It's Monday: What are you reading?

It's Monday: What are you reading? is a weekly meme from Book Journey.

I recently finished the latest Sookie Stackhouse novel, Deadlocked, and loved it! But then again, I'm completely hooked on this world and I probably would have loved it no matter what. I recently heard a rumor that Charlaine will be finishing up the series with the next installment. Kudos to her for not dragging the series on for.e.ver, but I'm still heartbroken by the fact that it may be concluding. Man I hope Sookie gets a nice "happily ever after" - one that's pretty boring...that poor girl could use some boring.

I also finished the YA book, The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman. This was a really cool ancient-relic-mystery-adventure type of story. Basically, there are some teens that read latin who help out a professor with some transcriptions. He's obsessed with this unbreakable code (that part is actually real - the code, not the professor's obsession), which after 400 years of nobody being able to crack it (also true), our heroine discovers the way to break it. Death and mayhem ensue, mostly in Prague. The story has a definite Da Vinci Code feel to it - the mysterious relic has religious implications, and the religious tone may or may not turn off readers. Still, the book was fascinating and I'd definitely recommend it.

See my full reviews for these titles in previous posts.

What I'm reading now: I'm currently trying to get through another YA novel, The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry. It's slow going; I haven't been able to get into the story, and there are several things about it that bug me. I'm determined to finish it, but I'm sure (unless it totally turns around at this point) this book won't be a favorite. I'm pretty sure the cover art and title will be superior to the actual story, which is a shame.

What I'm going to read: Oh good heavens, I have no idea. So many books, so little time! And whatever I type here I'll mysteriously not be in the mood for when it comes time to pick up something new, so I won't even bother.

Book Review: The Book of Blood and Shadow

The Book of Blood and Shadow
By: Robin Wasserman
(*****)

“I should probably start with the blood.”

From Goodreads:

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up. When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark.

But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead. His girlfriend Adriane, Nora's best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora's sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.


From Me:

The Book of Blood and Shadow is like two books in one: first, you have Nora and her friends, their lives, how they deal with school and relationships. Then you have a mad dash through the streets of Prague searching for mysterious clues to an ancient puzzle, which once solved, can give a glimpse into the divine.

Nora's past involves a tragedy that she keeps to herself. Her parents are lost in themselves, leaving Nora as an afterthought. Nora, a bit of a Latin prodigy, was admitted to a prestigious school on the other side of town, disconnected enough from her world that no one knows about her past. There she becomes best friends with Chris and his girlfriend, Adriane. Fast forward to Nora's senior year, where she is interning at the local university where Chris is attending, and they both assist a professor in translating and transcribing 400 year old Latin texts, along with Chris's roommate, Max. They're attempting to break a code that has puzzled the best mathematicians and code breakers for four centuries. Nora finds the key to breaking the code, and the wrong people notice, leading to the death of her best friend. To avenge Chris's murder and clear Max's name, Nora and Adriane head to Prague, where the Latin texts were originally written. There, they stumble through clues that lead to an unexpected ending.

The first half of the book feels like a typical real-life-issues young adult novel. The characters struggle through evolving relationships, family issues, and the question of their future. You get to know them and connect to them, the whole time knowing that one of them will shortly die while another is blamed for that murder. The first page opens with these bombshells, quickly followed by a flash-back that leads up to this big moment. After that, we get to the mystery in Prague, where Nora and Adriane search for Max and hide from more than one secret society that wants to hinder or hurt them.

The mystery and historical portions of the story were fascinating. Wasserman does a great job of describing a scene and really getting you attached to the characters. The only thing I wasn't terribly fond of was the religion angle; at times it felt like Wasserman was getting a bit heavy handed with the atheism, while at other times she provided an interesting focus on historical and current Judaism and the mysticism tied to the ancient relic they were searching for in Prague. Like The Da Vinci Code and The Golden Compass, the religious aspect of the book could potentially turn off readers.

I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery or treasure hunt. Wasserman included a lot of real historical information about Prague, plus the impossible code they were trying to break is actually real - and still unbroken; this will appeal to historical fiction fans. It was great learning about a part of the world and a part of history that I wasn't familiar with, that of Prague during the Renaissance. The Book of Blood and Shadow is a very cool book and a great read.

Book Review: Deadlocked

Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12)  (*****)
by Charlaine Harris

From Goodreads:
With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

From me:
Poor Sookie can't catch a break! She's attempting to make her relationship work with Eric, despite the unusual issues they face as a couple. She's trying to keep her house in order, despite her two fairy roommates. And then someone dies and she's dragged into another murder mystery.

I love these books, and I'll continue to read them until Harris ends the series (and then I'll mourn), but I'd love it if she'd write a short story where Sookie goes on vacation somewhere and nothing happens. (She kinda did this once, and something did happen, but still...Sookie's life is rough.) Is that weird? Anyway, this installment in the series stays true to form: there's a mystery; there are relationship issues; Sookie has to worry about herself, her friends, and her family; and the reader delves deeper into Harris' world. If you love the series, you'll love this book, too.

Waiting on Wednesday: Born Wicked

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1)
by Jessica Spotswood
Publication Date: February 7, 2012

From Goodreads:
Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.


Ok, yes, this book has already been published, but I recently found out that I'll be getting the book as an ARC - and now I wait.

Blog Update: Repost of a Swoon-worthy Type

Attention Readers: The blog below is a repost of something I wrote nearly two years ago on May 8, 2010. Considering the big movie coming out this weekend, it seemed appropriate for me to share it again, plus add a little yummy fuel to the swoon-worthy fire...

I am aware that the target audience for comic-book movies are men, particularly the younger types. But many of these movies have a fantastic mix of action and humor that I enjoy. Also, as a fantasy/paranormal reader, I like the extra-ordinary aspects of these stories.

But how do you interest the women who see these movies as guy-only fare? Who prefer chick flicks and roll their eyes at their boyfriend's/husband's/brother's/dude-friend's video game marathons and comic book collection? (I am *not* saying anything about these women or about the quality of either types of these movies - I'm mainly talking about impressions here.)

How do you get these women in the theaters for comic movies? Easy. You cast Robert Downey Jr. as the lead. (Hummina hummina hummina.)

I would like to applaud the casting people for many of their choices. Halle Berry and Rebecca Romijn and their "costumes" were for the fanboys, but thank you, X-Men, for Hugh Jackman. Recently-released Losers - all eye candy, all the time. Iron Man (plus Sherlock Holmes) - RDJ is delicious! And Wolverine - more Jackman and Taylor Kitsch and Ryan Reynolds (plus my favorite hobbit, Dominic Monaghan).

Now some of these movies are pushing it, even for me. For example, I don't think anyone will be able to twist my arm and get me in the theater to see Tron, but some of these movies are indeed chick-friendly. And if it takes a bit of yummy to get a gal to give one a try, I see no harm in that. No harm at all.

Let me show you what I'm talking about...

Nothin' wrong with that.

I see no "Losers" here. Just tasty, tasty winners.

I can growl, too Wolverine: Rreowr.

UPDATE!  Thank you Marvel Studios! Thank you thank you thank you! I had no idea two years ago when I wrote this blog post that Iron Man was just the beginning. I would particularly like to thank you for more RDJ, the two Chris's, Jeremy Renner, and Mark Ruffalo. Seriously - THANK YOU!

Le sigh. Le swoon. Le drool.



What movie/actor would you add to this list? (Guys can play, too - what actress rocked your socks in a comic book movie?)

Graphic Novel Review: Twilight Volume 2

Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2  (*****)

by Stephenie Meyer, Young Kim (Art/Adaptation)

This volume picks up where the last one left off - volume 1 and volume 2 combine to make up the full story of Twilight.

I'm not sure what to add that I didn't cover in my review of volume 1. This part of the story has fewer cheesy lines and a little more action, but it's still a stripped version of the story.

If you want the full Twilight story, go for the original book. If you loved the book, you'll probably love the graphic novel, too. One nice thing about the graphic novel is that, compared to the movie, it keeps closer to the original story and includes some scenes that were cut from the movie. While the illustrations are really good, I wouldn't recommend the graphic novel to someone who hadn't already read the book - it's really more of a supplemental piece than a stand-alone novel.

Waiting On Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Silence (The Queen of the Dead #1)

by Michelle Sagara West

 

 

From Goodreads:

“It began in the graveyard. Ever since her boyfriend Nathan died in a tragic accident Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During the day she went through the motions at her prep school, in class, with her friends, but that’s all it was. But tonight was different. Tonight Emma and her dog were not alone in the cemetery. There were two others there—Eric, who had just started at her school, and an ancient woman who looked as though she were made of rags. And when they saw Emma there, the old woman reached out to her with a grip as chilling as death….”

 

 

I love Michelle Sagara West's Chronicles of Elantra series; it's one of my favorites. I can't wait to get my  hands on her new YA series! This is totally going in my library's YA collection!!! (And that cover is gorgeous!)

It's Monday: What are you Reading?

It's Monday: What are you reading? is a weekly meme from Book Journey.

I just finished reading two very different books. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee. Yes, I know, everyone but me has read The Hunger Games, and I'm a teen librarian. I should be ashamed of myself. But I've read it and I even managed to review it. You can find full reviews for both of these books in the posts below.

I'm currently reading (and have been for a while) Intertwined by Gena Showalter. I've been working on this title for a month or so, putting it down to read other books, then picking it back up again. I'll finish it eventually!

On my to-read list are The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson and Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry. Though I really think I need something light and happy after reading The Hunger Games...

Book Review: A Spy in the House

A Spy in the House: A Mary Quinn Mystery (The Agency #1)  (*****)
by Y.S. Lee

"Mary!"
She spun about. "What is it?"
"Stay out of wardrobes!"

This book opens with Mary Lang on trial for theft. It's the mid-1800's England, and despite her young age and fairly minor crime, Mary is sentenced to hang. Instead of meeting that fate, though, she is rescued by a woman who runs a school for girls. This school provides an education for girls who wouldn't receive it otherwise, girls with no money and no hopes for a good future. They teach the girls skills that they'll need to provide for themselves in a world that treats women like property. Mary accepts this woman's offer to attend the school, and we jump several years into the future where she's now 17, has changed her last name to Quinn, and teaches at the school. However, she doesn't feel fulfilled by this role, she wants more, and the woman who saved her has a new offer. And this is where our story really begins.

Mary becomes a spy for The Agency, a sort of private-detective, under-cover operation run by women and employing women. Mary is hired as a lady's companion in the house of a suspected smuggler. She is supposed to keep an eye on things and make herself available to the real agent who has already been installed in the household, but of course, Mary can't keep from investigating. In the process, she meets a young man who's also investigating the family, and they decide to work together.

A Spy in the House is a great title for anyone (ok, any young woman - this isn't really a "guy book") who is looking for a historical mystery. I recently had a teen ask me that very question - this title would have been a perfect fit. However, we didn't have it in our collection; I borrowed this from my local library system to test it out and see if my library should get it. I'm seriously considering it - it was an interesting look at the time period and it had a good mystery, one I didn't figure out until the end, and meets a need in the collection.

I really enjoyed this book; it was a great palate cleanser for the heart-break of The Hunger Games, and I sped through it. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series: The Body at the Tower.

Book Review: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)   *****
by Suzanne Collins

"May the odds be ever in your favor."

I know I'm late to the Hunger Games. It's shameful, really, a YA librarian not reading this book until now. But I did have a good reason. I hate, hate, dystopian novels. I have since I was forced to read 1984 and A Brave New World in high school. I prefer my books to be funny and light or action packed or...well, anything other than depressing. If there has to be death, I prefer it to happen to the really bad guys. And it can never be an animal - if the author kills the family dog or the faithful horse or some other four-legged or winged creature (I'm looking at you Rowling), I'm done. So a book where kids have to kill other kids to survive, I'm not interested.

That being said, I'm a teen librarian and it really is important that I read these things. So I did.

First of all, this is a really well written and thought-out book. The characters, even those you meet only briefly, are fully realized. There is a lot of build up to the main event, but it's important to the development of the plot and gives insight into the workings of Panem. And I'm betting (as I haven't read Catching Fire or Mocking Jay yet), that insight will be important in the next two installments.

Despite my feelings about the dystopian genre, this really was a good book. I can't fully give it five stars because it's not my cup of tea, not because of the quality of the book. Certain parts made me cry like a little girl, and I hate it when books do that - even though if a book can make you feel that strongly, it's a sign that the book is doing it's job, and doing it well. It's been 24 hours since I finished the book, and I still can't shake it. My brain won't turn off and I keep going over scenes in my head. More signs of a book doing it's job. I really need to find out what happens next in the series, but I don't think my brain, or my heart, can take it just yet.