Beautiful Dead: Jonas

Ellerton High School has been having a rash of student deaths over the last year.  First Jonas, then Arizona, finally Summer, and Phoenix.  All this death has everyone in the town on edge, but particularly Darina, whose boyfriend Phoenix was the latest fatality.  Sure, they’d only been together for about 2 months, but clearly Phoenix was the LOVE OF DARINA’S LIFE and, you know, she is finding it difficult to go on.  Until one day, Darina is sure that she sees not just Phoenix, but also Jonas.  Did they really die, or are they still alive?  Eventually Darina learns that the four dead Ellerton High students are now what are called the Beautiful Dead – zombies, basically, but not the brain-eating sort that we are used to.  They have been allowed to return to earth in the dead-but-not-ghost form for a period of up to one year in order to work out the issues surrounding their deaths, and Darina is going to be allowed to help them.  First up, Jonas.

For what looked like a very exciting new paranormal YA series and sounded like an interesting premise, the first installment of “Beautiful Dead” did not capture my attention at all.  It actually took me three days to read this 200 page YA novel, because I just wasn’t ever particularly interested in picking it up.  Among my issues were Darina’s over-the-top drama about Phoenix – when she learns he is in limbo she wants to die to join him, after 2 months of dating (yes, I know she’s a teenager and some teenagers are overly dramatic about love issues, but still!); the one-dimensional quality of most of the supporting characters (seriously, couldn’t keep the other high school students straight); and the fact that the way the beautiful dead resolve the issues around their death seems to be focused on revenge.  Plus there was the fact that two of the beautiful dead are named Phoenix and Arizona.  Taken individually either name would be fine, but together it makes the whole thing seem ridiculous, I couldn’t stop thinking “Phoenix, Arizona.”  Adding Summer in as as a name didn’t exactly help, since that is sort of what I think of when I think of the physical location of Phoenix, Arizona.

The writing was good, but I simply could not bring myself to care one whit about the story.  Although I have a hard time not continuing series, even if I didn’t love the first book, I don’t think I’m going to bother reading about the resolution of Arizona, Summer, and Phoenix’s deaths.  That said, there are certainly others who felt very differently, so if you think you might be interested in this series, check out some of the other blogs on this tour.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from Paul at Sourcebooks Fire.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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Beautiful Dead: Jonas – Book Review

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1. They Found Him Dead – Book Review
2. Crazy Beautiful – Book Review
3. Seriespalooza!

Remarkable Creatures

You’ll have to forgive me, because I actually read “Remarkable Creatures” quite awhile ago, and just never got around to writing my review.  Unfortunately I suffer from that problem with books I borrowed from the library or took off of my own shelves.  When I get behind in my review writing, those are the ones that suffer.  So instead of writing a regular review, I’ll just give you the publisher’s synopsis as found on Amazon and some of my thoughts.

From the publisher:

A voyage of discoveries, a meeting of two remarkable women, and extraordinary time and place enrich bestselling author Tracy Chevalier’s enthralling new novel

From the moment she’s struck by lightening as a baby, it is clear that Mary Anning is marked for greatness. On the windswept, fossil-strewn beaches of the English coast, she learns that she has “the eye”-and finds what no one else can see. When Mary uncovers an unusual fossilized skeleton in the cliffs near her home, she sets the religious fathers on edge, the townspeople to vicious gossip, and the scientific world alight. In an arena dominated by men, however, Mary is barred from the academic community; as a young woman with unusual interests she is suspected of sinful behavior. Nature is a threat, throwing bitter, cold storms and landslips at her. And when she falls in love, it is with an impossible man.

Luckily, Mary finds an unlikely champion in prickly Elizabeth Philpot, a recent exile from London, who also loves scouring the beaches. Their relationship strikes a delicate balance between fierce loyalty, mutual appreciation, and barely suppressed envy. Ultimately, in the struggle to be recognized in the wider world, Mary and Elizabeth discover that friendship is their greatest ally.

Remarkable Creatures is a stunning novel of how one woman’s gift transcends class and social prejudice to lead to some of the most important discoveries of the nineteenth century. Above all, is it a revealing portrait of the intricate and resilient nature of female friendship.

I loved the plot of Tracy Chevalier’s new book, because I knew absolutely nothing about the early days of fossil finding, and all of the debates that played out about what these animals were, whether or not they were things that had gone extinct, and the religious questions surrounding that.  The very best part about “Remarkable Creatures,” though, was the ambiance.  I would swear to you that I was actually witnessing events happening in early 19th century England, to the point where I had a hard time with a lot of historical fiction for a couple of weeks after that, because not much was comparing to the way that Chevalier’s characters lived completely and authentically in their historical setting.

Highly recommended, but maybe wait until you don’t have a lot of other historical fiction to read, because you don’t want it to ruin the other stuff!

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from the library.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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Remarkable Creatures – Mini Review

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1. TSS: Devourer in Wonderland
2. The Return – Book Review
3. Saffron Dreams – Mini Book Review

Double Fault

Here’s my quick synopsis of “Double Fault:”

Willy cares about nothing but tennis, but that’s okay, because she’s good.  Willy meets Eric, he plays tennis too!  Plus, she has ended her affair with her coach, so she might as well hook up with Eric.  Eric and Willy don’t actually appear to like one another that much or know much about each other besides tennis, but hey, you know, it might be fun if they got married.  Eric gets better at tennis, Willy gets hurt, Eric gets better than her, and she gets pissed.  Marriage that was based on nothing besides tennis falters unsurprisingly when Willy’s game does the same.  Eric and Willy are terrible to one another.

I think it says a lot about my feelings about this book that my favorite part was when Willy finally broke down and smacked Eric.  I’m really rather sad that this was my first experience with Lionel Shriver, because I didn’t terribly enjoy it at all.  Here’s the thing: both Willy and Eric were terrible human beings.  They were terrible to each other and had no business being in any sort of actual personal relationships, because they didn’t have a clue how to do so in a remotely healthy manner.  I’m really not a fan of unsympathetic characters, but they can work for me if they are interesting.  Perhaps it is because I’m not interested in tennis, but I really didn’t care about any part of Willy and Eric’s lives.

The one good thing about this book was Shriver’s writing, which was complex and usually very engaging.  That bodes well – or hopeful, at least – for the three other books by Shriver on my TBR shelves.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from the library.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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Double Fault – Book Review

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1. TSS: Rain, rain, go away!
2. Far Bright Star – Book Review
3. The Adoration of Jenna Fox – Book Review

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

But not once did the lady look at the King nor he at her, and no movement between them would havegone undetected. My attention was not divided, as was the other ladies in the Queen’s household, by the little war gaining momentum between the Spanish ladies and the French, ever since a French lady had overhead a Spanish lady complain to a gentleman that the French women were dirty.

-The Creation of Eve by Lynn Cullen, p. 62

…because evidently royal courts were a lot like high school

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Teaser Tuesday – The Creation of Eve

Related posts:

1. Teaser Tuesday – Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story
2. Teaser Tuesday – Expecting Adam
3. Teaser Tuesday – Shadow of the Wind

The Stolen Crown

When Katherine was a very young girl, a marriage changed her life – and the future of England – forever.  Kate’s older sister, the widowed Elizabeth Woodville had caught the eye of the young King Edward IV.  Edward and Elizabeth wasted very little time putting her less-than-noble family into some of the highest positions in the lands.  Katherine in particular is wed to the young Harry, Duke of Buckingham, a boy whose position in England was second only to Edward IV and his children and brothers.  Katherine and Harry grow to love one another deeply, but the specter of Richard of Gloucester, the man that Harry admires above all others, haunts their life together; Kate does not like the man much, and the feeling is mutual.

I really read War of the Roses books to see who the author thinks murdered Edward IV’s sons in the Tower of London and what the Duke of Buckingham’s motivations were for his actions after Richard’s coronation.  Higginbotham definitely had a perspective I had never seen before and one that was at least plausible, although it is not the theory to which I subscribe.  Because Buckingham’s motivations are often such a mystery, it was very interesting to view the entire story from his and Kate’s perspectives.

It was interesting for me to compare “The Stolen Crown” to Higginbotham’s earliest published work, “The Traitor’s Wife.”  Higginbotham is still writing engaging stories, but her prose has improved greatly; something kept pulling me out of the story in “The Traitor’s Wife,” and that did not happen with “The Stolen Crown.”  I did feel that her characters – Kate in particular – spoke in ways that were at times overly modern.  I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what made me feel this way, but I suspect it might have been all of the parenthetical statements that both Kate and Harry made.

Definitely an enjoyable work of historical fiction told from an unique perspective and I will continue to try Higginbotham’s work to see if she can continue to improve.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from Danielle at Sourceoboks.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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The Stolen Crown – Book Review

Related posts:

1. A Rose for the Crown – Book Review
2. The Traitor’s Wife: A Novel of the Reign of Edward II – Book Review
3. Case Histories – Book Review

Of course, the dreary, rainy weather fit our mood pretty well around here.  My husband’s (young!) uncle passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, so that made for a tough week for the family.  It may look like I read a lot this week, but they were mostly books I was reading last week and the beginning of this week, primarily finished before Tuesday.

Here’s what I read:

“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” was far and away the highlight of my reading (well, listening) week.  I liked but didn’t love both “Still Life” and “The Stolen Crown,” while “Double Fault” annoyed me and I couldn’t make myself care about “The Beautiful Dead.”

And here’s what I reviewed:

I also had a VERY interesting guest post from Elizabeth Chadwick, author of “The Scarlet Lion” and asked what makes you ‘Say Yes to the Book.’

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TSS: Rain, rain, go away!

Related posts:

1. Double Fault – Book Review
2. Not going to BEA this weekend? Feeling left out? We say: “No BEA? Books Anyway!”
3. BTT: The Absolute Worst

So I’m pretty much fresh off of a month of BLOB (a book ban acquisition game) and, after an initial buying spree, I’m actually doing much better resisting books now than I was before.  I’m trying to reevaluate what I request, what pitches I accept, what I buy, even what I borrow from the library; I’m trying to learn how to keep this who thing manageable.

To do this, though, I have to think most about what it is that I accept, and why I accept it.  I don’t mean about what my review policy says because, honestly, I don’t usually stick to that, I end up being much less strict than my policy states “oh, I’ll just make an exception for this book…” and so on.  I could sit by myself and analyze the choices I have made and why, but that doesn’t sound that fun.  Instead, I want to know why YOU say ‘yes’ to a book.

As I see it right now, there are two main parts to this question:

1) What are some hallmarks of a book you know you want to read?

2) What makes you decide to accept a book which may or may not line up with your idea of the perfect book?

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Say Yes to the Book

Related posts:

1. Water Ghosts – Book Review

The Opposite of Me

Lindsey is sure that she is on her way to becoming the younger VP of advertising in her company’s history.  Not that her mother can appreciate anything she does without making sure that she knows of her twin sister Alex’s successes.  Alex has always been the pretty one – no, make that the gorgeous one. You know, the one who parlays a career in modeling to a career on television. Whatever, though, Lindsey doesn’t care too much about what Alex is accomplishing or how rich and handsome her fiance is, because Lindsey is rocketing through the world of advertising.  Until, suddenly, she isn’t any more. When her career, the very thing that defines Lindsey, goes down the drain, Lindsey finds herself back at home and back in increasing competition (even if it may be mostly in her head) with Alex.

Oh man, I loved “The Opposite of Me.”  I read Sarah’s posts at the Debutante Ball, where she is one of the 2010 Debs, every Tuesday.  She has such a great voice and sense of humor in all of her posts, and her voice was exactly the same and just as fantastic as ever.

When I was about half way through the book, I thought it was going to be a pretty predictable plot. You know, girl loses job, girl finds self.  Yes, it had elements of that, but Pekkanen took the story in a way I didn’t expect that was much deeper and more meaningful than the cliche storyline I was expecting. I was actually really enjoying the book even when I thought it was going the same old place; when I realized where “The Opposite of Me” was really going I went from like to love.

“The Opposite of Me” is sweet, hilarious, and full of win.  I highly recommend it.

Buy this book from:

Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from Crystal from SheKnows.*
These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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The Opposite of Me – Book Review

Related posts:

1. Teaser Tuesday – The Opposite of Me
2. February 2010 Reading Wrap-Up
3. TSS: Some Serious Book Coveting

Many thanks to Devourer of Books for inviting me to the blog to talk about how I conduct my historical research!

I strongly believe an author needs more than just reference works to write absorbing historical fiction.   If a story is to leap off the page, then the research should enter the world of 3D.  My own method of research involves a five strand approach, these strands being woven together into a detailed and (I hope!) seamless braid.  The below is how I went about researching The Scarlet Lion and it’s the blueprint for all my novels.

1. I use Primary sources.  I read original charters, documents and chronicles to gain a feel for the period and the mindset of the period.  These documents provide a social and political framework of the world in which my characters dwelt.

2. Secondary sources.  I read numerous books on all sorts of subjects concerned with the period, generally from academic and university presses or specialist publications.  I also use online study, but I am careful about the websites I use, as there is a lot of poor information out there as well as the useful material – this especially applies to genealogy sites.

3. Location Research.  I visit locations mentioned in the novels where possible.  So for example for The Scarlet Lion, I travelled extensively in South Wales, the Welsh Borders, Wiltshire and Berkshire and walked the Marshal’s home turf. I didn’t get to France this time around, but I have been there in previous years for research purposes.  I like to get a feel for the places where my characters  lived, even if the ground is sometimes very different now.  I take numerous photographs, buy the guidebooks and make detailed notes.

4. Re-enactment.  This is part of the 3D element.  I re-enact with early medieval Living History society Regia Anglorum.  The society does its best to be authentic for the period and conducts living history experiments on a regular basis.  I own numerous exact replica artefacts, courtesy of craftsmen who work for museums and the re-enactment community.  I know what it feels like to walk up and down castle stairs in flat shoes and a long dress.  I have looked at the world through the eye slits of a jousting helm.  I have worn a mail shirt and handled and used the weapons.  I have used medieval cooking pots (better than stainless steel pans I can tell you!) and woven wool on a drop spindle.  I can call upon the expertise of the members of Regia, many of whom are historians or archaeologists. There is nothing quite like experiencing it for yourself, handling artefacts, or talking to someone who has direct practical knowledge.

5. The Akashic Records.  This is a form of psychic research based on the belief that everything leaves its imprint in time and that if you have the ability, you can access this resource and look at the lives of the people who have gone before.  Their thoughts, their feelings and emotions. What they looked like and what they experienced.  I don’t have the ability, but I have a consultant who does, and I employ her skills.  You can find more on this particular subject at my website under this heading.  The result is a bit like conducting an in depth interview with the historical person involved, or perhaps like seeing a documentary of their life in sensory detail.  I have my transcripts of this particular resource looked at by members of the academic community and specifically someone with a doctorate in medieval studies.  I am told that what is coming through is medieval mindset and thought patterns.

Taking these five strands, I add a sixth thread of imagination to fill in the gaps and weave the story, and voila – the finished novel!  Of course not every bit of research goes into a novel, but even the unused material is never wasted because it is absorbed by the subconscious, and it’s all useful knowledge. The more an author becomes immersed in his or her historical period, the more the characters become of their time, and the more intense the experience for the reader.  That’s how I see it anyway!

THE SCARLET LION BY ELIZABETH CHADWICK—IN STORES MARCH 2010
A page-turning novel of honor, intrigue, treachery, and love, continuing the story of England’s greatest knight of the Middle Ages, William Marshal. Bestselling author Elizabeth Chadwick, “an author who makes historical fiction come gloriously alive” (The Times of London), is known as a writer of uncommon historical integrity and accuracy.

By 1197 William Marshal’s prowess with a sword and loyalty with his heart have been rewarded by the hand in marriage of Isabelle de Clare—heiress to great estates— and their brood is growing. But their contentment and security is shattered when King Richard dies. Forced down a precarious path by the royal injustices of the vindictive King John, the Marshals teeter on a razor-thin line of honor that threatens to tear apart the very heart of their family.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth Chadwick (UK) is the author of 17 historical novels, including The Greatest Knight, Lords of the White Castle, Shadows and Strongholds, A Place Beyond Courage, the Winter Mantle, and the Falcons of Montabard,  four of which have been shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Awards.  She won a Betty Trask Award for The Wild Hunt, her first novel.  For more information please visit her website, her blog and follow her on Twitter

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Researching the Medieval Period – Guest Post by Elizabeth Chadwick, Author of “The Scarlet Lion”

Related posts:

1. The Scarlet Lion – Book Review
2. Researching the Revolution – Guest Post and Giveaway from Christine Blevins
3. Literary Road Trip: Following The White Rabbit – Guest Post by Melanie Benjamin, Author of “Alice I Have Been”

If you have come here after reading my review of “The Opposite of Me” on SheKnows.com, please look around and make yourself at home, I’d love to have you as a regular reader.  To get you started, here are some other book reviews that might interest you:

“Real Life and Liars” by Kristina Riggle

“First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria” by Eve Brown-Waite

“Time of My Life” by Allison Winn Scotch

“Pieces of Happily Ever After” by Irene Zutell

“Crossing Washington Square” by Joanne Rendell

“When She Flew” by Jennie Shortridge

“The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin

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Welcome to DevourerofBooks.com!

Related posts:

1. Crossing Washington Square – Book Review
2. The Happiness Project – Book Review
3. Sunday Salon – Post BBAW Edition