I've got five books to review today, so I don't have a lot of space for tidbits from Shelf Awareness, but this particular bit caught my eye because I loved this book, which I read with my book group years ago, and I've been looking forward to a film adaptation. Hopefully it will be released in the US shortly after it's released in the UK later this month.
Foyles bookstore also has a role
in the film
version of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann
Shaffer and Annie Barrows, the Bookseller reported.
The film stars
Lily James, Michiel Huisman, Penelope Wilton and Matthew
Goode, is being
directed by Mike Newell and is being produced by Paula
Mazur and Mitchell
Kaplan from the Mazur/Kaplan Company (he is the owner
of Books &
Books in southern Florida and the
Cayman Islands),
along with Graham Broadbent and Pete Czernin from
Blueprint
Pictures.
The original
Foyles flagship shop on Charing Cross Road in London is "a
main location in
the film, as writer Juliet Ashton--played by
James--promotes
her first novel in post-war London," the Bookseller
wrote.
The film will be released April 20 in the U.K.
The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed was a book I read about on a list of female protagonist lead YA fiction that was supposed to be ground breaking and exciting. Fortunately, Nowhere Girls lived up to the hype, and I read it through in a day. The prose I'd liken to holding a sparkler, it's bright and entertaining, but also stings when the sparks land on your skin. The plot moves at lightening speed, and the characters are well drawn and realistic.Here's the blurb:
I agree with Amber Smith, in that this book cuts right to the heart of misogynist high school rape culture, where girls are objectified and vilified and preyed upon by boys who see them as nothing but disposable animals to use to assuage their own sexual desires and need for dominance and power. Though the three main girls don't really have a solid plan of what to do after they hold a meeting to try and change things, the fact that they meet with other girls who have experienced rape and sexual harassment at the school brings about a change in itself, especially in the main characters, who have to face their own fears and step up to change their own lives as well as trying to get justice for the girls who had been raped. Other than a couple of 180s on the part of Rosina's mom and Erin's mom, the former of whom was ready to toss her daughter out on the street for being a lesbian and a rebel, and the latter of whom was smothering her daughter with fear and a really strict ridiculous raw food diet, there wasn't much of anything to criticize about this page turner of a novel. I was happy that justice was served in the end, but I was, as I always am with a good book, sad that the novel was ending at all, because I wanted more. A well deserved A, and I would recommend this to every teenager on the planet, especially the girls (though it would be great if the boys read it and became allies of the girls, instead of looking at them only as sexual beings). Bottom line, please read this book, it is well worth your time.
Volatile Bonds by Jaye Wells is the fourth book in the Prospero's War series of urban fantasy novels. I have, of course, read the other three, Dirty Magic, Cursed Moon and Deadly Spells, and I have to say that I was thrilled that in this book, Kate seemed mature enough that there was markedly less swearing and flapping around trying to find a good way to parent her younger brother. She set boundaries, made reasonable decisions and was willing to compromise and apologize when she was wrong. All of these things moved her character forward and helped her grow as a person. Wells prose is delicate and tough at the same time, while her plots zing along with alacrity. Here's the blurb:
It's not long before the bodies start piling up, and the heat is on for the team to make an arrest. Solving the murders will require unraveling dangerous alliances between the city's dirty magic covens. And if they're not careful, the new complexities of Morales and Prospero's own partnership threaten to make a volatile situation downright deadly.
So the new "super Viagra-like" drug, supposedly created by the Chinese (turns out that they're being set up) ends up killing people, and Kate and Morales have to figure out a way to find the people responsible for cooking the drug and diluting it, as well as reigning in the head of the sex magic coven, Aphrodite, a hermaphrodite who wants to marry herself and become immortal. One of the new characters, a Chinese coven member, actually has a unicorn horn that makes her immortal, and her interactions with the team were especially amusing and fascinating. Kate's relationship with Morales and with hottie mayor Volos is also scrutinized, and Morales is found somewhat wanting. At any rate, this was a book that I just could not put down, and I read it in an afternoon, and found myself thirsting for more. I gather that another Prospero book is due out this year, so I plan on being first in line to grab a copy. Another well deserved A with a recommendation for those who like female detectives with a paranormal bent in an urban fantasy environment.
The Beast is an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale is a unique fairy tale fantasy with horror elements that is written in old fashioned "fairy tale" style prose with a twisted plot that will keep you reading into the wee hours. Here's the blurb:
A girl with a secret talent must save her village from the encroaching darkness in this “achingly poetic” (Kirkus Reviews) and deeply satisfying tale.
Alys was seven the first time she saw the soul eaters.
These soul eaters are twin sisters who were abandoned by their father and slowly grew into something not quite human. And they feed off of human souls. When her village was attacked, Alys was spared and sent to live in a neighboring village. There the devout people created a strict world where fear of the soul eaters—and of the Beast they believe guides them—rule village life. But the Beast is not what they think he is. And neither is Alys.
Inside, Alys feels connected to the soul eaters, and maybe even to the Beast itself. As she grows from a child to a teenager, she longs for the freedom of the forest. And she has a gift she can tell no one, for fear they will call her a witch. When disaster strikes, Alys finds herself on a journey to heal herself and her world. A journey that will take her through the darkest parts of the forest, where danger threatens her from the outside—and from within her own heart and soul. Publisher's Weekly: Alys was only seven when soul eaters killed the adults in the village of Gwenith. She was then taken to nearby Defaid, where she made a life with new parents. It isn’t much of a life, though: when soul eaters attack Defaid, a “great wooden Gate” is built around the village, and the children of Gwenith must guard the Gate through the night. Theirs is a colorless existence, and Alys feels the pull of the dark “fforest” surrounding the village, and the beast that lives there. From the sorrowful opening that introduces the soul eaters, van Arsdale’s lyrical debut spans about eight years, revealing the growing darkness Alys feels inside and the weight of the secret she carries. When Alys is accused of a terrible crime, she’s forced to leave the village and confront her destiny. Atmospheric and immersive, van Arsdale’s eerie fantasy keeps its focus on Alys’s struggle to reconcile who she is with what she wants to be as it builds toward a poignant and satisfying conclusion.
There is some of the same elements as Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" about The Beast is an Animal, and the book makes several excellent points about how Christianity (though the religion in the book is never called that, it bears a striking resembalance to Amish Christianity with it's rigid insistence on black and white rules and demonizing anything that is different or not "normal") has been used to force mediocre norms on anyone and everyone, so that the minister or pastor can rule his flock of "sheep" with an iron fist and fearof the "devil," herein called "the beast". The fear of others, of things they don't understand and therefore seek to destroy eventually destroys their entire village and many of the people in it, just as Alys learns that bitterness and hatred and anger at these fearful people also destroys the soul eaters and the great hole they've created out of that pain and fear. Love is the only way to heal the great hole, just as acceptance and love are what is needed to create a family that will grow and thrive, instead of wither and die. There is a ton of symbolism and metaphor in this novel, yet it also works on the level of a dark fairy tale with an HEA ending. It deserves an A, and a recommendation to anyone who enjoys folklore and myths and legends.
Hex Marks the Spot by Madelyn Alt is a mass market paranormal mystery with a female protagonist/sleuth that I picked up for a song at the Sequel Bookstore in Enumclaw. I was looking for some fun and light reading for inbetween the more serious fiction and nonfiction books I've been reading for book group. This breezy little tome fit the bill to a T. Here's the blurb: While her boss becomes entranced with a beautiful armoire at the countywide craft bazaar, Maggie can't help noticing the Amish craftsman who made it. Though his clothes may be plain, he himself is more handsome than a man sporting a jawline-only beard has any right to be. And he seems pretty aware that the ladies love his...furniture. But when the hunky craftsman turns up dead with a strange hex symbol near his corpse, Maggie wonders if the craft involved is the witchy kind.
The prose is crisp and cool, and the plot just intricate enough to keep you guessing, though most readers will solve the mystery by at least halfway through the novel. The romantic elements are done with a light touch, and they don't distract from the mystery itself, or from the interesting peek into the lives of the Pennsylvania Dutch Amish who populate the book. I'd give this story a B+, and recommend it as an airplane/airport read, or just a book to keep in your purse for long lines or waiting rooms at doctors offices. It's a nice distraction and a cozy read.
Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston is a science fiction YA novel that has a steampunk flavor to it and an interesting young female protagonist whose love of a robot is reminiscent of the reboot of Battlestar Galactica. Here's the blurb:
An action-packed tale full of romance, royalty, and adventure, inspired by the story of Anastasia. Perfect for fans of Six of Crows, Cinder, and the cult classic television show Firefly.
Seventeen-year-old Ana is a scoundrel by nurture and an outlaw by nature. Found as a child drifting through space with a sentient android called D09, Ana was saved by a fearsome space captain and the grizzled crew she now calls family. But D09—one of the last remaining illegal Metals—has been glitching, and Ana will stop at nothing to find a way to fix him.
Ana’s desperate effort to save D09 leads her on a quest to steal the coordinates to a lost ship that could offer all the answers. But at the last moment, a spoiled Ironblood boy beats Ana to her prize. He has his own reasons for taking the coordinates, and he doesn’t care what he’ll sacrifice to keep them.
When everything goes wrong, she and the Ironblood end up as fugitives on the run. Now their entire kingdom is after them—and the coordinates—and not everyone wants them captured alive.
What they find in a lost corner of the universe will change all their lives—and unearth dangerous secrets. But when a darkness from Ana’s past returns, she must face an impossible choice: does she protect a kingdom that wants her dead or save the Metal boy she loves?
Ana is found to be the lost Ironblood princess (who proves her identity by holding the iron crown and not having it rust in her hands, as it does in everyone elses) and the man who created the "metals" turns out to be an evil mastermind and fanatic who created a malicious computer virus that turns metals into killers and slaves to his evil ambitions. It seems no one wants Ana alive except for her pirate outlaw family, who still love her though she's gotten three of them killed during the course of the book by her reckless actions. I didn't really love Ana, I found her to be an immature idiot a lot of the time, but I wasn't terribly fond of her AI, nicknamed DI, either. Yet somehow, with all the other characters, they made a well plotted story with lyrical prose come alive. I'd give this book a B+, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys reboots of old tales, like Cinder or Robin McKinley's Beauty.
Volatile Bonds by Jaye Wells is the fourth book in the Prospero's War series of urban fantasy novels. I have, of course, read the other three, Dirty Magic, Cursed Moon and Deadly Spells, and I have to say that I was thrilled that in this book, Kate seemed mature enough that there was markedly less swearing and flapping around trying to find a good way to parent her younger brother. She set boundaries, made reasonable decisions and was willing to compromise and apologize when she was wrong. All of these things moved her character forward and helped her grow as a person. Wells prose is delicate and tough at the same time, while her plots zing along with alacrity. Here's the blurb:
Magic is a drug. Dirty Deals Lead to Deadly Ends.
When
the Magic Enforcement Agency is called out to the scene of a dirty
magic lab explosion, a body with a bullet wound is found in the
smoldering ruins. As Detective Kate Prospero and her partner, Special
Agent Drew Morales, hunt down the killer, they uncover evidence that a
dangerous new coven may be operating in the Cauldron. It's not long before the bodies start piling up, and the heat is on for the team to make an arrest. Solving the murders will require unraveling dangerous alliances between the city's dirty magic covens. And if they're not careful, the new complexities of Morales and Prospero's own partnership threaten to make a volatile situation downright deadly.
So the new "super Viagra-like" drug, supposedly created by the Chinese (turns out that they're being set up) ends up killing people, and Kate and Morales have to figure out a way to find the people responsible for cooking the drug and diluting it, as well as reigning in the head of the sex magic coven, Aphrodite, a hermaphrodite who wants to marry herself and become immortal. One of the new characters, a Chinese coven member, actually has a unicorn horn that makes her immortal, and her interactions with the team were especially amusing and fascinating. Kate's relationship with Morales and with hottie mayor Volos is also scrutinized, and Morales is found somewhat wanting. At any rate, this was a book that I just could not put down, and I read it in an afternoon, and found myself thirsting for more. I gather that another Prospero book is due out this year, so I plan on being first in line to grab a copy. Another well deserved A with a recommendation for those who like female detectives with a paranormal bent in an urban fantasy environment.
The Beast is an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale is a unique fairy tale fantasy with horror elements that is written in old fashioned "fairy tale" style prose with a twisted plot that will keep you reading into the wee hours. Here's the blurb:
A girl with a secret talent must save her village from the encroaching darkness in this “achingly poetic” (Kirkus Reviews) and deeply satisfying tale.
Alys was seven the first time she saw the soul eaters.
These soul eaters are twin sisters who were abandoned by their father and slowly grew into something not quite human. And they feed off of human souls. When her village was attacked, Alys was spared and sent to live in a neighboring village. There the devout people created a strict world where fear of the soul eaters—and of the Beast they believe guides them—rule village life. But the Beast is not what they think he is. And neither is Alys.
Inside, Alys feels connected to the soul eaters, and maybe even to the Beast itself. As she grows from a child to a teenager, she longs for the freedom of the forest. And she has a gift she can tell no one, for fear they will call her a witch. When disaster strikes, Alys finds herself on a journey to heal herself and her world. A journey that will take her through the darkest parts of the forest, where danger threatens her from the outside—and from within her own heart and soul. Publisher's Weekly: Alys was only seven when soul eaters killed the adults in the village of Gwenith. She was then taken to nearby Defaid, where she made a life with new parents. It isn’t much of a life, though: when soul eaters attack Defaid, a “great wooden Gate” is built around the village, and the children of Gwenith must guard the Gate through the night. Theirs is a colorless existence, and Alys feels the pull of the dark “fforest” surrounding the village, and the beast that lives there. From the sorrowful opening that introduces the soul eaters, van Arsdale’s lyrical debut spans about eight years, revealing the growing darkness Alys feels inside and the weight of the secret she carries. When Alys is accused of a terrible crime, she’s forced to leave the village and confront her destiny. Atmospheric and immersive, van Arsdale’s eerie fantasy keeps its focus on Alys’s struggle to reconcile who she is with what she wants to be as it builds toward a poignant and satisfying conclusion.
There is some of the same elements as Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" about The Beast is an Animal, and the book makes several excellent points about how Christianity (though the religion in the book is never called that, it bears a striking resembalance to Amish Christianity with it's rigid insistence on black and white rules and demonizing anything that is different or not "normal") has been used to force mediocre norms on anyone and everyone, so that the minister or pastor can rule his flock of "sheep" with an iron fist and fearof the "devil," herein called "the beast". The fear of others, of things they don't understand and therefore seek to destroy eventually destroys their entire village and many of the people in it, just as Alys learns that bitterness and hatred and anger at these fearful people also destroys the soul eaters and the great hole they've created out of that pain and fear. Love is the only way to heal the great hole, just as acceptance and love are what is needed to create a family that will grow and thrive, instead of wither and die. There is a ton of symbolism and metaphor in this novel, yet it also works on the level of a dark fairy tale with an HEA ending. It deserves an A, and a recommendation to anyone who enjoys folklore and myths and legends.
Hex Marks the Spot by Madelyn Alt is a mass market paranormal mystery with a female protagonist/sleuth that I picked up for a song at the Sequel Bookstore in Enumclaw. I was looking for some fun and light reading for inbetween the more serious fiction and nonfiction books I've been reading for book group. This breezy little tome fit the bill to a T. Here's the blurb: While her boss becomes entranced with a beautiful armoire at the countywide craft bazaar, Maggie can't help noticing the Amish craftsman who made it. Though his clothes may be plain, he himself is more handsome than a man sporting a jawline-only beard has any right to be. And he seems pretty aware that the ladies love his...furniture. But when the hunky craftsman turns up dead with a strange hex symbol near his corpse, Maggie wonders if the craft involved is the witchy kind.
The prose is crisp and cool, and the plot just intricate enough to keep you guessing, though most readers will solve the mystery by at least halfway through the novel. The romantic elements are done with a light touch, and they don't distract from the mystery itself, or from the interesting peek into the lives of the Pennsylvania Dutch Amish who populate the book. I'd give this story a B+, and recommend it as an airplane/airport read, or just a book to keep in your purse for long lines or waiting rooms at doctors offices. It's a nice distraction and a cozy read.
Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston is a science fiction YA novel that has a steampunk flavor to it and an interesting young female protagonist whose love of a robot is reminiscent of the reboot of Battlestar Galactica. Here's the blurb:
An action-packed tale full of romance, royalty, and adventure, inspired by the story of Anastasia. Perfect for fans of Six of Crows, Cinder, and the cult classic television show Firefly.
Seventeen-year-old Ana is a scoundrel by nurture and an outlaw by nature. Found as a child drifting through space with a sentient android called D09, Ana was saved by a fearsome space captain and the grizzled crew she now calls family. But D09—one of the last remaining illegal Metals—has been glitching, and Ana will stop at nothing to find a way to fix him.
Ana’s desperate effort to save D09 leads her on a quest to steal the coordinates to a lost ship that could offer all the answers. But at the last moment, a spoiled Ironblood boy beats Ana to her prize. He has his own reasons for taking the coordinates, and he doesn’t care what he’ll sacrifice to keep them.
When everything goes wrong, she and the Ironblood end up as fugitives on the run. Now their entire kingdom is after them—and the coordinates—and not everyone wants them captured alive.
What they find in a lost corner of the universe will change all their lives—and unearth dangerous secrets. But when a darkness from Ana’s past returns, she must face an impossible choice: does she protect a kingdom that wants her dead or save the Metal boy she loves?
Ana is found to be the lost Ironblood princess (who proves her identity by holding the iron crown and not having it rust in her hands, as it does in everyone elses) and the man who created the "metals" turns out to be an evil mastermind and fanatic who created a malicious computer virus that turns metals into killers and slaves to his evil ambitions. It seems no one wants Ana alive except for her pirate outlaw family, who still love her though she's gotten three of them killed during the course of the book by her reckless actions. I didn't really love Ana, I found her to be an immature idiot a lot of the time, but I wasn't terribly fond of her AI, nicknamed DI, either. Yet somehow, with all the other characters, they made a well plotted story with lyrical prose come alive. I'd give this book a B+, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys reboots of old tales, like Cinder or Robin McKinley's Beauty.
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