“I am not interested in your fine calibrations of empathy or your great mission to protect the river of history. I just to live my own life, and I want to spend it having my own private fucked-up little emotions.”

Are you familiar with the wonderful book resource IndieBound?  Well not only do they have a fantastic website where you can find oodles of book based goodness, they also put out a list each month called the Indie Next List! (Here is a link to July 2013's list)  I have found so many great book recommendations on these lists and I love that they support indie bookstores! I'm mentioning all this because this resource is how I found one of the best book's I've read this year, THE RIVER OF NO RETURN by Bee Ridgway.

What drew me to grabbing this particular book was two things: 1) Pretty cover! (so maybe I do judge books on their cover a smidge...) 2)  The review claimed that this was the perfect book for Deborah Harkness and Diana Gabaldon fans.  As one of many who eagerly awaits the last installment in Harkeness' All Souls Trilogy and the next book in Gabaldon's wildly popular (and my personal favourite) Outlander series, this pretty much sold me the book on the spot.

I was heading down to Portland by train and this was what I brought with me for the many hours I would be stuck in transit.  I made a very good choice.  What a wonderful debut novel and yes, it does have echoes of Harkness and Gabaldon in it!  I'm really excited about where this series is going to go (because yes, it is the first in a planned series and/or trilogy I believe....it better be or my god what a place to end the story!)  A must for time-travel fans, historical fiction fans, and those that just enjoy a really good story!

“You are now a member of the Guild . There is no return.” Two hundred years after he was about to die on a Napoleonic battlefield, Nick Falcott, soldier and aristocrat, wakes up in a hospital bed in modern London. The Guild, an entity that controls time travel, showers him with life's advantages. But Nick yearns for home and for one brown-eyed girl, lost now down the centuries. Then the Guild asks him to break its own rule. It needs Nick to go back to 1815 to fight the Guild’s enemies and to find something called the Talisman.

In 1815, Julia Percy mourns the death of her beloved grandfather, an earl who could play with time. On his deathbed he whispers in her ear: “Pretend!” Pretend what? When Nick returns home as if from the dead, older than he should be and battle scarred, Julia begins to suspect that her very life depends upon the secrets Grandfather never told her. Soon enough Julia and Nick are caught up in an adventure that stretches up and down the river of time. As their knowledge of the Guild and their feelings for each other grow, the fate of the future itself is hanging in the balance.

This Calls for a GRAB BAG!

So many books, not enough time to blog about all them! Here's a handful of mini-reviews of book's I've read recently!

How To Be A Woman

by Caitlin Moran

Such an amazing book! I was laughing so hard I was doing my 'witch cackle' (as my husband calls it).  You will want to become best friends with Moran.  I don't think I've ever read a book with such insight into what it is like to be a woman.  If you enjoy comedic memoirs then this is the book for you!

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

by Maria Semple

This is the BEST book I have read so far this year! I read it over a weekend and am already wanting to pick it up again for a second read.  Funny, charming, and relatable, Maria Semple knocks it out of the park with this novel! It's nominated for the Woman's Prize for Fiction (formerly known as the Orange Prize) and very deserving!  But don't just take my word for it; take Jonathan Franzen's:

"I tore through this book with heedless pleasure."—Jonathan Franzen, author of Freedom

Hex Hall / Demonglass / Spell Bound

by Rachel Hawkins

Love, Love, Love this series! Another one I plowed through over a weekend since I couldn't put it down!  Sophie Mercer is a great heroine and you are continually rooting for her.  Chock full of great characters (such a pink loving vampire / best friend and a very cute love interest), sassy dialogue, and magic!  A great teen series!

This is What Happy Looks Like

by Jennifer E. Smith

Every wonder what it is like to fall in love with a movie star?  Read this contemporary teen romance and find out!

Splintered

by A.G. Howard

Lots of fun for fans of Alice in Wonderland!

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own

Thousand Words 

by Jennifer Brown

For fans of Ellen Hopkins, this novel on teen sexting is very well done and definitely very relevant.

The Truth About Forever

by Sarah Dessen

My first and definitely not my last Sarah Dessen novel! She really is as good as people say; if you love contemporary teen fiction then you MUST read Dessen.  The Truth About Forever was wonderful and left me wanting more.

“Keep calm and carry on. Also, stay in and hide because the Ripper is coming.”

Do you like mysteries?  Do you like ghost stories? Do you like teen fiction?  If you answered yes to any and all of these questions then you need to read the wonderful Maureen Johnson's Shades of London series.  I picked up the first book in the series, The Name of the Star as a bargain ebook.  By the time I had finished it I picked up the sequel, The Madness Underneath, at full price and gladly paid every penny for it.  The first book introduces us to Louisiana teenager, Rory, who has just started school in London.  Now at first this book feels very much like your seemingly typical teen boarding school story.  However, there is a pretty major twist.

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago. 
Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities

 It took me a little while to really get into the story but once I did I couldn't put it down.  And the

ending? Holy Moly! If you've read it, you know what I'm talking about.  If you haven't, what are you waiting for?  Be warned, I found the same slow beginning with the sequel but again it packs a punch by the end.  Maureen Johnson may be the queen of can't-put-down endings.

Books About Falling in Love to Fall in Love With

Stephenie Perkins
Anna and the French Kiss
Lola and the Boy Next Door

I have to say that when I first picked up Anna and the French Kiss, I was a little put off.  First of all, the title was a little cheesy...and the cover was definitely cheesy...But, I had heard so many wonderful things about Perkins as a writer and about this book being a fun and lovely love story that I though, oh what's the worse that can happen?  Apparently nothing because I LOVED IT!  This book reminds you of what it is like to fall in love for the first time, what being a teenager is like, and how exciting it can be to discover a new city.  Lola and the Boy Next Door was a similar reading experience in that it was charming, relatable, and just plain fun to read.  I found myself laughing and crying through both of these amazing stories and I am really excited to read the final installment in Perkin's teen trilogy (btw, both stories do connect together by character cameos and that makes it even more enjoyable since who doesn't like revisiting beloved characters?), Isla and the Happily Ever After, which come out this fall.

Gayle Forman

Just One Day

What a wonderful story of self discovery and finding true love.  I can't believe that I have to wait for the sequel!  Allyson is such a relatable character with her vulnerability and courage; I know that I was able to see myself in her and I'm sure many readers feel the same way.  I just loved this book.

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Grab Bag!

Here's an assortment of notable books I've recently read!

Girl of Nightmares

by Kendare Blake

I LOVED Anna Dressed in Blood so I was pretty excited to read the sequel.  I was a little disappointed in this one but I honestly think I was secretly hoping I was going to get a lot more Anna and Cas togetherness since they were such a great paranormal couple!  If you liked the first Anna book then you should definitely read this one.  It does a good job tying up many loose ends plus give some closure to the events that happened with Anna and Cas.  I'm really looking forward to reading more by Kendare Blake! She is great!

Tiger Lily

by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Peter Pan has always been one of my favourite classic children's stories; I'm a sucker for the boy who just wouldn't grow up.  When I heard that Anderson had written a story about Tiger Lily, an interesting character who we never really hear much about, I was intrigued.  This was a very moving story about first love and growing up and moving on.  It put a really interesting spin on the world of Neverland, especially since it expanded on many things form the original novel that were barely touched upon.  

The Madman's Daughter

by Megan Shepherd

I had been looking forward to this one for some time since it starting getting buzz late last year.  This is a retelling of H.G. Well's The Island of Dr. Moreau and it does a really great job of it!  Gothic, dark, and spooky, this first in a trilogy was excellent!  From London to a deserted island, we follow our heroine, Juliet Moreau, and she tried to find out the truth about her father and his rumored experiments. Throw in a couple love interests (a boy from childhood and a castaway), this is a great new voice in teen fiction and a fun new series!

The Paris Wife

by Paula McLain

This is the book that everyone came into my bookshop asking for since their book club was reading it.  I haven't read much Hemingway myself nor did I have a particular interest in the man so it hadn't been one that I picked up.  However, I gave in to peer pressure ('It's so good!', 'A must for historical fiction fans!') and while I enjoyed parts of it, the strongest emotion that I was left with was pure dislike of Hemingway.  I really enjoyed reading about life in Paris in the 1920's, especially all the cameo's from the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald and wife Zelda.  By the time I finished the novel, however, all I could really take away from it was that Hemingway was not a good husband or a very nice person, despite being a literary treasure. I'm glad I read it but this was not my favourite.

Anya's Ghost 

by Vera Brosgol

If you liked Neil Gaiman's Coraline, then you need to read this graphic novel!  Such a fun read and seriously creepy at times! If you have a couple hours to spare, then do yourself a favour and get lost in this story of a girl and her ghost bff.

Defending Jacob

by William Landay

If you are looking for a good read to take on holiday, you should take this one! A legal thriller, it asks the question of what would a parent do to prove their child's innocent, not just to the public, but to themselves as well.  A thrilling ride, it had one of those ending that caught me completely off guard and had me thinking about it long after I turned the last page.  This was on many lists of best mysteries of 2012 and it is very worthy.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8

by Joss Whedon (and others)

I just finished an extreme Buffy marathon a few weeks back where over the last few months I had watched all 7 seasons of the iconic show.  I just the snappy dialogue, excellent action, and cry worthy love stories.  After the show ended, Whedon decided to continue on in graphic novel form and thus created the Season 8 series which takes place right after the last episode of the tv show.  If you are a Buffy fan then this is a must read; it's a no brainer.  It captures all the elements that made the show great and expands on characters and story lines so perfectly.  With lots of twists and turns, this 8 book series really does give you the feeling that you are making your way through a season of the show.  Now on to Season 9!

Let's get MYSTERIOUS!

My reading tastes have been all over the map the last few months.  I definitely got into mysteries during this time, many of the cozy variety.  Here are my latest discoveries:

Mr. Churchill's Secretary
by Susan Elia MacNeal

Such an interesting time period and I loved that it was from a female perspective and one that is heavily involved in the war effort. There was lots of historical information from WWII which really helped to flesh out the story. I went in expecting that this was going to be another cozy mystery but was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was full of thrilling, intellectual, and well developed characters and plot points! Maggie Hope is a great heroine! I'm really looking forward to reading the next installment, Princess Elizabeth's Spy!

First Grave on the Right

by Darynda Jones

First in the Charley Davidson Series, the lead character is a PI by day and the Grim Reaper by night...and usually during the day too...ok, most of / all of the time.  Charley is a sassy and smart character and it's lots of fun to read about her adventures (more likely misadventures!).  For fans of Janet Evanovich, J.R. Ward, and Sherrilyn Kenyon! Mixes the right amount of mystery with paranormal romance.  I'm looking forward to reading the next few in the series.

Secondhand Spirits

by Juliet Blackwell

Another series first, this one from the Witchcraft Mysteries.  Lily Ivory has just moved to San Fran and decided it's time to set up roots somewhere and here is as good a place as any.  She has opened up a vintage clothing shop (expect lots of fun descriptions of amazing clothes) and is trying hard to balance her new working girl lifestyle with the one she is trying to keep a secret; she is a witch (a pretty powerful one at that).  When a client is murdered and children start disappearing, Lily is dragged into the case.  Naturally, there are 2 sexy men for readers and Lily to choose from; Aidan Rhodes, a powerful male witch, and Max Carmicheal, a 'mythbuster'.  Funny and spooky, a great series for holiday or beach reading!

On What Grounds

by Cleo Coyle

The first in Coyle's Coffeehouse Mystery series; full of lots of coffee, fun characters, and mysterious circumstances.  I liked that the main character, Clare Cosi (and how cute is her name?) is an older and wiser heroine then many series I've been reading of late.  Having a middle aged mother and divorcee really complemented the story and atmosphere created.

Notorious Nineteen

by Janet Evanovich

Oh Stephanie Plum, how I love you...Nothing beats curling up on the couch with the newest adventure of Stephanie, Lula, Morelli, Ranger, and more.  This one features Grandma Mazur going undercover at a nursing home.  Need I say more?

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat

by Sofie Kelly

My new favourite cozy mystery series.  I picked up this first in the Magical Cats Series at White Dwarf Books.  I picked it up and discovered

a) It featured cats.  Cats that look like my cats according to the cover image.

b) The cats are magical ! 

c) It takes place in a quaint small town

d) The main character is a librarian

I was sold!  This is a lovely series that is we written and full of feel good fun.  A must for cat lovers and cozy mystery fans.

I have since read book 2 (Sleight of Paw) and book 3 (Copycat Killing) and both are just as good as the first one!

More genres / reviews to come soon! :)

“They don't hang dukes, darling. He'd be let off by reason of insanity. Everyone knows the upper classes are batty.”

When I was down in Seattle with my mom this past December, I had the good fortune to visit a fabulous bookshop, the Seattle Mystery Bookshop!  If you get the chance to visit I do recommend it! Full of fantastic finds and knowledgable staff, it was just lovely! I plan on getting lost in there again on my next visit.

The best thing I took away from my visit was the complete (at the time) set of Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness Mysteries.  One of my favourite authors, Lauren Willig, recommended this series awhile back on her blog and it had been on my to read list for some time.  Upon finding a complete autographed set of all 5 books (there has since been a 6th novel published) I knew we must be together and my lovely mom bought them for me as an early Christmas present.  Hurray!

I read all 5 books back to back and I loved them!  Here's the premise for the first novel, Her Royal Spyness:

Her ridiculously long name is Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, daughter to the Duke of Atholt and Rannoch. And she is flat broke. As the thirty-fourth in line for the throne, she has been taught only a few things, among them, the perfect curtsey. But when her brother cuts off her allowance, she leaves Scotland, and her fiancé Fish-Face, for London, where she has:

a) worked behind a cosmetics counter-and gotten sacked after five hours
b) started to fall for a quite unsuitable minor royal
c) made some money housekeeping (incognita, of course), and
d) been summoned by the Queen to spy on her playboy son.

Then an arrogant Frenchman, who wants her family's 800-year-old estate for himself, winds up dead in her bathtub. Now her most important job is to clear her very long family name

Such a fun read for mystery and historical fiction fans! Bowen has created a wonderful character with Georgie and I really enjoyed reading all of her adventures.  The latest novel is a holiday themed one (came out late 2012) and the next installment is due out August 2013.  You can bet that I'll be getting my hands on both of them.

Her Royal Sypness Series

0.5: Masked Ball at Broxley Manor (ebook) (2012)
1: Her Royal Spyness (2007)
2: A Royal Pain (2008)
3: Royal Flush (2009)
4: Royal Blood (2010)
5: Naughty in Nice (2011)
6: The Twelve Clues of Christmas (2012)
7: Heirs and Graces (2013)

I'm Back!

Oh my goodness! It has been awhile hasn't it?? Life seems to have flown by me and I just discovered that there hasn't been a new post since JANUARY 1ST! That's crazy!  Well let's get back on track shall we? As you can tell from my handy dandy Goodreads Reading Challenge Link, I've clearly been reading up a storm in the first 3 months of 2013! So look forward to new posts coming up asap!

Much Love :)

2012 Year in Review Book Style

Here are a few year in review articles by some excellent book and blog sites! Lots of good recommendations and interesting information to help you pick your next great read!

AbeBooks: a Literary Review of 2012

The Midnight Garden Favourite Books of 2012

My Best Reads of 2012

I read so many good books this year it was hard to pick my favourites!  Here are my best reads of 2012 (in no particular order):

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

My Review

Doomsday Book - Connie Willis

My Review

The Dovekeeper - Alice Hoffman

My Review

Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo

My Review

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

My Review

The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen - Susin Nielsen

My Review

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

My Review

Still Life - Louise Penny

My Review

Wonder - R.J. Palacio

I laughed and cried my way through this amazing book.  August Pullman is an ordinary boy with one difference; he was born with a facial deformity which has kept him out of public school...until now.  Such an incredible story! Inspiring, funny, and courageous; this is a must read.

The Causal Vacancy - J.K. Rowling

Oh J.K. you have done it again.  Such a different book from her Harry Potter series, you wouldn't even know it was her!  The story of a small town full of awful and fascinating people and what happens after a local man dies and leaves a spot on the local town counsel.  So well written and engaging; I really enjoyed it!

Fables, Unwritten, and Sandman...Oh my!

You have probably noticed that I'm really into graphic novels lately.  There are just to many gems out there! Here are the few of my newest discoveries as well as some old favourites!

Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland
by Bill Willingham

This is within the Fables world / series however this is somewhat of a side adventure that features fan favourite Bigby Wolf as he travels across the American heartland in attempts to find a new location for the recently destroyed Fabletown.  This is not my favourite Fables based adventure but it did have some interesting bits and did contribute to the overall story that Willingham is telling.

Unwritten
Vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity
by Mike Carey & Peter Gross

I was turned onto this series by a coworker and I'm really looking forward to reading more!

Tom Taylor's life was screwed from go. His father created the Tommy Taylor fantasy series, boy-wizard novels with popularity on par with Harry Potter. The problem is Dad modeled the fictional epic so closely to Tom's real life that fans are constantly comparing him to his counterpart, turning him into the lamest variety of Z-level celebrity. In the final novel, it's even implied that the fictional Tommy will crossover into the real world, giving delusional fans more excuses to harass Tom. 

When an enormous scandal reveals that Tom might really be a boy-wizard made flesh, Tom comes into contact with a very mysterious, very deadly group that's secretly kept tabs on him all his life. Now, to protect his own life and discover the truth behind his origins, Tom will travel the world, eventually finding himself at locations all featured on a very special map -- one kept by the deadly group that charts places throughout world history where fictions have impacted and tangibly shaped reality, those stories ranging from famous literary works to folktales to pop culture. And in the process of figuring out what it all means, Tom will find himself having to figure out a huge conspiracy mystery that spans the entirety of the history of fiction

Really well written and a fun concept! 

Fairest

Vol. 1: Wide Awake

by Bill Willingham

Since the Jack of Fables series ended, Willingham has only been working on the main Fables series.  This is the first in a new series that, as expected, takes place in the Fables universe, and focuses on the women characters; Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Thumbelina...He has lots to choose from! This graphic novel focuses on Sleeping Beauty and also includes a story about Belle (which is amazing!).  I'm really excited to see where this series goes from here since it has a very strong introduction with this issue.

Absolute Sandman Vol. 1

by Neil Gaiman

The first of 5 volumes which compiles all the Gaiman's infamous Sandman stories.  My husband has been telling me to read Sandman for years and I finally got around to tackling this first hefty volume.  And may I just say...WOW!  An amazing read for graphic novel fans, Neil Gaiman fans, Mythology fans, and many many more lucky readers.