Book Review: Blue Smoke and Murder

Good news! Blue Smoke and Murder is classic Lowell and not the disappointing piles of poop The Wrong Hostage and Innocent as Sin were. This book is more on the scale of Always Time to Die (which I enjoyed).

It still centers around St. Kilda Consulting, which I think it totally weird, but whatever. The heroine, Jill, is a river guide who saves the life of a son of two St. Kilda operatives. In payment, his father tells her that if she ever needs help, to call him. Scarcely a month later, Jill's great-aunt dies in a suspicious fire, one of twelve family paintings is destroyed, and Jill's life is threatened. So she calls in her favor, and hottie operative Zach shows up to help her out.

The story really centers around the painting, and Lowell goes on and on about Western art. (If you've ever read an Elizabeth Lowell contemporary, you know how she tends to do that with art, jewels, minerals, etc.) But it isn't as boring as it usually is.

Also, there is real, genuine chemistry between Jill and Zach. That was something that was definitely missing in Innocent as Sin.

It was an entertaining read.

Book Review: Death Angel

Started off interesting.

Ended boring.

Too much internal contemplation by the characters.

Not enough dialogue.

Book Review: At Last Comes Love

Turns out, this review is a bit like the last one, given that I'm reviewing the third book in a series. This time it's Mary Balogh's Huxtable series. (I think there are going to be two more.) The series is about a family of siblings, the Huxtables, who grew up modestly as the children of a clergyman. Margaret is the oldest, then Vanessa, then Katherine, then the only son, Stephen. In the first book, First Comes Marriage they are living in a small village, all under the same roof except Vanessa, who married a local man and was widowed a year later. She lives with her in-laws until a nobleman shows up in the village one day and announces that Stephen, at seventeen, is now an earl due to the death of some distant relatives.

I can't exactly remember why the nobleman (I'm going to call him Elliott, because that's his name) decides that he's going to marry one of the Huxtable sisters, but he does. And he settles on Margaret, who is the oldest and also very beautiful. But Margaret has been in love with her childhood sweetheart for years, and he's been away at war for four years. Vanessa knows that her sister is waiting on her long-lost love, so she intervenes and offers herself to Elliott.

The rest of the book deals with their relationship, and I liked it, but that's probably because I like all Mary Balogh books. Vanessa has some issues she needs to deal with due to the fact that she's the ugly duckling among her beautiful siblings. And I can't remember Elliott's issues, but I seem to remember that he said some, too. I liked this book.

Then Comes Seduction is Katherine's story. It starts when she unfortunately becomes the object of a bet by Jasper, a young, rakish baron. He bets that he can get her to surrender her virginity in a fortnight, and he almost succeeds. But at the last minute he has an attack of conscience, and steps away.

Three years later, they encounter each other again, and because the bet was made publicly in a gambling house, the men of society know about their past. A scandal threatens, and Katherine reluctantly agrees to marry him.

I liked this book, too. Balogh's books are hard to describe because they focus so much on the relationship between the hero and heroine. There's usually not a whole else going on externally. I seem to remember, however, that Jasper had a motivation for entering the marriage, as well. He has a younger half-sister, and he shares guardianship with her cousin, who wants nothing more than to have full-guardianship (and access to her fortune). A respectable wife would help Jasper's cause in that area.

I think it is at the end of First Comes Marriage that Margaret finds out that the man she's been waiting for, Crispin Dew, married a Spanish lady when he was away at war. Naturally she's very hurt and feels betrayed. She's thirty when she encounters Crispin for the first time, and because he has wounded her pride, she lies and tells him that she's engaged. She actually expects to get engaged soon, because she has a male friend who has proposed many times but that she has always turned down. But lately she had been thinking that she wants to accept and start her own family, instead of just being aunt to her sister's children.

Unfortunately for Margaret, the night she plans on accepting him is the night her friend announces his engagement to someone else. So Margaret finds herself at a ball with Crispin and no fiance. Lucky for her, when she flees the ballroom she runs into a man who conveniently agrees to be her fiance. As it turns out, he's been a social outcast for the past five years due to the fact that he left his bride at the altar and ran away with her married sister-in-law.

Like I said, Balogh's books are all about the relationships, so there's not much more to say other than I liked this book, but I didn't love it.

Book Review: Always a Scoundrel

I just recently finished reading Always a Scoundrel by Suzanne Enoch, the third book in her Notorious Gentlemen trilogy. The series follows three male friends in Regency England who fought together in the Peninsular Wars. The hero of the first book, After the Kiss, is Sullivan Waring, the illegitimate son of a nobleman. The hero of the second book, Before the Scandal is Phinneas Something-or-Other, the younger brother of a nobleman. And this book is about Bramwell Johns, the second son of a duke. Perhaps it's the fact that the three of them lack the responsibilities that go along with a title that makes these guys act so "notoriously." Sully is a housethief, Phin is a highwayman, and Bram copies Sully to become a housethief himself.

I actually really enjoyed After the Kiss. I read a lot of Regency romance novels, so it's not uncommon that I'll read a book without really engaging in it in any way. But that didn't happen this book. I thought that the romance between the hero and heroine was sweet and genuine. Also, the development of their relationship came across as very natural, not rushed, as often happens in romance novels.

Before the Scandal, however, must have been very forgettable because I basically forgot everything about it. I couldn't even remember what the heroine's name was when I was reading Always a Scoundrel. Oops.

I would say that After the Scoundrel was better than the second book but not as good as the first. Bramwell Johns is supposed to be the ultimate bad guy, totally beyond redemption. He's friends with the worst guy in the ton. (I can't remember his name.) The two of them don't really have a real friendship because no one is really friends with the other guy. Also, Bram is not quite the lost cause his friend is because when he finds out that his friend is blackmailing a young lady to marry him, he feels the need to prevent the marriage.

As it just so happens, he falls in love with the lady himself.

What was hard for me to buy about the story was Bram's reformation. I'm kind of tired of that storyline. And, I didn't understand what it was about Rosamund that changed his mind. Smart Bitch Candy would attribute it to Rose's magic hoo-haa. Despite the fact that she's perfectly ordinary, he is dying to have her. It's a little hard to believe.

And there's another reason why I don't like that tired storyline. These rakish heroes are always total manwhores before they meet their heroines. And almost without fail, the women that they sleep with are portrayed as slutty, vindictive, moral-less women. Meanwhile, the heroes just move on to the virginal heroine.

That really bothers me. It takes two to tango, but it is only the women who have sex outside of love who are so villainized. They are written as really, really terrible people. It makes you wonder why these men even bothered with them to begin with, and why they seem to be capable of redemption but the women don't. It just makes me uncomfortable that they are always passed over for the pure virgins.

But all in all, Always the Scoundrel was a pretty good book if you can get past Bram's transformation from rakehell to devoted husband.

Book Review: Mistress of the Monarchy

The first book I ever read by Alison Weir was The Wars of the Roses. I had just taken History of England in my freshman year of college and the people and events of the time period captivated me. After I read the book, I was also captivated by one historical figure in particular, John of Gaunt, third son of Edward III of England.

There is just something about John of Gaunt that draws you in. I probably took notice of him because, although he himself was never king, his direct descendants peppered the throne of not just England but Europe. Every English king starting with Henry IV is a direct descendant of the greatest nobleman in England. The Wars of the Roses are essentially his descendants battling it out. John of Gaunt married Blanche of Lancaster and became the Duke of Lancaster, so obviously the Lancastrians are his descendants. But Richard of York was also his great-grandson by virtue of his bastard daughter, Joan Beaufort. So his blood ran through the Yorkists as well. And not only was Henry VIII his great-great-great-grandson, but Catherine of Aragon was his great-great-granddaughter.

The progeny of John of Gaunt is captivating, but even more so because the Beauforts were his bastards with his mistress, Katherine Swynford. And the Beaufords were pretty bad-ass themselves. Katherine was the daughter of a lowly herald in Edward III's court, but her direct descendants include Edward IV, Edward V, and Richard III (through her daughter Joan Beaufort); Henry VII and all the Tudors (through her son John Beaufort); and also James I and the Stewarts (though both her grandchildren John Beaufort and Joan Beaufort). Her son Henry Beaufort became a cardinal and apparently just narrowly missed being appointed Pope.

So long story short, Katherine Swynford is interesting, particularly because she was John of Gaunt's mistress for nine years before he married her after his second wife died. Mistress of the Monarchy is purportedly about her life, but really it is about her and John. Because she was of rather inconsequential birth, most the information Weir has about Katherine comes from John. For instance, Weir estimates the birthdates of the four Beaufort children based upon substantial gifts John made to her. Any insight into her personal feelings and thoughts is just conjecture, but one thing becomes abundantly clear: John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford loved each other very much. It's just a classic love story—the rich, powerful, noble hero and the beautiful, intelligent heroine. What more could you ask for?

Book Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I don't even know what to say about this book by Seth Graham-Smith. "Magical" comes to mind.

This book is essentially Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen with zombies thrown in. And it is done is such a brilliant fashion that I was immensely entertained.

The Bennet girls are all highly trained zombie killers who studied with a martial arts master in China at the direction of the father. Their mother is mostly concerned with getting them married. When Elizabeth Bennet first meets Mr. Darcy as a county dance and hears him tell Mr. Bingley that she is "not handsome enough to tempt me," she starts seeing red. She is about to bust out her knife and slit his throat in defense of her honor when she is stopped by "unmentionables" (i.e., zombies) who break in through the windows and start eating people's brains. She and her four sisters immediately take the positions and form the "Pentagram of Death."

Need I say more?

Book Review: The Temptation of the Night Jasmine

The Temptation of the Night Jasmine is the fifth book in Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series. The series is based around an American graduate student names Eloise who goes to England to work on her dissertation/thesis. She is writing about spies during the Napoleonic Wars, post-French Revolution era. (Think the Scarlet Pimpernel.) When the matriarch of a noble family allows her access to the family papers, Eloise uncovers a whole group of flower-named spies. Eloise also catches the attention of the matriarch's nephew, Colin.

The books are light on Eloise's story, and heavy on the historical stories of the people she's researching. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, but I haven't been too crazy about the others. Mostly because so much time elapses between each publication, and I don't reread them, that I forget who is who and what went on in the last book. That's partially why I liked this book more than most.

The heroine in this book is Charlotte, who is a close friend of Henrietta, the heroine of The Masque of the Black Tulip and sister of the hero in Pink Carnation. So there is a connection to the previous books, but really this story stands on its own.

Charlotte was the daughter of the Duke of Dovedale, who died when she was young. Her distant (distant) cousin Robert inherits, but he is very young (I think fifteen) and runs away to join the army in India. It could be that he runs away before he actually inherits, but I don't remember. He isn't much interested in being Duke so he leaves things to Charlotte's grandmother, the Dowager Duchess. But years later when his mentor in the army is murdered by a fellow soldier who then hightails it back to England, Robert vows to avenge his mentor. That requires him to enter society as the Duke of Dovedale.

When he returns, Robert takes immediate notice of his lovely cousin, and Charlotte has harbored a secret tendre for Robert since they were children. But in true romance novel fashion, noble Robert messes things up because he doesn't think he can pursue Charlotte and the killer at the same time.

Willig has a lot of elements going on in this story, which makes it interesting. Charlotte loves to read romantic novels and she soon has to face the reality that life does not always turn out the way it does in her books. And Robert is haunted by the ghost of his reprobate father and has all sorts of "I'm not worthy" issues. I just bought the Twilight DVD and I've been watching it recently, so that is probably why I felt like there were similarities between Robert and Edward Cullen. Both of them think that they're no good when obviously that's not the case. But that's a pretty standard device in romance novels, I guess.

Anyway, it's not a bad book. But beware, romance novel readers: THERE IS NO SEX. I know, right? That's ridiculous. Even more ridiculous that Eloise and Colin didn't get it on. What are you doing, Willig? Stringing us along until the very end? (I've heard it's meant to be a six book series.) I guess so. Damn it.

Book Review: The Purity Myth

I was pretty excited to read this book when it came out. The author, Jessica Valenti, has a blog called Feministing that I frequently read. And also, I grew up in a culture that placed heavy influence on saving yourself for marriage (i.e., no pre-marital sex). When I was younger I bought what was taught to me hook, line, and sinker, but since getting older my views have changed. So this is a subject that I'm very interested in.

Valenti's main position is that the obsession with "purity," "chastity," and "virginity" is harmful to young women because it creates a dichotomy that allows women to be only either virgins or whores. She does a good job supporting her position, and even if it is not a perfect representation of society, I think she raises a lot of good points that really require us to think about.

I had only one beef with this book. There was virtually no discussion of how the purity myth harms the women that buy into it as well. There were a couple of allusions to how sex can't magically go from being evil and dirty to being wonderful after a person is married, but I wish that she had explored that a little more. The basic idea was there, but never developed. But of course, a book can't cover everything, so it's not necessarily a weakness. It's just something that I would have appreciated. I think that the purity myth can be harmful to women even if they don't "mess up" and have pre-marital sex, I guess is what I'm trying to say.

We're (at least I'm) Back!

Wow, it's been a really long time since anyone posted on here. Does anyone read us anymore? Probably not.

Well, I'm going to start posting again whether we have readers or not (although I'm not sure we ever had readers, come to think of it...)

Here's a rough list of the books I've read since I've been gone (at least the ones that I can remember. One star (*) is not so good, and five stars (*****) is excellent!

(In reverse chronological order)
1. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (*****)

What an amazing book! I am more than a little pissed at myself for not reading it in high school when it was assigned to me, but oh well. I probably would not have appreciated it as much if I had read it then.

Not only is the plot of ATOTC engrossing, the writing is outstanding. I have a slight beef with Lucie Manette being so uninteresting and bland. (Her greatest characteristic is that she can nurture.) But I think Dickens redeemed himself somewhat with Terese Defarge and Miss Pross, as far as female characters go. Madama Defarge was everything Lucie was not, and despite her evilness, you kind of have to respect her—she's undeniably badass. And that scene at the end of the book between Madame Defarge and Miss Pross? AMAZING. I could feel the tension.

Also, I fell a little in love with Sydney Carton. In real life I would blow him off, because, COME ON. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. I think the guy had clinical depression now that I think about it. But as a character he's great. I cried during the final scene (even though I knew what was going to happen!!!) Love, love, love the closing line of the novel. It's beautiful.

2. The Trial of Queen Caroline by Jane Robbins (****)

I'm giving this book four stars because I have a huge boner for English history, English royal history, and the Regency period. As an attorney, it was really enjoyable to see the workings of the British legal system back in 1820 and how similar it is to the American system today (in some ways).

And, because I apparently develop crushes on the men in books (see supra re: Sydney Carton), I fell a little in love with Lord Brougham, the Queen's counsel. He kicked arse.

3. Privilege and Scandal by Jane Gleeson (****)

This book was about Harriet Spencer, ancestor of Princess Diana and sister to Georgianna, Duchess of Devonshire (wife of the 5th Duke and subject of the book and movie "The Duchess"). Harriet lived a really fascinating life, and I was kind of pissed that she was completely left out of the movie version of "The Duchess." She was smart as a whip, involved in Whip politics, and had a long-term affair (and two illegitimate children) with a younger man who ended up married to her niece. How can that not be interesting?

4. Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change by Stephen Kinzer (*****)

Excellent, excellent, excellent. This book did more to help me understand world politics that anything I've ever read or watched.


Well, that's all I can think of now. I'll be back, though!

Book Review: Breaking Dawn

In case anyone cares, I'm going to throw out my two cents on the last installment of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. SPOILER ALERT!



I really liked it. I know a lot of people didn't, and I know a lot of people have problems with the entire series. (For instance, Edward is too controlling and possessive.) That would probably bother me if these weren't books about teenage vampires. But since they are, I don't take it all too seriously. Not only is this fiction, it is fiction that could never, ever happen. I will even admit that at first I was a little bothered by the fact that Bella was so willing and eager to give up her life for Edward, but again I decided that I shouldn't take it too seriously. But I honestly feel like Breaking Dawn resolved some of the uneasiness I felt about the whole series.

For instance, I was never crazy about Bella becoming a vampire, even though the romance-novel-reader in me wanted them to be together forever. So when Bella's turning became a necessity instead of just a wish, I felt a lot better about it. Well played, Stephenie.

Also, I never liked Jacob's relationship with Bella because it made me uncomfortable that he was so obsessed with her when she wanted to be with Edward. So the whole imprinting on Bella's daughter was actually a clever solution to the problem, I thought. Yes, yes, some people think that's creepy. To them I say this: we're talking about a werewolf "imprinting" on a half-vampire child. Don't you think we can suspend reality enough in such a situation to believe that there is nothing gross in the relationship? I mean, if you're going to accept that he's a werewolf and she's a half-vampire, it's not too much more of a stretch to accept that their relationship is not within traditional human understanding, is it not? I thought the whole thing was an excellent solution to the problem I'd always had. Again, well played.

Some reviewers are saying Meyer just appeased everyone, but who the hell cares? These are books for teens, really. I really, really thought for a good while there that she was going to kill them all off and have them have a happily ever after in vampire heaven. Because that was kind of a question that lingered through the series--do vampires have an after-afterlife? And at one point in Breaking Dawn Meyer had Bella thinking that if there was an afterlife she could spend with Edward then that would be her "happily-ever-after." Considering that I had already seen that the title of the last chapter was "Happily-ever-after" I was sure everyone was going to die. So I was pleased that everyone didn't die. IT'S OKAY FOR BOOKS TO END HAPPILY, ISN'T IT?

My only complaint is in the biology (how can Edward get a stiffy IF HE HAS NO CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM?), but I can easily get over that. Suspend belief.

I think that people who have serious problems with this book and the whole series need to lighten up. They're inherently silly books, really. I read them for pure entertainment value and I'm glad that the entertainment aspect of them was preserved in the finale.

Well played, Stephenie Meyer. Well played.

Lindsey's Grade: A-

Chit Chat

Lately I have been thinking a lot about book series and what it is that makes a reader continue on in a series. I read a lot of romance novels and a lot of authors within the genre write in series, or at least have characters that are interconnected. What I am not sure about is whether I continue reading in a series because of some strange obligation I feel or because I genuinely like the writing and the stories.

I have to admit, sometimes I feel like I buy books just because they are the next one in the series. Even though I really like her books, sometimes I have felt that way about Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series. I really liked The Seduction of the Crimson Rose, but I wasn't crazy about The Deception of the Emerald Ring. So what made me continue? Ultimately I think it was the contemporary story that Willig weaves and spreads out through all her books.

And there are some series that I have to read just because I love the writing and that makes me auto-buys for me. I know a lot of people don't like her, but Stephanie Laurens is like that for me. I don't care what the plot of a particular book is. If it's a Cynster or Bastion Club book, I'll buy it.

I do so many auto-buys on a familiar series that I was concerned that I'm being suckered into buying books that aren't very good just because I read the first one. So I was very pleased with myself when I finally, finally gave up on Eloisa James after Desperate Duchesses. I started out really liking her books, but the last two books before Desperate Duchesses didn't appeal to me at all. After reading the first in her Duchess series, I finally found the willpower to say "no more." It was hard, but I did it.

And then there are books like the Twilight series that I not only love, but I have to read so I can know what happens to the characters! It's very hard to put a series down when there is no real conclusion until the last one.

I'm trying to figure this all out because I'm contemplating continuing on with the vampire series I started out of curiosity/for experiement's sake. I have nothing else to read as far as novels go, at the moment. But I don't know if I should spend the money. I wouldn't mind hearing the stories of the other characters, but am I going to regret it if I commit to five more books?

So I guess I'm just curious--how do you approach series?

Book Reviews

I've read all these books in the past few months. And honestly, they were all pretty good. No major complaints.

Book Review: Dark Lover

Since in the past I have ranted and raved about how much I hate the influx of vampire/paranormal stories into the romance genre, I was a little concerned that I had been too hasty in my condemnation when I discovered I loved a series of books about teenage vampires. So I decided to do a little experiment and yesterday I bought a vampire romance novel that is part of a series that has generated a lot of positive talk in the romance fan world.

Turns out, I'm still not crazy about vampires. The vampires in Dark Lover are very different from the ones in the Twilight series. Indeed, the whole vampire world is different.

I prefer the Twilight version.

Not that this book was bad. In fact, it was entertaining. But I couldn't help but think that I would have liked the vampire hero just as much if not more if he were human.

It's good to know that my original instincts were correct. Phew.

Book Reviews: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse

I never in a million years would have thought that I would write a raving review about teenage vampire books, but here I am. Perhaps you have heard of these books: Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse. Apparently they are bestsellers. The last book in the series is Breaking Dawn and it comes out in August. I CAN'T WAIT!

I think that part of the reason I enjoy these books so much is because they are set in Forks, Washington, which is on the Olympic Peninsula for those of you that don't know. A lot of scenes also take place in La Push, and I've been to both places. I love, love, love western Washington so reading about these places that I know and like is pretty cool.

The main character in Twilight is a seventeen year old girl names Isabella (Bella) Swan. Bella has lived her whole life with her mother in Phoenix, but when her mom gets remarried to a professional baseball player who travels a lot, Bella moves to Forks to live with her father, Charlie. In Forks she meets Edward Cullen, an incredibly handsome seventeen year old who is the member of a mysterious family in town, the Cullens. It doesn't take long before Bella discovers that Edward and his family are, in fact, vampires!

But the Cullens are unique vampires. Their patriarch, Carlisle, "created' all of them and taught them to live a "vegetarian" lifestyle, which essentially means that they don't drink human blood, only animal blood. They still crave human blood, and as it turns out, Edward happens to crave Bella's blood even more than the average person. Which makes the fact that they fall in love with each other pretty interesting...

But there are other bad vampires out there in the world and when three of them wander into Forks and find Bella hanging out with the Cullens, they're intrigued. And one of them wants Bella. How far will the Edward and his family go to protect Bella, and will it be enough? Ooooohhhh....

New Moon picks up a few months after where Twilight leaves off. This is actually my favorite of the three books that are out so far. Without giving too much away, I will say that there are some really interesting plot twists that occur in this book and that set up the rest of the series. Specifically worth mentioning is Jacob Black, a family friend of Bella's who is a sixteen year old member of the Quileute Indian Tribe in La Push. Tribal legend has told of members who turn into werewolves when vampires are around the community, as well of an ancient treaty between the tribe and the "vegetarian" vampires (i.e., the Cullens). Well, turns out the legends are true! And young Jacob turns into a werewolf, the mortal enemy of the vampires. How is Bella supposed to handle the feud between her true love, Edward, and her best friend, Jacob? Ooooohhhh.... (Tons of other important stuff happens, but I don't to give it away.)

Now we get to Eclipse, the most recently published book. This book is hard to describe without giving too much away about New Moon. There are things about Eclipse that makes me not like it as much as the other two books, but at the same time Meyer does some stuff here that is pretty intriguing. I didn't like what she did, but you know, sometimes your characters have a life of their own and a writer can't really control it. Maybe Meyer planned it all out, but there's a part of me that thinks that a natural progression occurred beyond her control. Let's just say that things get pretty complicated for Bella here. Vampires, werewolves, true love... that's a lot for an eighteen year old to handle.

I can't say why I like these books so much. It's not the vampires because I'm still pretty ambivalent about vampires, but Meyer is just a good storyteller. I care about these characters and feel like I'm a part of their lives. And she's set things up so that there is a really compelling story going on here (partly because Edward is going to be seventeen forever and Bella is... not. Can you tell where this is going?) I don't know how she is going to wrap all of this up in Breaking Dawn but I already feel like she can go a number of different ways and still have it be satisfying.

My one little gripe about these books has to do with the romantic relationship between Bella and Edward, and especially the developments in New Moon. I understand that they love each other and all that, but look, I've been seventeen and in love, too. I too was convinced that it was going to be forever, but as it turns out, it wasn't. There's a part of me that is concerned about the message that these books send about teenage relationships, but I'm trying to ignore that because, well, one of the teenagers is a vampire that was born in 1901, so he's been around the block. Maybe it's possible to fall eternally in love when you're seventeen if the person you fall in love with is a vampire, because really, that's a pretty special circumstance. And heck, I'd be in love with Edward Cullen, too.

I am really getting into Young Adult books, now, I don't know why. I kind of think that I have a Peter Pan complex, though. Young Adult books, High School Musical movies and music, teeny-bopper films, The Disney Channel shows... What's wrong with me?

Book Review: The Far Sweet Thing

Well, I didn't enjoy this book as much as Rebel Angels, but I still liked it.

In this third and final installment of the Gemma Doyle triology, Gemma is starting to come into her own as she is forced to deal with all the creates of the Realms since she is now the sole holder of the magic. (Sorry, that was a spoiler.)

There are some things that annoyed me in this book, too. Mainly all the time spent in the Realms and how Gemma was sooooo dumb for sooooo long about her friend Pippa. (I know, this review is useless to anyone who hasn't read the book. Oh well.) Part of the reason why I liked Rebel Angels so much is that most of the book took place in London instead of at Spence Academy, so there was a lot more going on. And there weren't really any surprises left for The Far Sweet Thing as most of those had been resolved in Rebel Angels. so I felt like I was just waiting to see what would happen for most of this book instead of being actively engaged in the story.

Anyhoo, that's all I have to say. Not a bad trilogy.

Book Review: Rebel Angels

(Hey! I'm back! Once I finished with that pesky Moot Court stuff I had time to read again!)

I read the prequel to this book, A Great and Terrible Beauty, over a year ago, and I bought this one not long after. But I wasn’t really crazy about the first book so I put off reading this one until just a few weeks ago. I was rather surprised to discover that I liked this one much more!

These books center around the life of sixteen (then later seventeen) year old Gemma Doyle around 1895. Gemma grew up in India with her British parents, but after her mother died a mysterious death she and her family moved back to England and Gemma was enrolled in Spence Academy for Young Girls. It is at Spence that Gemma starts having mysterious visions and learns about a group of women sorceresses called The Order. The background information is all set up in the first book, so maybe that’s why I felt it was dry. By the second book Bray was really able to delve into the secrets of The Order and The Realms (a magical world that only members of The Order are able to access).

There are a lot of things about Gemma that annoyed me at first--mainly that she has an uncanny ability to trust the wrong people. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that is probably very true to life. A young girl without a mother who suddenly finds herself possessing magical powers and being hailed as the next High Priestess would probably be a little confused. Moreover, she is so young and faces so many tough choices and responsibilities that she was probably overwhelmed!

By the way, I should mention that these are YA (young adult) books, but I don’t really care. I AM STILL YOUNG ENOUGH TO READ YA WITHOUT SHAME, DAMN IT.

Anyway, if you like books that have magic and stuff you might like this series.

Book Links

The Pleasures and Perils of Chasing Book Thieves

Q & A with author Tracy Chevalier

The Fug Girls try not to discuss books. Their new book is out now.

An upcoming reading challenge. I'm thinking of trying at least one this year and this one may be it.

Booking Through Thursday - Hero

You should have seen this one coming … Who is your favorite Male lead character?

Well, I can say that I don't have any favorites. I rarely read books with male lead characters--sorry. I finished reading His Dark Materials and I enjoyed Will's character more than Lyra. His maturity level and common sense kept me interested in the book. If he wasn't introduced in book two I most likely would have stopped reading since I began to find the story dull.

I enjoyed reading Harry Potter and watching his character develop over the years. I remember struggling with his character development at times, thinking he was too selfish or overconfident, and realizing that it bothered me. I think it was the first time I had been so involved with a character, like a friend, that I was concerned.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (1891)

First, check out the painting that was on the cover of my book. It alone caused me to want to read this book. She looks so sad. The painting, by Francis Danby, is called "Disappointed Love". I find it haunting.

I will admit that I am a thief. I have had a high school copy of this book since 9th grade Honors English. I can remember glancing at the book thinking it looks too hard to read. It's not. In fact I loved it. I'm actually surprised since I usually don't enjoy fiction, let alone classical fiction. Tess is hands down the most depressing character I have ever met in a book. Nothing goes well for Tess. She was deceived by a man at an early age and works so hard to bring herself out of poverty and despair, but soon finds herself back in it. I hated Angel Care, Tess's husband. I hated that he could have premarital sex and yet not forgive Tess for being raped as a teenager. Stupid men. I also despised him when he asked another woman to run away with him after not being able to forgive Tess. This was while still being married to Tess. Even though he doesn't go through with it he still is scum in my mind. Her rapist, Alec, also is a piece of work. A lot happens in this book and I don't want to ruin the ending for future readers **AHEM, LINDSEY AHEM**.
This is not a happy novel. It is the kind of book which makes you reflect upon humanity and a woman's role in society. It also reminds one to be grateful for what they have.

Kim's Grade: A