Novella Review - The Mysterious Lady Law by Robert Appleton (3.5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Size: 267 KB
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: January 31, 2011
ASIN: B004GB1TB8
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC from NetGalley.com
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

 
I got a copy of this novella through NetGalley(dot)com.  It looked like an insteresting read in the steampunk genre and I had read positive reviews of it on other blogs, so I decided to give a try.  Overall is was an engaging read full of mystery and action; nothing spectacular but amusing all the same.

Julia is a dancer and when her sister is murdered the London police get involved.  They are having trouble solving the case and one of the young constables takes a shining to Julia.  Then the mysterious Lady Law gets involved.  Lady Law has solved every case she has taken on for investigation and she wants to take on Julia's case pro bono.  Ends up there is more mystery behind Julia's sister's death and behind Lady Law herself than anyone ever thought.

This story was decently written and easy to read.  I enjoyed the reimagining of Victoria London to a place populated by dirigibles and steam-based contraptions.  The descriptions of contraptions was interesting and unique.  The characters don't have a ton of depth to them but they are all easy to relate to and fairly engaging.  This book really shines in some of the descriptions of settings which really make the city come alive for the reader.  I also enjoyed the strong and plucky female characters throughout.

The plot was okay.  It takes some interesting twists and the book is tied up nicely.  I thought the way things ended was a bit contrived and odd, but that's all I can really say without spoilers.  This is definitely more of an adult read.

Overall I enjoyed this novella.  While the writing style and plot are nothing spectacular, the book was still entertaining.  I did enjoy the strong female characters, the world-building, and the description of steampunk contraptions.  I am uncertain as to whether or not I will read future works by Appleton.  As I said this book was a fun quick diversion, but it wasn't anything especially spectacular.

This book went to the following reading challenges:
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Get Steampunked!
- E-book Reading Challenge

 

Review - The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction
Size: 256 pages
Publisher: Plume
Release Date: August 30, 2005
ISBN-13: 978-0452287020
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

I had this book on my shelf to read for a long time.  I liked Vermeer as an artist and was curious to read an imaging of the history behind one of his famous works.  This was a good book, it does a good job of transporting you back to that era and of giving you a glimpse into the life of Vermeer.

The story focuses around Griet, who is a girl hired into Vermeer's household as a maid.  Things are tough for Griet at first and she misses her family.  Her love of color and presentation interest Vermeer and suddenly she finds herself being more than a maid, she is assisting Vermeer with his art supplies and his paints.  The household Griet has been shoved into is not a happy one; Vermeer's wife is constantly pregnant and exhaused, his mother difficult, and his children somewhat evil at times.

Chevalier does an excellent job of painting beautiful pictures in the reader's mind.  She has created characters that are very human; they have human problems and lead somewhat normal lives.  These characters are seamlessly woven into to this historical setting making for a realistic story that's a bit fanciful at times.

I enjoyed reading about Griet's life and how Griet navigated the tensions in the household.  As a character Griet possessed a sort of grace that makes her endearing to the reader.  Vermeer is portrayed as somewhat mysterious, although the reader is given occasional glimpses into his character through Griet's eyes.

This was an engaging read and an interesting look into what things may have been like in Vermeer's household.  I loved reading about how the paints were made.  The ending of the book is well done, with a surprising little twist of irony.

Overall a decent read.  I enjoyed Chevalier's writing style and how she blended her fictional ideas seemlessly into this historical setting. Griet is a wonderful character that readers can't help but love and cheer for.  At points some of the things seem a bit fanciful, but that is part of what makes the book interesting.  The ironic twist at the end was wonderful too.

This book goes towards the following reading challenge:
- 100+ Reading Challenge

Waiting on Wednesday - 3/9

Okay "Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

This week my Waiting on Wednesday book is My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland. I will be honest it was the cover that caught my attention and then I read the synopsis and it sounds pretty good.  Check both out below.

My Life As a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland

Length: 320 pages

Publisher: DAW

Release Date: July 5, 2011

ISBN: 978-0756406752

 

Synopsis from Amazon.com: "Teenage delinquent Angel Crawford lives with her redneck father in the swamps of southern Louisiana. She's a high school dropout, addicted to drugs and alcohol, and has a police record a mile long. But when she's made into a zombie after a car crash, her addictions disappear, except for her all-consuming need to stay "alive"..."

Review - Magic to the Bone (Allie Beckstrom, Book 1) by Devon Monk (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size:  368 pages
Publisher: Roc
Release Date: November 4, 2008
ISBN-13:  978-0451462404
Stand Alone or Series: 1st in Allie Beckstrom series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the first book in the Allie Beckstrom series by Devon Monk.  This series currently has five books with the sixth book, Magic on the Hunt, due out in April of 2011.  This was an easy read and a solid start to a new urban fantasy series.

Allie works as a Hound, she tracks magic back to it's source, a dangerous job in a world where using magic always has a price.  When a young boy is gravely injured Allie Hounds back the source of the magic to her father.  Her father denies involvement.  At her father's office she finds out that a man, Zayvion, has been hired by her father to protect her.  When Allie's father is killed things begin to spiral out of control.  Allie is blamed for the murder and is blundering into magic that she never even dreamed existed.  Now Allie is hunted with only the sexy Zayvion to help her out, can she trust him?  What was really going on with her father before his death?

This was a quick and fun read.  Allie is a tough girl, who is seriously stubborn, but has a great sense of sarcasm.  There is dark humor sprinkled throughout the book.  The book moves at a fast pace and the magic system development is a bit ambiguous but interesting all the same. 

The characters in this book are well thought out and engaging; all of them have mysterious pasts and are intriguing.  Zayvion is a wonderful male lead; he obviously has a lot of secrets but his soft spot for Allie brings out his humanity.  There are some steamy scenes between him and Allie throughout the book; they are decently done and are sensual without being really explicit.

I love the world that Monk's created.  I especially love the idea that magic extracts an immediate price from the user.  Allie's sporadic amnesia as a price for using magic is another interesting bit that is thrown into this story.

This story is well-wrapped up with some threads left dangling for the next book.  As with many first books in urban fantasy series, this book mainly sets things up and introduces us to Allie's world.

I had a couple complaints; the main one is that Allie spends an awful lot of her time being saved by other people.  It seems like whenever there was trouble Zayvion was there to catch Allie as she fell.  That was kind of sweet, but at the same time it made Allie seem weaker than she should have been.  My other complaint is that the magic system is a bit vauge.

Overall a solid urban fantasy, definitely more of an introduction to Allie's world than anything else.  I really loved the easy to read writing style, the intricate characters, and the world building.  The fact that magic extracts a steep cost whenever used made things really interesting.  I will definitely be reading the next book in the series, Magic in the Blood.  I hope the second book fills out the magic system better and that we see Allie really step up and learn to control her magic.

This goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge

 

Teaser Tuesday - 3/8

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week my teaser comes from The Clockwork Three by Matthew Kirby.
Here it is: "There, he felt safe enough to life the green violin from its case.  It was mirror-smooth in his hand, yet soft to touch.  He noticed its delicate inlay, and a scroll carved in the shape of a flower blossom at the head." Pg. 2 

Review - Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 320 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: February 1, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0345524256
Stand Alone or Series: 1st in Peter Grant series
Source: Amazon Vine
Rating: 4/5 stars

I got a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program.  This is the first in a series of books that feature Peter Grant as the lead.  The book was well put together and engaging, but I had a little trouble getting into the writing style.

Peter Grant is about to be given his permanent job on the London Police force and he is praying it's not a job as a paper pusher.  Unfortunately that's where it looks like things are going until Peter bumps into a ghost that he can talk to.  This is a ghost that witnessed the murder he is helping investigate.  Suddenly it looks like Peter won't be pushing paper but instead will be apprenticed to Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, a man who works in the supernatural division of the London Metropolitan police force.  From there Peter is drawn into a murder investigation that will have him consorting with Gods and dealing with all sorts of supernatural creatures.

Aaronovitch does an excellent job of putting together a great plot and story.  Peter is a great character, as is Nightingale.  Both of them are somewhat mysterious, but have a healthy sense of humor.  The pace of the plot is pretty much non-stop from the beginning to the end.

I loved the London setting and enjoyed how the author incorporated the different deities with the rivers in the London area.  The plot was twisty, turny, and hard to predict which I enjoyed.  I also enjoyed that the whole murder ties in with an old school play.

There was only one thing that kept me from thouroughly loving this book and I had a hard time pinpointing exactly what it is.  I think I just had a hard time with Aaronovitch's writing style; the writing is so dense and includes so many intricate details.  Some of the details help the reader picture the story, but others are just too much.  So I would find my mind drifting as I read through all of these little details, then have to go back and re-read to make sure I hadn't missed anything while my mind wandered.  Because of this, the book wasn't as enjoyable for me to read as it should have been and at points it was just down right hard to get through.

Overall a solid entry into the urban fantasy genre; for the most part I really liked it.  I love the world created here and really enjoyed the characters as well.  There was something about Aaronovitch's writing style though that turned me off a bit and I think it was all of the little intricate details included throughout; they just drew out the story too much and at points my mind would start wandering.  I think fans of investigative urban fantasy from a male perspective might like this book; it really does have some great stuff in it.  I would recommend reading a sample first though to make sure the detail heavy narration works for you.  I probably won't be picking up the next book in this series, Moon Over Soho, there are just too many other urban fantasies out there where I enjoy the writing style more.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge

In My Mailbox and Mailbox Monday - 3/7

IMM is a meme started at The Story Siren with some inspiration from Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.

Anyone can participate in IMM and you are not limited to only sharing books that arrive via your mailbox. You can also share books that you've bought or books that you've gotten at the library.

Mailbox Monday can be found at: The Printed Page

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

This week I got eight books.  You can check them out below.  No Vlog this week as my house is torn apart to replace the flooring and I have no where to set up the camera :-)

Hope you all have a great week of reading!

ARC Tour:

 

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

For Review:

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

Entwined by Heather Dixon

Infernal Devices by K.W. Jeter

Camera Obscura by Lavie Tidhar

The Damned Busters: Hell to Pay by Matthew Hughes

Audio Books Bought:

Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 4) by J.R. Ward
The Devil You Know (Felix Castor, Book 1) by Mike Carey