And Only to Deceive (Lady Emily Mystery, #1)

And Only to Deceive
by Tasha Alexander
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9780060756710
Series: Lady Emily Mystery #1
Publication Date: October 11, 2005
Pages: 310
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Mystery
Publisher: William Morrow

‘A Novel of Suspense.’

No, not really. Whomever read this book and thought it suspenseful needs to get out more.

It was a very good read though – I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s the age-old tale of ‘you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone’ with Greek antiquities, art forgery, romance and mystery thrown into the mix.

Emily makes a very good marriage to Viscount Ashton for the sole purpose of getting away from her harpy of a mother: a decision I whole-heartendly endorsed after only one scene involving that nasty shrew. Mere months after the marriage, her husband dies of a fever while on an African safari, leaving her a very wealthy widow. When her late husband’s best friend, Colin, pays her a visit, telling her he promised Lord Ashton that Emily would see their villa in Santorini, Greece – a property she owned but didn’t even know about – she decides she ought to learn more about this man she married but knew nothing about.

Thus begins Emily’s adventures. As she learns more about her husband Philip, she learns she had a very good man in her life for far too short a time – or maybe he wasn’t such a good man? This is what comes from a lack of communication in a marriage: Emily is left with contradicting information and evidence – he was either very noble or a massive scoundrel She must sort it all out since she has fallen obsessively in love with her husband post mortem. I found this just a touch nauseating – almost to eye-rolling stage. I understand the regret she’d feel, but not love after the fact.

Along the way, she discovers another passion; this one for knowledge, specifically, ancient Greece. She dives into her education, much to the consternation and disgust of her mother – which really, is a total perk for both Emily and the reader.

I loved the characterisations – each person is boldly sketched out on the page, clear enough to almost be seen. The Parisian settings are vivd, even though few words are used.

The plot was well done, although again – NOT suspenseful. This isn’t the sort of plot the reader figures out before Lady Emily does. The villain is revealed slowly over the course of the story. There’s no grand denouement, although there is a critical unveiling, which I thought was handled particularly well (no TSTL moments).

There are 8 more books in this series so far – YAY! I’m off to order the next few; I definitely enjoyed the story enough to want to know what happens next.

NB: I particularly enjoyed that the author thought to include a few brief sections at the end: The Story behind The Story, Fact vs. Fiction, Location, Location, Location and a Suggested Reading. As a complete novice with all things historical, I appreciated knowing what was authentic to the time, and what she took authorial license with. It’s a nice touch.

Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson

Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson
by Patricia Briggs
Rating: ★★★★★
isbn: 0425265005
Series: Alpha and Omega #0.5
Publication Date: September 9, 2014
Pages: 450
Genre: Fiction, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Ace

You know how anthologies are, there’s almost always a gem or two, a handful of mediocre stories, and a few complete duds. Stories the authors must have phoned it because they barely qualify as stories.

Not this one.

This is the best anthology of short stories in one book I’ve yet read. A collection for Mercy Thompson and Co. fans, and every one of these stories is outstanding. Nothing here has been phoned in: the writing is excellent, thoughtful – it feels like the author spent time getting these right. Even the outtakes at the back are, while definitely not stand-alone stories, vividly written scenes that instantly transported me to time and place.

I’m not sure if I can pick a favorite or not, but Silver and Roses in Winter certainly were stories I enjoyed immensely. But I find myself far more intrigued by Bran, Charles and Asil than I am about any of the characters in Washington State, so that bias might lend a bit of weight to these stories for me. But mostly we’re talking about small degrees of difference. Every single story was good – great even. There isn’t a single one I’d rate less than 4 stars, so I’m just going to go ahead and 5 star the whole book.

Thanks Ms. Briggs for the wonderful stories.

Agnes and the Hitman

Agnes and the Hitman
by Jennifer Crusie
Rating: ★★★★½
isbn: 9780312363048
Publication Date: August 21, 2007
Pages: 368
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

I used this yesterday as my ‘guilty pleasure’ read for the ukbookaday event and since I had finished and reviewed all my currently reading books yesterday as well, it felt like I had earned a guilty pleasure re-read. Plus, I figured this would be a great book to christen BL’s new re-read feature with, but it turns out I never recorded any read dates for this before, so that was a bust.

Remember those old-ish Goldie Hawn movies, like Bird on a Wire? If you’ve seen those movies, you’ll have some idea of what Agnes and the HItman is like. (Maybe a bit of Analyze This mixed in.) I think this book is MUCH better than Bird on a Wire was, but it’s as close as I can come to describing the tone.

Agnes is having a very bad week. She’s bought the house of her dreams from her best friends mother, Brenda, with the stipulation that Brenda’s granddaughter (and Agnes’ goddaughter) be married on the grounds with Agnes planning and hosting the whole thing. Easy!

Except suddenly someone is trying to dognap her dog, at gunpoint. Seems a bit excessive for an ugly old hound. Agnes defends herself with her frying pan and in the course of self-defence, the would be dognapper falls through a wall into an unknown basement and dies, letting loose all sorts of family secrets Brenda would have preferred stayed buried. Agnes’ old friend Joey, a retired and reformed mobster, thinks there’s something up with a dognapping at gunpoint and sends his nephew, Shane, to protect Agnes. Shane’s in the middle of a job, trying to take out an assassin, but Joey is the man who raised him – sort of – and he’s never asked for anything from Shane in 25 years.

What follows from here is just pure hilarity. This is not a deep story; don’t look for the characters to be meaningful or even realistic. There is zero navel-gazing and it’s pretty much non-stop action from first to last. If liberal use of course language is going to bother you – avoid this book. If talk about sex bothers you – avoid this book. The sex isn’t graphic, but discussion about it abounds.

If you’re looking for a light, funny, comedic romp – find this book! I upgraded mine to hardcover several years ago because I was wearing out my paperback.

The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy, #3)

The Book of Life
by Deborah Harkness
Rating: ★★★★½
isbn: 9780670025596
Series: All Souls #3
Publication Date: July 15, 2014
Pages: 563
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction
Publisher: Viking Books

I have previously proclaimed my irrational love of the first two books in this series, so it will come as no surprise to anyone that this one gets 5 stars from me.

There are few books out there I find myself truly immersed in; the kind that when I’m interrupted, I’ll look up from my book, but I’m not really there. My eyes might be a bit glassy and I’ll stare blankly at my own DH as though he’s a stranger. This is such a book.

I’ll admit I was expecting a war; at the very least, a massive battle. I prepared myself to hate the author for killing off a character, or characters that I had become attached to. For a few dozen pages, I was certain it was going to be a specific character. Luckily, the story was not as predictable as all that.

While reading, I picked up on shades of Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus, as well as more common themes of tolerance, acceptance and fear of that which is not understood. The twist at the end is only a twist because it is so obvious. Of all the beliefs humans cling to throughout history that have proven to be illusory over and over again, the idea that we control anything must surely make the top 5 list.

But what it all boils down to for me is that I just love this whole story: its characters, its plot, its settings – it all just clicks for me. Some have likened Diana to whatshername in Twilight but I don’t see the Mary Jane – I just saw a character – a very intelligent, strong and independent one – trying to get a grip on a massive amount of change happening in a short amount of time. I never got the victim vibe from her. I don’t pretend to understand the all consuming love she and Matthew apparently share, but it’s thankfully not so soppy and mushy I feel the need for insulin.

All the major plot points of the three books are wrapped up at the end of this one, but, vexingly, a lot of characters’ stories are…unfinished. They aren’t cliff-hangers, and the story could easily end here and Ms. Harkness could disappear back into the history stacks never to be heard from again in fiction. But she has left a number of openings for a return should she choose to do so. A lot of secondary characters are left with their stories still ongoing. At least one of them – Gallowglass – I’d be the first in line to read more about. I’m more than a little half in love with him.

Whether Ms Harkness every writes another word about these people or not, I’ll at least be able to re-read and ‘see’ them all again.

A Grave Matter (Lady Darby Mystery #3)

A Grave Matter
by Anna Lee Huber
Rating: ★★★★½
isbn: 9780425253694
Series: A Lady Darby Mystery #3
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Pages: 421
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Mystery
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Well rats.

It’s over. I wasn’t ready for it to be over.

A Grave Matter is a mystery first, but almost equally it’s a romance as things come to a head between Lady Darby and Sebastian Gage. Ms. Huber will always hold a special place in my heart for not dragging this out past the point of painful into inanity. There’s plenty of conflict between these two but it avoids most of the overused tropes and these two are actually gasp honest and communicative!

I thought the setting fabulously descriptive, although ironically, Edinburgh was the hardest of the locations for me to picture. The border villages and the Abbey were crystal clear and I could hear the frost crackling under their feet as they transversed the graveyards looking for evidence. I found myself reading aloud to MT about the first-footers and I was thrilled at the end of the story to read the author’s note about the authenticity of this tradition. I’m wondering if I can get away with introducing it at our NYE festivities this year.

The plot is delightfully macabre; not scary or graphic and completely fitting with Lady Darby’s background and baggage. I’ll admit I nabbed the bad guy early on, but I can’t say what gave it away. Nevertheless, I was never absolutely certain. I wouldn’t have been surprised had I been wrong.

There might have been some anachronistic narrative; I can’t say for certain, and I think it was almost all in the internal dialogue. While women for millennia have probably wished at one time or another to throw things at men, it feels too modern when Lady Darby ‘contemplated throwing a shoe at his head.’ I don’t care about this, but others might find it jarring.

But the scene at the end between Lady Darby and Gage made even this pragmatic non-romantic feel a bit mushy. Considering the chasteness of the period, Ms. Huber is very good at conveying romantic tension. (To be fair, there’s a LOT of kissing going on; I’m betting more than considered acceptable for the time period. Go Lady Darbry!)

There are a lot of things I could blather on about that I enjoyed; a GR friend is just now starting The Anatomist’s Wife and I’m more than a little jealous – I wish I had 2 and a bit of these books still ahead of me. As it is, I’ll be waiting a very long year to catch up with Lady Darby and Gage.

Death Comes to the Village (A Kurland St. Mary Mystery)

Death Comes to the Village
by Catherine Lloyd
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9780758287335
Series: Kurland St. Mary Mystery #1
Publication Date: November 26, 2013
Pages: 282
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Mystery
Publisher: Kensington

A fast, entertaining read I picked up and finished in one day.

A wounded soldier and a rector’s daughter discover strange goings-on in the sleepy village of Kurland S. Mary in Regency England.

The author has a degree in history so I’m taking on faith that this is a historically accurate cozy mystery tale. Either way I found it to be well-written with both likeable and detestable characters. I’m pretty sure I liked all the characters I was meant to like; Lucy, the MC, and her sister Anna are modelled after Lizzie and Jane in Pride & Prejudice and I suppose arguments could be made for Major Robert Kurland favouring Darcy.

The setting was sketchy; I didn’t get a clear sense of the village at all, although the rectory and Kurland Manor are both well described.

The plot was good; very good. I know many readers feel like a murder mystery should have a dead body appear almost immediately. If you’re the type who is looking for the body to drop, this book isn’t for you; you’re going to be waiting a long time for a corpse to appear. Instead, this is a very well crafted mystery focussed on the disappearance of two young girls and a rash of thefts taking place in the ‘big’ houses of the village. The author takes you where she wants you to go, then slowly starts introducing the clues that make it clear things aren’t as obvious as they seem. I picked up on part of the mystery early, but the bulk of it I didn’t get until Ms. Lloyed wanted me to.

Two things about this book stood out for me, neither of which detracted from my overall enjoyment of the book (much). The first thing is niggling, really rather trivial: the opening two sentences of the book should be reversed. The second, and I’m certain this is historically accurate, is the author doesn’t sugar-coat the complete disregard men have for women in this time; how women are truly nothing more than chattel. It was a rather infuriating theme throughout the story.

I’m under the impression that this is the first in a new series. If so, I’ll gladly read the second; I’d like to see more of Lucy and Robert and I’d like to see more of what the author is capable of in terms of plotting.

Sixth Grave on the Edge (Charlie Davidson, #6)

Sixth Grave on the Edge
by Darynda Jones
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9781250045638
Series: Charlie Davidson #6
Publication Date: May 4, 2014
Pages: 326
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Most girls might think twice before getting engaged to someone like Reyes Farrow—but Charley Davidson is not most girls. She's a private eye and grim reaper who's known to be a bit of a hell-raiser, especially after a few shots of caffeine. Her beloved Reyes may be the only begotten son of evil, but he's dark and sultry and deeply sexy and everything Charley could hope for. Really. But when the FBI file on Reyes' childhood happens to land into her lap, she can't help herself: She opens it...and then the real fun begins.

First, Charley finds a naked corpse riding shotgun in her car. Then, a man loses his soul in a card game. Throw in a Deaf boy who sees dead people, a woman running from mobsters, and a very suspicious Reyes, and things can't get any worse for Charley. Unless, of course, the Twelve Beasts of Hell are unleashed…

The covers of the Charlie Davidson series always have a quote on the front comparing them to Janet Evanovich’s books. It’s a particular pet peeve of mine, because it seems every other book with any humour in it at all has a Stephanie Plum comparison quote on it’s cover. And they are never anything like the Stephanie Plum books. However, if anyone comes close it’s Charlie Davidson. But she is oh, so much more. Don’t get me wrong, I like the Plum novels, they’re a hoot, but I think it’s a bit of a backhanded compliment to compare Charlie to Stephanie.

Charlie is a P.I. and the grim reaper –a portal to heaven. She’s in love with the son of Satan himself; created and sent to Earth for the sole purpose of destroying her. Only the son has his own agenda; he’s in love with Charlie and has been for centuries. She just barely juggles both jobs and in spite of herself, manages to make a difference.

I love these books and I loved Sixth Grave… Ms. Jones hasn’t yet written a bad book, imo. They are first and foremost entertaining; Charlie’s thoughts and dialogue are written as an almost continuous stream of jokes, but it’s not just about the funny. There is a lot of pain, a lot of violence, a lot of empathy, a lot of mythology, and some –not a lot– scorching love scenes (pun sort of intended). The series’ premise is steeped deeply in biblical mythology, and belief and faith are strong themes without bringing religion into it. I enjoy this part even more than I enjoy the humour. Sixth Grave just hit all the right buttons for me.

The only negative notes for me, and the reason it’s a 4 star instead of 5 is the repetition of a couple of pieces of information that felt more like someone forgot they’d already been mentioned than just refreshers, and the ending. The ending, although it feels like the inevitable evolution of the mythology Ms. Jones has created, has me worried.

Worried or not, I can’t wait for Seventh Grave’s release. Ms. Jones owns me at this point. If you like Urban Fantasy that straddles the PNR line (or crosses it – I could argue either way), can handle some non-gratuitous violence and love wise-cracking, kick-ass heroines who have the power and strength to save the world, you might enjoy these books and I highly recommend checking them out.

Murder of Crows (A Novel of the Others, #2)

Murder of Crows
by Anne Bishop
Rating: ★★★★½
isbn: 9780451465269
Series: The Others #2
Publication Date: March 4, 2014
Pages: 354
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: ROC Hardcover

Thank god that’s over! Let me explain:

This weekend in Melbourne we had an Indian Summer. (For those of you not familiar with the American term: Indian Summer: a period of unusually dry, warm weather occurring in late autumn.) I know this only in the vaguest sense because honestly, I couldn’t freaking put the book down long enough to look outside. Laundry didn’t get done. DH was resoundingly ignored. Luckily he cooks or we’d have both gone without eating. I’m not exactly sure what I did eat, come to think of it – he put a plate in front of me and I ate whatever was on it. I do remember chewing… I’m sure it was delicious…

Thankfully books like this only come around a couple of times a year. The compulsive need to keep reading is, I think, something that’s best enjoyed in small doses.

Murder of Crows was just as good as Written in Red. Tess and the Elementals are still my favourites, and I still enjoyed the swift and devastating justice that is consistently delivered by the Others. That sounds blood-thirsty doesn’t it? But the world Ms. Bishop has created is a very black and white world in terms of morality. The Others control all the land, all the resources, and where humans are allowed to live and how much of any resource can be used. Clear cut rules exist for other/human interaction, (although the Others prefer no interaction at all). Following the rules brings peace, or at least detente. Breaking the rules means death. No warnings, just death.

Meg is what happens when you introduce gray to this black and white world. Human, but not prey, she doesn’t judge and treats everyone, Other or Human, with kindness. This book starts to explore just what kind of changes are possible when one person/other, and then another, and another choose shades of gray.

The immediate plot of Murder of Crows is the continuation and resolution of one started in Written in Red as well as The Controller’s ongoing campaign to bring Meg back to his facility. Instead of a slow build up leading to a final climax, this book is a series of smaller climaxes each bringing the story closer to an end. While I’d rather not wait for the third book, at least the story ended with at least as much satisfaction as anticipation.

Written in Red (Book of the Others, #1)

Written in Red
by Anne Bishop
Rating: ★★★★★
Series: The Others #1
Publication Date: May 3, 2013
Pages: 448
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: NAL Hardcover

The minute I read the last line of this book I shut it and said to DH, ‘Yeah, I have to read the second book right now.’

When I came here to mark the book as read, I commented again to DH, ‘I just don’t even know what I’m going to write…’ and he suggested that I write (and he was laughing when he said this, understand), ‘sorry everyone, but f*ck off, I’m sitting down to read the second book, and I’ll update this review when I have time.’

Tempting only because I absolutely have to go crack open the second book. I wasn’t ready for this one to end and I need more. But if I actually say that, I’ll end up mixing up what happened in which book, and possibly lose a couple of BL friends in the process. 😉 So I’m going to write this as quickly as I can, probably not proofread it right away as I always do, and get back to the Others.

I’m only going to say what most everyone else is saying about this book. It’s excellent. There wasn’t a thing I didn’t thoroughly enjoy about it. The writing is crisp, clear, descriptively vivid – the only thing I had a hard time seeing clearly was the Liaison office. Everything else was perfectly laid out.

I liked Meg, and that the author gave us enough information without dumping, and at a pace that mimicked getting to know a new friend. I liked all the Others too, although my favorites were the Elementals, Tess and Henry. I know someone who reminds me of Henry. I was very unhappy about Hurricane.

There isn’t just one plot running through the book. The one meant to wrap up in this book did so spectacularly and heaven help me I really liked the Others sense of justice (in a fictional world where all the bad guys are clearly bad guys). I really enjoyed the bursts of humour sprinkled throughout the book too – I found myself laughing out loud more than a couple of times.

Now my need to go read ‘Murder of Crows’ is overcoming my desire to write a coherent review. I’ll come back and edit this later; but as Meg must cut, I must read.

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1)

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction
Format: Paperback

Grave Mercy
by Robin LaFevers
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9780547628349
Series: His Fair Assassin #1
Publication Date: April 3, 2012
Pages: 484
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical
Publisher: Andersen Press

In the fifteenth-century kingdom of Brittany, seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where she learns that the god of Death has blessed her with dangerous gifts, and a violent destiny.

I just ate this story up with a spoon.

I’ll admit this has sat on my TBR pile for awhile as I was a bit shy about starting such a thick YA book. But once I picked it up I was loathe to put it back down again. I’m usually a character driven reader; I can put up with a lot if I connect with the characters. But I can’t say it was the characters that drew me deeply into the book. I liked them, don’t get me wrong. Ismae, Gavriel, The Beast, Anne – all of them characters you want to see come out all right. But here, it was the story, the palace intrigue, the writing, that sucked me in well and good. I know absolutely nothing about the time period this book takes place in, so I wasn’t burdened with knowing whether or not there’s any realism, or whether any research was done. I was just along for the ride.

I didn’t give the book 5 stars because in a sea of villains, it was still obvious to me who the ultimate traitor was. It didn’t in any way hamper my true enjoyment of the book, but it felt like the author could have hidden the clues a bit better. I suspect I’m also not the books target audience so perhaps I’m being too harsh a judge.

Grave Mercy is YA really only in the sense that the MC is a 17 year-old. The writing is oblique enough that I still can’t figure out if anyone was getting lucky or not, so I guess someone could argue that makes it more ‘age-appropriate’. Although that someone wouldn’t be me.

If you enjoy historicals, and a bit of mythology this is a book that might be worth checking into.