Review: A Poisoned Season

A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I’ve decided I like Lady Emily after all! Reading the first book, I wasn’t sure - but that was because I couldn’t help comparing her to Lady Julia Grey, my favorite Victorian widow sleuth and my first love of the genre.

But now I’ve had some time without a lot of new Lady Julia material to read, and was able to find some space in my heart for Emily. She’s another heroine who can’t quite live within the strictures of Victorian society, and finds freedom as a widow that she never could have had as a wife - although her scandalous habit of drinking port still makes her rather suspect to many, not to mention her newly discovered love of Ancient Greek and antiquities, and her reluctance to re-marry.

In this second installment of the series, Emily discovers that being a widow is not a complete protection for her reputation now that she's out of mourning. She gets herself into some serious trouble with her social carelessness while investigating a murder. I have to say she won me over by the end, and I enjoyed the mystery as well - I didn't figure out what was going on right away.

As far as the complementary leading male is concerned, I suppose I do like Colin too, even though so far he seems a bit too… good and honorable. Not even a whiff of the rogue on this one, and the only mysterious thing about him is the question of what exactly he does for the government. The fact that he’s most likely a spy does make him a bit interesting, but Lady Julia's Brisbane wins this contest for sure as one of my favorite male leads of all time.

I enjoyed this for the many reasons that I love mysteries set in this time period - the social comedy, the relationships, the mishaps and scandals (or bluestocking tendencies) that shock high society, all mixed in with a bit of a mystery to make it more interesting and add a flare of danger and intrigue. The Lady Julia series is my first love of this genre, but that doesn't mean I can't learn to love others as well. Let's have some more Emily.



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Review: Shards of Honour

Shards of Honour by Lois McMaster Bujold

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Honestly, I'm fairly new to the world of Sci Fi, although I'm a huge Fantasy fan (why are these two so often lumped together? They're completely different genres!). Strangely, I've been more into Sci Fi on the screen than in books - Star Trek, Farscape, etc. So I decided to try out the Vorkosigan Saga because it seems like a pretty big one, and one that's not hardcore because I don't know if I'm ready for that.

I'm still not sure what I think. This was a decent start to a long series. It took some time to get going, with a lot of exposition given through conversations and not a lot of action, just spurts of it here and there. Lots of politics. A romance where a few days together affects each of the characters’ lives, choices and loyalty forever but I didn’t really feel their relationship at the time. I enjoyed the inter-cultural dynamics and cataclysmic war - and the worm holes and some of the tech, even though I didn't feel like there was really enough of it in this book. There was some 80s pop-psychology that kind of dated it a little bit. When the action did get going, I liked it.

Generally, I liked it but wasn’t really wowed. From what I’ve heard, the ones that focus on Miles are the ‘good ones’ so I’m just taking this as an intro. I’ll hold judgement for a couple more books, I think.



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Review: Elantris

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was not my favorite of Sanderson’s work, but it’s partly my own fault for starting out with his later stuff. I could tell this was his earliest novel.

The subject matter had a large part to do with it as well, though. One of the main story lines of the book is about the walking dead - an awful existence that Sanderson really gets you to feel on a personal level. His talent as a writer is already clear, but also makes for a Fantasy that is darker and more hopeless than I generally prefer. The discoveries and changes came too slowly for me, and despair was an overwhelming emotion in the meantime.

Aside from the dark lives of the dead, there's intrigue, social commentary, and religious extremism in the lives of the living. The living at least give you a break from the struggles of the dead and add layers to the world. I liked that I wasn’t always sure who was 'bad' because some of the characters' motivations prevented them from being purely evil.

All-in-all, not my favorite Sanderson book, being more on the dark side, but still a good, solid Fantasy above the norm. The awesomeness I've come to expect from Sanderson kicks in at the end, bringing it all together brilliantly and bumping this up to a 4 star read.




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Review: The False Prince

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The False Prince is one of those books where the reader is in the dark for a long time and doesn't realize the significance of many details until they finally learn a piece of the puzzle that puts everything that came before in a different light. This kind of book is usually clever, and I do love the way everything shifts and clicks into place in that one moment.

But, I also struggle with this kind of book at first because without the smaller clues I don't get hooked right away, and find that it's harder to hold my interest. I like to put things together myself and be invested in the journey. Once I get the coveted piece of the puzzle, I marvel at the cleverness, but I also lose something in not being able to appreciate it before I get there and not being included in the process of putting it together.

So, this is one of those books. Very clever, but I had to persevere a for a while before I really felt interested. There were secrets all over the place, but I didn't have access to any of them. All I had to keep me involved was the training of the boys and their growing tensions and intrigues. Not that these parts weren't fun, but I also kept wondering what the point was.

Once I got the point, my rating went up to 4 stars. For those of you who enjoy big twists that shed new light on the whole story, I think you'll love this.

One more note - I thought this was Fantasy going in, but so far there's no magic about it. I'm wondering if it's actually Historical Fiction?


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Review: Newt's Emerald

Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Newt's Emerald really is like a Heyer novel with magic and adventure. I loved it. The tone was so Heyer-like - witty and not taking itself too seriously. But unlike Heyer's, the focus was more on the mystery of the emerald than on the etiquette and balls and romance, which were there but in the background.

It also reminded me of Victoria and the Rogue by Meg Cabot but with less romance.

The magic is not a huge player throughout - mainly referenced but not experienced, so although I'd call this a Fantasy of Manners, it's not too much different than an ordinary Regency period novel. And since it's more modern than Heyer, there's less Regency jargon to get bogged down in.

A quick read, lots of fun, not too serious. I'll be keeping my eye out in case Nix decides to write more in this vein (please!).

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Review: Princess of Glass

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I didn't really like Princess of the Midnight Ball all that much but had already bought this one and hoped that the Cinderella tale would lend itself to a more enjoyable retelling. Unfortunately, this focuses on a nasty curse as well. It wasn't as depressing and painful as the previous book, but still not the lighter sort of tale I was hoping for. This series is not in the same tone as the Dragon series that I liked. I will probably skip the next book since I haven't bought it yet.



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Review: Strange Sweet Song

Strange Sweet Song by Adi Rule

My rating: 0 of 5 stars



50 pages in, and I don't care. I get the point that Sing really wants to sing Angelique and be the best of the best as an arriving Freshman at an elite academy. I really get it. That's about all I get so far. Aside from a mysterious character who showed up on the roof, there's been nothing else except for talking about auditions. Another YA paranormal that spends too much time on schoolgirl rivalries, and it looks like infatuation will be part of it as well. I'm sure something interesting will happen with the Gothic theme and the monsters in the forest, but I'm also pretty sure it's going to take a lot of wading through the other usual stuff to get there. I've decided not to do this to myself anymore. I think I'm done with this genre.



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Review: The Hero's Lot

The Hero's Lot by Patrick W. Carr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The Hero's Lot is a case of the second book in the trilogy exceeding the first. From page one, the action is non-stop and the pacing is just right. The learning and growth of the characters are sprinkled in just enough to keep me invested where pure action wouldn't.

I don't know why there's a big focus on this being a Christian Fantasy. I actually think it would be appreciated by a wider audience, and I'm glad I stumbled on the first book through NetGalley.

It's not a very obvious or simple allegory as some in this category are, and is hardly recognizable as our Medieval Christian past. I feel as if I'm reading about another, well-developed world with its own history and religion. Other than the priests and a sort of Trinity, one of whom is a son who saved humanity at some point, it's not recognizably Christian either. (Well, it's more obvious now that I think about it, but it wasn't while I was reading.) I would say the worldview has its inspiration there, but the story is a great adventure with some thoughtful and noble characters who really know what they're doing with a sword or a staff.

The first book set up the world, the magic of lots, and the characters, and now they begin to live. Corruption in the church has the upper hand for now, but in spite of the odds being against him, Errol's hopeless journey is one of discovery. Beliefs are challenged, what is known is proven false, and even the priests question their own prejudices and assumptions.

Beyond that, there are sword fights and whirling staffs, and demon-possessed monsters giving chase. This was solidly an adventure more than political or religious intrigue. As a second book, it increased the complexity and tension of the conflict that's coming instead of getting bogged down. The ending left me eager to find out what happens next. All hell is going to break loose - literally, I think. I can't wait to see how it plays out.



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Review: The Scarlet Lion

The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Honestly, I think this book deserves a 5 star rating. It's amazingly written historical fiction - well-researched, accurate as far as what is known about the people and time, and well-imagined as to what is not known. At the same time, it's written in a way that makes me care about the people and what happens to them. I had my heart in my throat with fear for these people, and loathed King John for his jealous vindictiveness. He really made my blood boil. And since the story had to stick to history, I was more afraid for William and his family than I would have been if it was strictly fiction. Imaginations are often not as cruel as reality can be.

So since it's a brilliant piece of writing, why not 5 stars? My ratings are based on my experience and enjoyment while reading. This was a great book, but I was relieved when it released me. I can't say I enjoyed the emotions evoked even though I admired the author's ability to evoke them. That's all. History is a scary thing to resurrect, especially the brutal Middle Ages. I can handle the violence of battles where the greatest fear is merely a bloody death, but the political knives being stabbed into the hearts of our heroes and heroines are not for the faint at heart. Which would be me.




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