cute, and for the most part, inoffensive as it tackles growing up and moving on from high school. It's brain candy - a bubblegum book for when you just want to read something cute and predictable instead of a literary meal that needs digesting. It easily could be billed as The Hangover In Mexico - for teens. Buckle up for one hell of a road-trip, filled with border dodging, illegal gangsters, mass weddings, and even a police chase of sorts. From What I Remember is best termed a fun "romp" - one that will engage and please its readers from the get-go.

Monthly Reading Plans for July

Whoops! This was supposed to post on the first and I pre-empted it with my review for Moonglow! So without further ado, my planned reads for July:

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass #1)

 After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men—thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the kings council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson

 Welcome to the Empty Quarter, the domain of Djinn, ghouls, demons and the effrit who take the shapes of beasts. You used to walk among us, and we among you. Now things are different. Now we are Unseen.

Alif is a 23-year-old Arab/Indian hacker working in the Arab Emirates. His job is to provide security to enemies of the Arab states, ranging from pornographers to militant Islamists. Alif has fallen in love with the beguiling Intisar, an aristocratic woman he meets online. But their budding love affair is cruelly ended when her father arranges a marriage for her with a man of her class... a man who turns out to be the state's leading censor, a shadowy and powerful figure known only as 'the Hand'. The state security forces come after Alif with guns drawn, and he must go underground, trying all the while to fight back against a piece of code he wrote to protect his lover but which the Hand is using to create the most sophisticated state surveillance the world has ever known.

As their final communication, Intisar sends the heartbroken Alif a mysterious old book. Bound in what looks like human skin, and titled The Thousand and One Days, Alif soon realizes that this token of affection is actually a dangerous source of old world magic. And as the keeper of this amulet - the secret book of the jinn - Alif is about to become a wanted fugitive from both the corporeal and the celestial worlds...A life and death struggle ensues as the might of heaven and earth is unleashed.

Defiance by C.J. Redwine (Defiance #1)

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can’t be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang (The Hybrid Chronicles #1) 

NEVER LET ME GO meets HIS DARK MATERIALS in a beautiful, haunting YA debut, the first book in The Hybrid Chronicles.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t…

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable–hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet…for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Imperfect Bliss by Susan Fales-Hill

Jane Austen meets the Bachelorette in this twenty-first-century comedy of manners about a suburban family, their four eligible daughters, and what happens when reality TV comes to town. 

With her acclaimed first novel, One Flight Up, author Susan Fales-Hill is on a roll, already leaving her chick-lit predecessors “in the dust,” as the New York Post put it. Now, in Imperfect Bliss, she offers up a hilarious take on genteel family life with a cast of irresistibly eccentric characters.     Meet the Harcourts of Chevy Chase, Maryland. A respectable middle class, middle-aged, mixed-race couple, Harold and Forsythia have four eminently marriageable daughters—or so their mother believes. Forsythia named her girls after Windsor royals in the hopes that one day each would find her true prince. But princes are far from the mind of their second-born daughter, Elizabeth (AKA Bliss), who, in the aftermath of a messy divorce, has moved back home and thrown herself into earning her Ph.D. 

All that changes when a Bachelorette-style reality television show called The Virgin takes Bliss’s younger sister, Diana, as its star. Though she fights it at first, Bliss can’t help but be drawn into the romantic drama that ensues, forcing her to reconsider everything she thought she knew about love, her family, and herself.

Thieftaker by D.B. Jackson (Thieftaker Chronicles #1)

Boston, 1767: In D.B. Jackson's Thieftaker, revolution is brewing as the British Crown imposes increasingly onerous taxes on the colonies, and intrigue swirls around firebrands like Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty. But for Ethan Kaille, a thieftaker who makes his living by conjuring spells that help him solve crimes, politics is for others…until he is asked to recover a necklace worn by the murdered daughter of a prominent family.

Suddenly, he faces another conjurer of enormous power, someone unknown, who is part of a conspiracy that reaches to the highest levels of power in the turbulent colony. His adversary has already killed—and not for his own gain, but in the service of his powerful masters, people for whom others are mere pawns in a game of politics and power. Ethan is in way over his head, and he knows it. Already a man with a dark past, he can ill afford to fail, lest his livelihood be forfeit. But he can't stop now, for his magic has marked him, so he must fight the odds, even though he seems hopelessly overmatched, his doom seeming certain at the spectral hands of one he cannot even see.

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens (The Books of Beginning #1)

Kate, Michael, and Emma have been in one orphanage after another for the last ten years, passed along like lost baggage.

Yet these unwanted children are more remarkable than they could possibly imagine. Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastating power, an evil they know nothing about.

Until now.

Before long, Kate, Michael, and Emma are on a journey to dangerous and secret corners of the world...a journey of allies and enemies, of magic and mayhem.  And—if an ancient prophesy is correct—what they do can change history, and it is up to them to set things right.

The Emerald Atlas brims with humor and action as it charts Kate, Michael, and Emma's extraordinary adventures through an unforgettable, enchanted world.

Blog Watch Wednesday!

Reviews Posted:

The Second Empress by Michelle Moran  - 3.75/5 stars - historical fiction

The Hunter and the Hunted by Kelley Armstrong - Otherworld series #7.3, 12.5 - 2/5 stars - supernatural fiction, short stories

 Moonglow by Kristen Caliihan - Darkest London #2- 2/5 stars - romance novel-ish, supernatural fiction

The Wanderers by Paula Brandon -  The Veiled Isles #3 - 2.75/5 stars - horror, steampunk, fantasy

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz - 3.75/5 stars - middle grade, mystery, supernatural

Fun Stuff:

Great blog post on why Loki *really* does win in The Avengers.

HILARIOUS: The Avengers in 15 Minutes. I snort-laughed several times, but loved "Der Fancypantsenpartyein" and "Die Screaminrunninhiden"

You can read the first 3 chapters of Jay Kristoff's post-apocalyptic feudal dystopia here! For free! This is my favorite fantasy novel of the year - don't miss it! It's fucking gooood.

In firther news about 50 Shades to ruin your day: "author" EL James makes over a million dollars. A week.

In honor of the 4th: Little Known Facts about Independence Day and the Declaration

Nick Offerman, tv's Ron Swanson, reads the tweets of young female celebrities. I love you, Ron.

If you love Ron/Nick Offerman the way I do (and if you don't: what's wrong with you?) this GQ interview with him is worth a read. 

Ted and Magic Mike are both hits! I don't know what that says about our country right now - a crass, vulgar bear and male strippers are our favored form of entertainment..

What would it be like if Cloneroopers reenacted famous pictures? 365 Days of Clones is the answer.

NASA has found a hidden ocean on Saturn's moon Titan.

10 Fake Movie Books We Wish We Could Read

The Best of the Gellar Siblings on Friends

Game of Foams! Game of Thrones themed soap!

Root for your favorite House with these Game of Thrones sports logos!

Game of Thrones recut as a romantic comedy.

Lance Armstrong to be charged with doping.

Beyond The Wall is Dangerous t-shirts are for sale!

Peter Dinklage does ALL THE MEMEs from shots over the two seasons of GoT.

Check out Muse's official song 'Survival' for the 2012 London Olympics!

Actress Jena Malone has been cast as Johanna in Catching Fire. NOOOO! I wanted Kristen Bell! Still no word on who will be playing Finnick.

The style "evolution" of Katy Perry, brought to you by the Fug Girls.

50 States of Shopping - the best boutiques in every state.

10 New Images from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Iceland's majestic landscapes - done in wool.

Inspiring letters from authors to their young fans.

Spiderman opens big in some markets! PETER PARKOUR

10 Reasons to Love Paul Rudd.

TUMBLR OF THE WEEK: Football minus balls.

A breakdown of Magic Mike's nudity, in charts and graphs.

Review: The Second Empress by Michelle Moran

Title: The Second Empress

Author: Michelle Moran

Genre: historical fiction

Series: N/A

Pages: 448 (Nook ARC edition)

Published: August 14 2012

Source: publishers via NetGalley

Rating: 3.75/5

National bestselling author Michelle Moran returns to Paris, this time under the rule of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte as he casts aside his beautiful wife to marry a Hapsburg princess he hopes will bear him a royal heir

   After the bloody French Revolution, Emperor Napoleon’s power is absolute. When Marie-Louise, the eighteen year old daughter of the King of Austria, is told that the Emperor has demanded her hand in marriage, her father presents her with a terrible choice: marry the cruel, capricious Napoleon, leaving the man she loves and her home forever, or say no, and plunge her country into war.

   Marie-Louise knows what she must do, and she travels to France, determined to be a good wife despite Napoleon’s reputation. But lavish parties greet her in Paris, and at the extravagant French court, she finds many rivals for her husband’s affection, including Napoleon’s first wife, Joséphine, and his sister Pauline, the only woman as ambitious as the emperor himself. Beloved by some and infamous to many, Pauline is fiercely loyal to her brother. She is also convinced that Napoleon is destined to become the modern Pharaoh of Egypt. Indeed, her greatest hope is to rule alongside him as his queen—a brother-sister marriage just as the ancient Egyptian royals practiced. Determined to see this dream come to pass, Pauline embarks on a campaign to undermine the new empress and convince Napoleon to divorce Marie-Louise.

   As Pauline’s insightful Haitian servant, Paul, watches these two women clash, he is torn between his love for Pauline and his sympathy for Marie-Louise. But there are greater concerns than Pauline’s jealousy plaguing the court of France. While Napoleon becomes increasingly desperate for an heir, the empire’s peace looks increasingly unstable. When war once again sweeps the continent and bloodshed threatens Marie-Louise’s family in Austria, the second Empress is forced to make choices that will determine her place in history—and change the course of her life. 

I used to read all I could about Napoleon; I had a favorite biography that I must have checked out of the library at least 6 times alone.  I've loved history since I was little (when I was 10, I dreamed of being an Egyptologist instead of a movie star or singer) but after a while, my fervor for Napoleon and the French Revolution led to me other interests and I hadn't cracked a book on this subject in years. Michelle Moran's offering of the last 6 years of the rule of "Ogre of France" is a solidly fun and well-researched historical fiction; one that easily entertains and presents a new, vivid interpretation of figures who have fascinated the world for hundreds of years. One that has reignited my love for Gallic historical fiction. Based on extensive research and a multitude of primary sources, The Second Empress is well-rounded and detailed novel, one that reads both quickly and easily despite the amount of information shown. The beginning infodumps and a few vocabulary anachronisms aside, it's obvious how much time, care and attention to detail has been shown in creating The Second Empress.

Engaging and fun, the narrators of Pauline, Napoleon's indulged and selfish sister; Paul, her Haitian chamberlain; and Marie-Louise, the eponoymous second Empress of the title, all serve to illustrate a colorful, diverse picture of life in Napoleon's court. The POV switches between the three narrators are smooth, and though initially each character sounded similar to the two others used, they each grow into easily distinguishable and unique voices. The overall plot of Napoleon's downfall may wear a bit thin through the entire four-hundred pages of the book, so The Second Empress can read a bit like episodic vignettes rather than a streamlined narrative. A minor complaint, but because of it, there are times when the tension during crucial events was lacking or lost. Furthermore, I'm not usually a huge fan of the use of first-person present tense in historical fiction, but it's not too distracting here. Events feel real, pressing and occasionally, dangerous, thanks to the characters' immediate reactions and thoughts. Moran has proven herself to be an involving and talented storyteller and that eventually extends to her handling of the characters.

The rotating scheme used for the narration shows different events from different eyes and creates a version of Napoleon, especially, that is less than favorable. The Bonapartes are as much a force to be reckoned with in Moran's version as they were in real life, and the versions shown here are no exception. Unafraid of the Europe, the Allies and event the Pope himself, Napoleon is a catalyst for everyone else while remaining personally aloof from the reader. His sister Pauline commands nearly as much attention as Napoleon. She's one of those characters you love to hate: somehow managing to be charismatic in her supreme selfishness and petty jealousies. I'd reckon as akint o reading ab out a car accdient: you have to keep reading to see what this woman is going to do. Moran walks the knife edge with the sanity of this character. Is she sick? Or is she just hedonistic and uncaring? The answer is never laid down, and the character is more interesting for it. Marie-Louise is easily the most sympathetic character of the novel and though it takes a while for her to grow into her own, she matures into a capable and aware Empress. I couldn't done without the narration by Paul, but he provides a nice, humble foil for the more outlandish, entitled princes and princes of Napoleon's court of gossip, infidelity, and jealousy.

The Second Empress moves along at a decent pace once the initial exposition has been laid down and the characters established. The beginning may stumble a bit when it gets out of the gate, but by the time Napoleon and Marie are married, I couldn't put this book down. The final part of the book felt a little rushed and too condensed for what it tried to cover, but overall, didn't affect my enjoyment of this engrossing historical fiction read. Fun but flawed, Michelle Moran definitely impressed me with this latest, and first for me, novel - I will be on the lookout for her Egyptian-set books as well as her other France-centic novel, Madame Tussaud. Fans of these earlier novels by Moran will find more of the same to enjoy in The Second Empress.

Two Minute Review: The Hunter and the Hunted by Kelley Armstrong

Title: The Hunter and the Hunted

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Genre: supernatural fiction

Series: Tales of the Underworld #7.3, #12.5

Pages: 100

Published: June 12, 2012

Source: publishers via NetGalley

Rating: 2.5/5

In Off-Duty Angel, dark witch and half-demon Eve Levine is desperate for a little entertainment while her lover, Kristof Nast, is detained in afterlife court—enough to volunteer an extra week’s worth of angel corps duty just to pass the time. Luckily something even better comes up: a real celestial bounty-hunter mission to trail a shaman, someone who might prove to be a useful lead in Kristof’s court case. Following the target goes smoothly, until he leads Eve to the British Museum, where she inadvertently steps into a secret dimensional passage and stumbles upon a far more enticing puzzle . . . and a much greater danger.

This collection also includes Stalked (Otherworld #7.3) It’s not a good sign when Elena Michaels and Clayton Danvers resort to everyday activities on their long-awaited honeymoon in St. Louis. But their encroaching boredom is about to take a backseat to an unexpected threat that catches Clay’s attention. A non-pack werewolf is clearly stalking them—out to claim Elena for himself—and Clay has no intention of letting the upstart mutt spoil their romantic getaway, even if that means deceiving Elena as he pursues the rival werewolf on his own.

 

Stalked -  previously printed in My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon.

It's a bit sad when the synopsis for a novella has more meat to it than the actual story. Though The Hunter and the Hunted provided my first look into a Clayton POV - I've read only the first seven books and only one novella (Angelic) set in this world before this ARC - it fell short of providing a fully satisfying plot. What is here is fine, but it's not engaging nor the most original idea the author has come up with. At only about 30ish pages, Stalked is ultimately too short to make any kind of lasting impression.

Fans of Elena and Clay novels will enjoy the added look into the wedded life of the two werewolves, but aside from the slight updates on other castmembers (Jeremy!), there's nothing new here. Stalked is fairly bland and innocous for that murder and sex are within its pages. Unfortunately, this is the same old same old routine between the two, one that has been shown over and over again in the actual novels...and  I am not sure it is worth shelling out $1.99 to read. Just pull out Bitten, mentally mature Clay up a smidge, and there's your short story.

Off-Duty Angel -

Sad to say, I liked this novella offering even less than I did with Stalked. Eve Levine is probably my favorite character from Armstrong's hallmark series, and she's vastly underused here. Twenty pages is not enough to formulate a real plot worthy of Eve's narration. The only other novella from this series I've read was centered on her and I apparently liked it much better than Off-Duty Angel (though I can't really remember what happened or why I liked it so.. Probably because Eve is funny.. I digress..) But the same problem that plagued Angelic and Stalked is here too: the short stories are way, way too short to satisfy readers and fans. It's too jumbled, too rushed.

The charm, the fun, the originality that make Armstrong's novels stand out just isn't here. The stories and plots are too rushed, too confusing to engage readers. The veeeery slight mystery doesn't add much to the overall piece and it really just read like...filler. Obviously the main draw for The Hunter and The Hunted is supposed to be the free sneak peak at the finale of the series, Thirteen, but since I am behind the series publication, I didn't even glance at the chapters. 

If you're looking for something by Kelley Armstrong to read, because regardless of my gripes here I truly enjoy her full-length novels, I'd suggest picking out those instead of buying these short stories. You aren't missing much and it's all been done before (and better) in the actual books.