Books and Bookish Things

Friday, April 8, 2016
April already and I feel like my war against my buying habits is at pretty much a standstill. I am not going out of control, but I still splurged a few times in the last month.

 In my defense, a few of these were sent to me for review/blog tours, etc. Those are up first and they are....


Promised to the Crown by Aimie K. Runyan (Daughters of New France #1) - this book is about young French women settling in Canada at the request of their King, Louis XIV. I've never read a historical fiction with this premise, or one set in that place at this time. Very excited to see what happens.

 Moonlight Over Paris by Jennifer Robson - this is the third story in a nonseries about women protagonists before/during/after the Great War.  This is the book of a young woman named Helena who goes to France to escape scandal and her own life with art and Paris and maybe a romance.

Cameo: Gryffindor socks!

Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy - this was an ARC that was sent to me. I have to say I love the title and the cover for this YA contemporary slash end-of-the world story. The premise has me totally intrigued and the early reports say it's full of humor and wit. I'm very excited.

Thanks to Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and Bloomsbury Publishing!

 Now we've come to it. The books that I have bought:


Sex With Kings: 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge by Eleanor Herman - fascinating subject, chaotically presented. I have already raced through this and found it a great read. I did think it could be better organized but it's recommended for nonfic readers who love centuries-old scandal.

 Inglorious Royal Marriages: a Demi-Millenium of Unholy Mismatrimony by Leslie Carroll - reading Sex With Kings started a marathon of wanting to read nonfiction about historical marriages. It's fascinating to see how these people lived, how women grasped for power, how politics and marriage were inseparable. 




We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson -- I bought this purely on the rec of Ashlea because she and I have very similar taste very often and she made me neeeeeed to read this.

 The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury -- I can blame this on twitter at large or just Dahlia and Bekka from Pretty Deadly Reviews for this. I had written it off as not a book for me, but then quotes started being shared and reactions showed up on GR and yep, I need this.




Golden Son by Pierce Brown (Red Rising #2) -- another because of Ashlea! I haven't read book one yet, despite getting an ARC all those months ago, but I have heard that I won't want to wait for book two once I do. So, finding this on sale was a done deal.




My husband bought me three books -- these two and the next photo because he likes to reward good behavior, lol.

The Last Mortal Bond by Brian Staveley (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne #3) -- series conclusion to an epic fantasy series with empires, succession, giant weaponized birds, and was inspired by Tang Dynasty China.

Snakewood by Adrian Selby --  fantasy debut about a band of mercenaries who disbanded and are now being hunted down one by one. Sounds dark and interesting and fun to me!

He also got this beauty,w hich I have wanted for ev ver 


Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente - a retelling of Snow White set in the American Old West with a half-Native American protagonist. Plus that cover.... yeah, this is one I am very excited to read.

...and I also bought The Spider's War by Daniel Abraham (The Dagger and the Coin #5) -- which is the last in a series that I have greatly enjoyed. Clever plotting, great and different main characters, morose dragons, evil enemies... it's great. 




and last but not least, because I am super excited about all of these....


There are socks for all four houses, a Quidditch uniform sock pair, and one for Hogwarts crest. I, needless to say, love them all beyond reason for pairs of socks but whatevs.

and that's it for me the last couple of weeks! I have had a few new ARCs approved for (And I Darken by Kiersten White, One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid....) that I am extremely anxious to get to. One is a fantasy inspired by the Wallachia/Ottoman struggle and the other is a new adult contemporary from a favorite author with a talent for romance and characterization.  It looks like some good books are in store for me.

I was just approve for Jessie Burton's newe book and the cover is one of my favorites this year.

 

Anything new and fun catch your eyes or land your shelves this month??







4 comments

Review: Masks and Shadows by Stephanie Burgis

Thursday, April 7, 2016
Title: Masks and Shadows
Author: Stephanie Burgis
Genre: historical fiction, supernatural fiction
Series: N/A
Pages: 300
Published: expected April 12
Source: publishers via edelweiss
Rating: 3/5
The year is 1779, and Carlo Morelli, the most renowned castrato singer in Europe, has been invited as an honored guest to Eszterháza Palace. With Carlo in Prince Nikolaus Esterházy's carriage, ride a Prussian spy and one of the most notorious alchemists in the Habsburg Empire. Already at Eszterháza is Charlotte von Steinbeck, the very proper sister of Prince Nikolaus's mistress. Charlotte has retreated to the countryside to mourn her husband's death. Now, she must overcome the ingrained rules of her society in order to uncover the dangerous secrets lurking within the palace's golden walls. 

Music, magic, and blackmail mingle in a plot to assassinate the Habsburg Emperor and Empress--a plot that can only be stopped if Carlo and Charlotte can see through the masks worn by everyone they meet.

 There were some excellent moments and ideas to be found in here but in the most part, Masks and Shadows is hampered by a distant and rotating third-person narration, and a lack of length and time to develop the characters into more than names. I liked certain of the elements of this historical and supernatural story - the conspiracy, the music angle, the mysterious and unknowable forces -- but others were unfulfilled and shallow in their execution -- like the romantic plotline, which held no chemistry, and the motivation of more than one or two of the characters.

In this author's interesting alternate version of history in Europe, alchemy actually works and can be used for many things, including in political plots. The supernatural element of Masks and Shadows is rather minimal for the larger part of the novel, but was still important to the overall plot that connects the characters. I thought the author combined the two elements with restraint and without infodumping reasons for why it was possible. That smart restraint kept it from overwhelming the plot or becoming too farfetched and also added another layer of tension and magic to the ongoing storyline. In comparison, the more political of the plotlines set at Eszterháza felt both less intense and less focused; because of the way it tied in with the less mundane, it never felt adequately set up beforehand or explained afterwards.

The characters here are rather bland, and flat. They are not helped by the distant nature of the way 3rd person is used, or the way that the POV jumps around frequently in each chapter. There are just a few characters in the myriad group that do have enough presence and individuality to stand out -- that group being comprised of only Morelli and Charlotte. However they too are more predictable than new, and their minor plotline together is unsatisfactory due to the haste in which it comes together and because of the distinct lack of chemistry between them. Anna could maybe join the list of comparatively better-defined characters but her arc felt somewhat convenient more than once over the course of the book. 

There's more good than bad to be found in reading Masks and Shadows but it's another unique one that had potential for more invention and more involvement; the premise was excellent and the execution was somewhat faltered. The plot stutters around in the beginning and the end is too jumbled for the finality needed, and the characters are unevenly drawn. The author's love for music is the highlight and comes through in the character of Anna, unlikely as her plot arc is. Overall, this was a mixed bag of historical and supernatural elements and an average read.







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Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Bookish People You Should Follow on Social Media

Tuesday, April 5, 2016


Finally, a TTT that combines the fact that I should be reading with the actual fact that I'm on Twitter. It's not secret that I love social media. Twitter, IG, Tumblr, Facebook, (for my mom,). I want to know you all. And, I want you all to know these ten bookish people.


1. Seanan McGuire - @seananmcguire

Follow for: UF with strong horror elements, Main Coons, the Owl Story



2. Courtney Milan - @courtneymilan

Follow for: Books about carriages, corsets, and smartwatches; diversity in the romance genre; hardcore lawyering




3.  WTFBadRomanceCovers 

Follow for: Objectified Scotsman, Chuck Tingle, man nipples




4 - 6. foldedpagesdistillery, youngadultbookaddict, ursula_uriarte

Follow for: books arranged gorgeously, a general sense of envy

I was just thinking it was time for a Percy Jackson appreciate post when I ran into @howlingpages #demigodphotocontest2016 last night. There are two prize packages! A Percy themed package, an Annabeth package, and then shoutouts for the winning cabin. (check out her original post for the deets) Couldn’t miss out on that! Earlier this year I took a cabin placement test and it placed me in House of Hades. I’m still not quite sure how I feel about it. ha. After reading through descriptions of all the Gods and Goddesses, I feel like Athena and my inner-Ravenclaw would make a better match. So I think I’m going to claim Athena. The Twelve Olympian Gods are: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus. While I’m a big fan of Camp Jupiter and the Greek Heroes series, I’ve always been a bigger fan of the Olympians side. Do you have a favorite Greek myth? (Reading my favorite myths from the Greek Gods and Heroes books has been a treat since they are told by Percy. Combining two of my favorite things into an ultimate reading experience. Haha) Or if you’re a demigod, who is your Greek (or Roman) parent?
A photo posted by Folded Pages Distillery (@foldedpagesdistillery) on

A photo posted by Tracey 📚 YA & NA 📚 (@youngadultbookaddict) on


7. HotDudesReading - @hotdudereading

Follow for: hot, dudes, reading




8. Gilliane Berry - The Art of Young Adult

Follow for: dat art!!!, sometimes dat art goes on SALE




9. SandersonArmy - @SandersonArmy

Follow for: Sanderson updates, tour stop notes, hugs when you finish Warbreaker




10. Book Outlet - @BookOutletcom

Follow for: Notice of their insane, legendary sales


Honorable Mentions - Jessie - @sospokejessie and Danielle - @gold_lillies 

Follow for: Links to this post, pictures of our pets




2 comments

Book Tour Review: Death Sits Down to Dinner by Tessa Arlen

Title: Death Sits Down to Dinner
Author: Tessa Arlen
Genre: historical fiction, mystery
Series: Lady Montfort Mysteries #2
Pages: 320
Published: March 29 2016
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for review
Rating: 3/5
Lady Montfort is thrilled to receive an invitation to a dinner party hosted by her close friend Hermione Kingsley, the patroness of England's largest charity. Hermione has pulled together a select gathering to celebrate Winston Churchill's 39th birthday. Some of the oldest families in the country have gathered to toast the dangerously ambitious and utterly charming First Lord of the Admiralty. But when the dinner ends, one of the gentlemen remains seated at the table, head down among the walnut shells littering the cloth and a knife between his ribs.

Summoned from Iyntwood, Mrs. Jackson helps her mistress trace the steps of suspects both upstairs and downstairs as Hermione's household prepares to host a highly anticipated charity event. Determined to get to the bottom of things, Lady Montfort and Mrs. Jackson unravel the web of secrecy surrounding the bright whirlwind of London society, investigating the rich, well-connected and seeming do-gooders in a race against time to stop the murderer from striking again.

Death Sits Down to Dinner is an enjoyable Edwardian murder-mystery with an upstairs/downstairs angle between the two sleuths in the thick of the investigation: the aristocratic Lady Montfort and her reluctant companion, the housekeeper Mrs. Jackson. Set in a world on the cusp of outright hostility with Germany, the characters find themselves embroiled in a conspiracy with unexpected and far-reaching repercussions.

The story unfolds rather slowly once the inciting incident at the eponymous dinner has passed. It takes time for Lady Montfort to involve herself in the investigation and even longer to recruit Mrs. Jackson from her charity efforts. It's not boring, though, because Clementine's person and life take time for form.The novel does pretty well at establishing who these characters are and how they know one another for a second novel. I have not read the novel's predecessor, Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman, but luckily for me and other late-to-the-party readers, the plot of this novel is wholly contained and related only to this book.  

 Peppered with real as well as fictional people, the appearances of historical figures such as Churchill and Lady Maud Cunard, among others, further set the scene and atmosphere of the story in Death Sits Down to Dinner. Arlen cleverly fills in the gaps of what we know about the real people and creates interesting and memorable versions of them -- it's also worth reading the author's note at the end of the book for more. 

 I had a few small issues with the book that kept me from loving it. The villain, though moderately well camouflaged, waxes on for PAGES about their villainous plans and their nefarious reasons and it just was unbelievable. I felt like Lady Montfort had more characterization than Mrs. Jackson, and that the book ended really abruptly --- after the villain's soliloquoy. I liked Death Sits Down to Dinner well enough, but it was not a perfect read for me.






04_Death Sits Down to Dinner_Blog Tour Banner_FINAL

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, March 28
Review at Laura’s Interests
Interview at Books and Benches

Tuesday, March 29
Review at A Book Geek
Interview at Historical Fiction Addicts

Wednesday, March 30
Interview at AustenProse

Thursday, March 31
Review at Buried Under Books
Spotlight & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

Friday, April 1
Review at Reading Is My SuperPower

Monday, April 4
Review at Reading the Past
Spotlight at Seize the Words: Books in Review

Tuesday, April 5
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews

Wednesday, April 6
Review at Luxury Reading

Thursday, April 7
Review at A Chick Who Reads

Friday, April 8
Review at A Holland Reads

Monday, April 11
Review at The Absurd Book Nerd

Tuesday, April 12
Interview at The Absurd Book Nerd

Wednesday, April 13
Review at Room With Books

Thursday, April 14
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Friday, April 15
Review at Jorie Loves a Story

Monday, April 18
Review at Beth’s Book Nook Blog

Tuesday, April 19
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews

Wednesday, April 20
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Thursday, April 21
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Friday, April 22
Spotlight at Let Them Read Books

Monday, April 25
Review & Giveaway at Brooke Blogs

Tuesday, April 26
Review at Book Nerd

Wednesday, April 27
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!

Friday, April 29
Review at To Read, Or Not to Read
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Bookish Bingo's Readathon TBR!

Sunday, April 3, 2016
Our dear friends at Pretty Deadly Reviews are running their first read-a-thon, to try and help certain people, (*cough*me*cough*) who can't seem to finish their bingo cards. This week we're reading as many books as we can that fulfill Bingo squares. They're also giving us some mini-challenges, the first of which is...

Show your TBR! 


I've actually been doing better than usual on my card, but now all the easy squares are done! I've picked five books that I'm going to try to read this week:



Non-binary MC: Pantomime by Laura Lam
Criminals:  The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron
Characters are not human: Written in Red by Anne Bishop
Number in the Title: Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans
Non-fiction: Royal Romances: Titillating Tales of Passion and Power in the Palaces of Europe by Leslie Carroll

This is my first read-a-thon, but I'm very excited and hopeful. How about you, loves? Are you reading with us? Or are you more freeform?
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Review: Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

Saturday, April 2, 2016
Title: Lilac Girls
Author: Martha Hall Kelly
Genre: historical fiction
Series: N/A
Pages: 496 pages
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating:  3.5/5
New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France.

An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspecting neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences.

For the ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. Once hired, though, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.

The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, Germany, and Poland—as Caroline and Kasia strive to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten.

In Lilac Girls, Martha Hall Kelly has crafted a remarkable novel of unsung women and their quest for love, freedom, and second chances. It is a story that will keep readers bonded with the characters, searching for the truth, until the final pages.

 With two of the main characters based in fact and one a made up fiction of the author's, Lilac Girls weaves the harsh, often hard-to-read story of three womens' lives caught up in the obscene horror of WWII. The subject matter is unforgiving and painful; this book can be hard to read and it is quite long. It can be a draining experience to read, but it is also a meaningful one. The disparate narrators come from both sides of the central conflict, and while two voices engender sympathy, empathy, and grief, the other POV creates a slow but deep and lasting horror. 

 A lot of the atrocities visited by the Nazis on their victims are known in the abstract. Using Ravensbrück as a focal point, Kelly brings that knowledge to life. When I said it can be hard to read Lilac Girls, I honestly meant it. There are sections in this novel that depict the worst of humankind; torture, medical experimentation, abuse across the spectrum abound and happen to characters. It's far from an easy read but Kasia's spirit and Caroline's empathy are the bright spots in the darkness of the plot and the surroundings.

The well-chosen moments of friendship, and of love, really stand out amongst the rest of narrative's aspects and themes. Be it between mothers and daughters, or friends, or family, those human connections are the perfect juxtaposition to the inhumanity of the doctors and the Nazis. The sisterhood between the Rabbits is heartbreaking to read, but also shows their indomitable will to endure and help one another. They all might not have lived, but each Rabbit was a survivor from the start. 

I thought the story was a little long by the time it had ended. Lilac Girls is near 500 pages and it can be hard to continue at times, feeling drawn out. I took quite a bit longer to invest in the characters themselves (not Herta, obviously) instead of just the history that they represented, but I did eventually care quite a bit about Caroline's life and Kasia's fate. This was a solidly drawn and well-realized historical fiction novel, and I think it would be a good read for fans of stories along the lines of Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein.

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TBR Planning: April 2016

Friday, April 1, 2016

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Choksi

Cursed with a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, sixteen-year-old Maya has only earned the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her world is upheaved when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. But when her wedding takes a fatal turn, Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Yet neither roles are what she expected. As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds friendship and warmth.

But Akaran has its own secrets - thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Beneath Akaran's magic, Maya begins to suspect her life is in danger. When she ignores Amar's plea for patience, her discoveries put more than new love at risk - it threatens the balance of all realms, human and Otherworldly.

Now, Maya must confront a secret that spans reincarnated lives and fight her way through the dangerous underbelly of the Otherworld if she wants to protect the people she loves.

This lovely fantasy was inspired by Indian mythology and sounds fantastic. From what the author has said on twitter to this synopsis to the early reviews already coming in, I think this is going to be a really original, vivid new fantasy.  

Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann -- I am both excited for and nervous about this one. I loved Heppermann's feminist fairytale poems, but verse novels have never worked for me in my any years of reading. Still, for this author I am more than willing to try.

Traitor Angels by Anne Blankman -- I love YA historical fiction and Anne Blankman is very good at it. This time around she is setting her story in England, under King Charles II and with the daughter of John Milton as the protagonist.

Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima -- I am half excited for this and half offended by its very existence. The series title is ominous (The Shattered Realms) and I KNOW there is now way Chima is going to let Han and Raisa be happy/happily married in these books. So. I want to read but I also am already side-eyeing it.


Saint's Blood by Sebastien de Castell (Greatcoats #3)



How do you kill a Saint?

Falcio, Kest, and Brasti are about to find out, because someone has figured out a way to do it and they've started with a friend.

The Dukes were already looking for ways out of their agreement to put Aline on the throne, but with the Saints turning up dead, rumours are spreading that the Gods themselves oppose her ascension. Now churches are looking to protect themselves by bringing back the military orders of religious soldiers, assassins, and (especially) Inquisitors - a move that could turn the country into a theocracy. The only way Falcio can put a stop to it is by finding the murderer. He has only one clue: a terrifying iron mask which makes the Saints vulnerable by driving them mad. But even if he can find the killer, he'll still have to face him in battle.

And that may be a duel that no swordsman, no matter how skilled, can hope to win.

Third in this ongoing fantasy series, I am veeeery eager to dive back in with these characters. I may have to reread books one and two, just for a fun refresher. There have been some issues with these books, but I still really like them --- and the UK covers :D


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