Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers – Book Review

Apr 042012

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

This is the first book in the His Fair Assassins series.

The scars on Ismae’s body mark her as something different, something to be feared. Leftover from the failed abortifacient taken by her mother before her birth, the scars also mark Ismae as a daughter not of a human man, but instead sired by St. Mortain, otherwise known as Death. The fear induced by her heritage keeps her safe – barely – from her turnip farming father, but enrages the man she is sold to in marriage, a man who promises to see her killed. Luckily, there are many who are still loyal to the old gods of Brittany, gods who must now be called saints to avoid conflict with the Catholic church and these priests and herbwives smuggle Ismae to the convent of St. Mortain. In the convent, Ismae becomes a handmaiden of Death, trained in the art of killing those marked by St. Mortain, those enemies of Brittany.

Brittany has many enemies these days. The Duke is dead, and his daughter the Duchess Anne is only 12, although she is a wise and mature young woman. France is hungry to expand its borders and it seems that she must marry to ensure the safety of her country, but her most ardent suitor is a man not remotely suitable. Ismae, who grew up a peasant, finds herself sent to Anne’s court with a courtier and member of the Privy Council, Duval, to protect the Duchess and Brittany, and to ensure that Mortain’s will be done.

LaFevers has created in Grave Mercy a wonderful and engaging world that is particularly effective for being set against true historical events, such as Anne’s ascension to the Duchy of Brittany, and the ensuing Franco-Breton War. Whether Brittany the veneration of ancient pagan gods as saints continued in 15th century Brittany I do not know, but LaFevers certainly made it ring true, particularly when setting this veneration against the close relationship between Brittany’s enemy France and the Pope. In addition, Ismae is an incredibly captivating heroine, naive and damaged at the same time she is brave and strong. Her reactions and emotions are entirely consistent with her character as LaFevers develops it.

Perhaps best of all is the way that LaFevers ended this, the first book in the series. Although there is a question of what will happen in Anne and Ismae’s futures, the story that is being told is also completely wrapped up. I would be thrilled to read about Ismae’s continuing adventures, or in learning more about some of the other girls from the convent, and yet Grave Mercy completely satisfies in and of itself.

This series shows much promise, and I can’t wait for the next installment in 2013. Highly recommended.

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Source: Publisher, via Netgalley.
* 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.

Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore – Book Review

Apr 022012

Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d’Art by Christopher Moore
Published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins

Why would a painter at the height of his prowess shoot himself in the chest, and then walk over a mile in order to seek medical attention? What if the shot was not self-inflicted? Although the official story about Van Gogh’s death for the past 100 years has been that he committed suicide – after all, this is a man who cut off part of his own ear – what if that was not the full story?

Back in Paris, Vincent’s friends mourn his early demise, but they may have bigger problems of their own, problems perhaps related to Van Gogh’s death. Baker and artist Lucien Lessard has recently been reunited with the woman who broke his heart years earlier, and now he is painting better than he ever has before. His family and friends – particularly the artist Toulouse-Lautrec – realize that something isn’t entirely right. There’s something strange about Juliette, not least the strange little man with whom she seems to live, a man who may be the same mysterious Colorman Vincent wrote about before his death.

In Sacre Bleu, Christopher Moore mixes color theory and science with the art of the Impressionists and his own unique brand of humor and creativity to creative a bizarrely fascinating book. Juliette, it seems, it not Juliette but the incarnation of the sacred color of blue who can inhabit different bodies in order to inspire great art, although not for disinterested reasons.

Moore’s characters are, at times, more concerned with sex, drugs, and alcohol than even art and one another, but they still manage to be engaging, and even occasionally sympathetic. The characters and language also tend to be somewhat modern, instead of being properly 19th century. However, Sacre Bleu is not really meant to be proper historical fiction, it is simply a story Moore is telling about blue/Bleu, which is framed with the French Impressionists. In addition, Bleu and the Colorman are largely outside of time, which makes the modern feeling somewhat more understandable.

Sacre Bleu tells a somewhat unconventional story, and in a manner that is uniquely Christopher Moore. His humor will definitely not appeal to every reader, but if it works for you, you will find yourself enthralled what he has put together in Sacre Bleu. Highly recommended (with reservations).

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Source: Publisher.
* 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.

An Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear – Book Review

Mar 282012

Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear
Published by Harper Books, an imprint of HarperCollins

My reviews of the first eight books in the series: Maisie Dobbs, Birds of a Feather, Pardonable Lies, Messenger of Truth, An Incomplete Revenge, Among the Mad, The Mapping of Love and Death, A Lesson in Secrets.

A simple man with an almost miraculous ability to calm horses, Eddie was beloved by nearly everyone in the community where Maisie grew up. When he dies in a suspicious accident in a paper factory, many of the men who knew him are certain that his death was no accident. This is a case that both hits Maisie close to home – much closer than she’s comfortable with, in many ways – and pushes her far beyond her comfort level. At the same time as she is being challenged professionally, Maisie is struggling personally. It becomes increasingly clear that the money left to her by Maurice, and particularly the way she is using is, is beginning to get in the way of her relationships with friends and employees. In addition, Maisie’s romance with James Compton is increasingly rocky, as their vastly different backgrounds and future plans encroach upon their love.

It is amazing to say for the 9th book in a series, but Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs books just keep getting better. Maisie has truly come into her own, both as an investigator and as a well-developed character. Her personal struggles, both with her friends and employees and with James are incredibly real, and very much based in the person she is, and the context in which she grew up. Winspear does remind us briefly of Maisie’s first love, Simon, raising the question of whether Maisie’s inability to fully connect with James, as in her previous relationship with Andrew, is really a function of them wanting different things, or if part of it has to do with the psychological wounds she still carries from her time in the war and particularly Simon’s wounds.

Equally engaging, though, is the case Maisie is working in Elegy for Eddie. What begins as an investigation into the death of a sweet but simple man ends up pulling Maisie in directions she didn’t expect. This case goes much higher up in British society and politics than one would guess from first glance. It is also the most morally ambiguous case Maisie has taken on yet, at multiple levels are people whose attempt to do what they believe is right damage the life of those around them.

The Maisie Dobbs novels, including Elegy for Eddie are superb examples of historical fiction firmly grounded in the time period in which they are set, but they are also intriguing mysteries and thoughtful, character-driven novels. I’m not really sure what more a reader could ask for. Very highly recommended.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

I read this book as part of a TLC Book Tour. Check out some of the other tour hosts for more reviews. Links go to the host’s site, not to their specific review.

Monday, March 26th: Whimpulsive

Tuesday, March 27th: bookchickdi

Wednesday, March 28th: Devourer of Books

Wednesday, March 28th: cakes, tea and dreams

Thursday, March 29th: Iwriteinbooks’s blog

Friday, March 30th: Wordsmithonia

This tour also included reviews of the earlier books in the series. The full list can be found at TLC Book Tours.

* 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.

The Truth of All Things by Kieran Shields – Book Review

Mar 272012

The Truth of All Things by Kieran Shields
Published by Crown, an imprint of Random House

It is 1892, and a prostitute has been found murdered in Portland, Maine. This is no ordinary murder, however. The woman is laid out in a pentagram with a pitchfork through her neck – a method of killing sometimes used to make sure a witch is truly dead. This sort of sensational murder is not good for a town, so the mayor puts Deputy Marshal Archie Lean in charge of the investigation. Lean can’t do this job alone, though, it takes criminologist Percival Grey and eventually local historian Helen Prescott to help him begin to unravel the mystery behind this and other killings. The are an unlikely bunch, what with Helen’s gender and Grey’s half-Indian heritage – a real liability in late 19th-century Portland, especially as the murderer left a message in the Abenaki language next to the body.

The Truth of All Things gets off to a very strong start, beginning right away with the gruesome murder and the quick introduction of the fascinating Sherlock-esque Percival Grey. Grey comes in and begins making deductions and seeing things that others would miss. Before long, Grey and Lean strike up a antagonistic yet friendly working relationship that has a good chemistry and would bode well for a partnership that could go beyond this one novel.

However, despite the compelling beginning and an interesting twist relating these murders to the Salem witch trials two hundred years earlier, The Truth of All Things eventually begins to falter. Shields sets up the plot with some sense of urgency, but it simply doesn’t come across in a way that compels the reader to keep turning the pages. There was never a question of not finishing it, but the pace definitely slowed in the second half of the novel.

As it is a first novel, I do think that The Truth of All Things is strong enough that I would read Shields’s future work, but it isn’t one I would recommend running out and buying immediately.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher, via Edelweiss.
* 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.

The Smiley Book of Colors by Ruth Kaiser – Saturday Story Spotlight

Mar 242012

Welcome to Saturday Story Spotlight, my feature where I discuss books my husband and I are reading with our son, Daniel. These are books that he, we, or all of us particularly enjoy.

The Smiley Book of Colors by Ruth Kaiser
Published by Golden Books, an imprint of Random House

Smiles are contagious, whether from a family member, or made out of macaroni and cheese. Ruth Kaiser makes a point of seeing – and photographing – smiley faces everywhere and they are highlighted in The Smiley Book of Colors. Sorted by color and accompanied by brief rhyming text on each page, there are some 30 smileys faces found in every day items in The Smiley Book of Colors in addition to those found on the end papers.

I must admit, I was skeptical about The Smiley Book of Colors, most of all whether Daniel would appreciate it. Surely 2 and 1/2 is too young, I thought, to comprehend something as abstract as faces in inanimate objects. Luckily I took a chance with it anyway, because Daniel absolutely adores The Smiley Book of Colors. He seemed to be not entirely sure what he was looking at when he first flipped through the book, but once we showed him one smile, he could see them in each and every picture and found each of them absolutely delightful. He can also tell us what most of the objects actually are as well. In addition, the book is enhanced for him by the color groupings; not only does he want to go through and find all the faces, he goes through and announces the color on each page as well.

The Smiley Book of Colors will both delight children, and teach them to look for the creative and unexpected in the world all around them.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher
* 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.

Save Me by Lisa Scottoline – Audiobook Review

Mar 232012

Save Me by Lisa Scottoline, narrated by Cynthia Nixon
Published in audio by Macmillan Audio, published in print by St. Martin’s Griffin, both imprints of Macmillan

Synopsis:

In an attempt to protect her bullied daughter, Rose McKenna volunteers as a school lunch mom. After witnessing an emotional attack on Melly, her shy 3rd grader, Rose is attempting to reason with Melly’s tormentors when an explosion rocks the lunch room. Suddenly Rose must decide whether to save the three girls in front of her, or whether to go off in search of Melly, who she is reasonably sure is hiding in the handicapped bathroom adjacent to the kitchen, where the explosion seems to have come from. Rose’s decision at this crucial point first finds her hailed as a hero, but soon reports come in of another injury, and Rose becomes the most demonized woman in her small town. How can she balance assuaging her guilt, protecting her family, and avoiding being sued?

Thoughts on the story:

Scottoline doesn’t pull any punches with Save Me. The story opens with Rose as lunch mom, and the ensuing explosion. The horror of the fire and of attempting to rescue your child are immediate. It is quite an opening, throwing the reader straight into the midst of Rose’s now-chaotic life. It is really pretty brutal for awhile, Rose is continually beaten down by the feeling that she could and should have done more, she is mobbed by reporters, and often talked down to by her own husband. In some ways. the turn Save Me eventually takes is a relief, a break from the gut-wrenching guilt, pain, and misery that has come to characterize Rose’s life. At the same time, however, the end of Save Me seems to become almost another book entirely, as Rose delves into the surprising cause of the fire.

Thoughts on the audio production:

In all honesty, I was a bit terrified at the idea of listening to Cynthia Nixon for 8 hours. Don’t get me wrong, I like her and have nothing against her voice, but I had visions (auditory hallucinations?) of not being able to hear anything but Sex and the City‘s Miranda for the entire book. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Nixon really is a capable narrator. My only real problem with her performance was her voice for Melly, which sounded masculine and a bit gravelly instead of young. The audio also highlighted for me a couple of textual annoyances that I would likely not have noticed if I had been reading the book. One was the constant mention of the klieg lights, whenever the reporters hovered around Rose, and the other was the fact that Rose seemed to be completely and annoyingly incapable of keeping her cell phone charged.

soundbytes picture Overall:

I think many readers will find Save Me highly enjoyable in either print or audio.

bookclub2 picture Save Me is the SheKnows Book Club pick for March. If you’ve read it, join us for a discussion on Lisa Scottoline’s Facebook page from 8-9 pm Eastern on Thursday, March 29th.

Buy this book from:
Powells: Audio/Print*
Indiebound: Audio/Print*

I’m launching a brand-new meme every Friday! I encourage you to review any audiobooks you review on Fridays and include the link here. If you have reviewed an audiobook earlier in the week, please feel free to link that review as well. Thanks to Pam for creating the button.

Source: Publisher.
* 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.

The Good Father by Noah Hawley – Book Review

Mar 212012

The Good Father by Noah Hawley
Published by Doubleday, an imprint of Random House

Youthful indiscretions can cause inconveniences later in life, although hopefully they aren’t always life-destroying. For Dr. Paul Allen, his indiscretion was a particularly ill-suited marriage. He was a young and ambitious doctor, she was a flighty young woman. They might never have even stayed together, had it not been for an unintended pregnancy. Although the marriage ended, Paul would always have his son Daniel as a memento – at least during those times when he actually saw Paul. Now Paul has a new wife, two new sons, an entire new life into which Daniel barely fits. Many days Paul likely doesn’t even give his firstborn son much thought. All this changes one summer evening at a political rally in California when a promising young presidential candidate is assassinated and Daniel – now going by the name Carter Allen Cash – is accused of pulling the trigger. Suddenly, Paul finds that Daniel now consumes every moment of his life, as he tries to prove – even if only to himself – his son’s innocence.

From the first page, The Good Father sucks the reader in with each and every word. A child’s terrible act, a father’s guilt, and absolutely engrossing writing are the keys to The Good Father‘s success. Hawley’s structure was particularly interesting: in addition to Paul’s quest for the truth, we see excerpts of Daniel’s year of driving across the country before the assassination, as well as case studies of other political assassinations. As a rheumatologist, Paul is used to looking at the world as a medical problem, something with relevant case studies, and he addresses his son’s transgression in much the same way, even if he doesn’t realize it immediately:

I thought about how the clues in a human mystery are nothing like the clues in a medical mystery. With medicine you are dealing wth scientific facts. Tissue samples, blood tests. The human body is a finite entity, with a finite number of systems…. But with a human mystery, it is difficult even to decide what constitutes a fact. -p. 173

The Good Father is really about the journey of grief, guilt, and acceptance , but it also to a lesser extent explores the psyche of a young man losing his way. Both stories are resonant, and Hawley’s way with words makes this story irresistible. Highly recommended.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher.
* 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.

NPR American Chronicles: Women’s Equality – Audiobook Review

Mar 162012

NPR American Chronicles: Women’s Equality by NPR, performed by Susan Stamberg
Published in audio by Highbridge Audio

Synopsis:

From the publisher:

NPR explores the issues, struggles, and triumphs of the American women’s movement, from early pioneers to modern groundbreakers and leaders of today who fight to preserve hard-won rights. Profiles of Victoria Woodhull, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony provide insights into the origins of the movement, while reflections from Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, Geraldine Ferraro, and others reveal the passion and dedication required to maintain progress in the continuing struggle for women’s equality.

Thoughts on the story:

It comes as no surprise that the NPR news pieces included here are both thoughtful and interesting. The real strength of NPR American Chronicles: Women’s Equality comes from the curation. There is a wonderful mix of topics, from the women’s movement of the later 20th century to profiles of the suffragettes and other early proponents of increased equality. For an alternate viewpoint, an interview with Phullis Schlafly, conservative activists and vocal opponent of the Equal Rights Amendment, is even included.

Thoughts on the audio production:

Much of the speech in NPR American Chronicles: Women’s Equality would not fly in traditional audiobooks. It is rife with the much dreaded ‘mouth noises:’ speakers can be heard to breathe, smack their lips, sigh, etc. However, in the conventions of NPR news this is generally accepted, and since Women’s Equality is essentially just a collection of NPR news stories, I can give this issue a pass in this case (although I think it important to mention for those listeners who just absolutely can’t stand that). There is a significant variety from piece to piece in the prevalence of the ‘mouth noises’ and the fluency of the speakers, but that is to be expected due to the number of different subjects interviewed and the number of different journalists and on-air personalities reporting the various stories.

soundbytes picture Overall:

For more on this book, please see my AudioFile Magazine review.

Highly recommended.

Buy this book from:
Powells: Audio*
Indiebound: Audio*

Source: .
* 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.

Being Lara by Lola Jaye – Book Review

Mar 132012

Being Lara by Lola Jaye
Published by William Morrow Paperbacks, an imprint of HarperCollins

At 30, Lara is finally fairly comfortable with who she is. Sure, she’s still terrified of commitment, and of getting too close to anyone, but she is finally secure in her identity, as the adopted daughter of Trish and X Reid, as a daughter whose skin tone is vastly different from that of her parents. No longer is Lara particularly interested in knowing anything about her birth mother, and never has she been curious about her birth country, Nigeria. All of this changes, however, when Lara’s birth mother, Yomi, shows up unexpectedly at her 30th birthday party. Now, for the first time, Lara is forced to think about her past and who she really is.

Despite the name, Being Lara is not simply Lara’s story. Much of the book is actually from the perspective of Trish and Yomi, Lara’s adoptive and birth mothers. These sections with their alternate viewpoints may just save Jaye’s book, because Lara is, at the beginning of the book in particular, a bit difficult to take. Actually, she’s more than just a bit difficult to take, and if she had been the only focus of the book, chances are good that I would have abandoned it in frustration. Despite her happy family and the fact that she seems to be well-adjusted, she is incredibly immature and naive, overly stuck in her ways, and about as proficient at romantic relationships as a teenage boy. Obnoxious, and so flawed as to seem like a cliche instead of a living character. Luckily, her mothers’s stories – particularly Yomi’s story – add interest and give the reader something with which to sympathize.

Eventually Lara becomes more life-like and easier to relate to, but it does take time, making the reader exceptionally glad for the way that Yomi and Trish’s stories intersect hers. This is a book that is more concerned with plot than prose, and that does come through. Jaye’s writing is solid, but it fails to overcome any apathy the reader might feel towards the storyline or the characters. There is also – in the advance copy, a least – a continuity problem, wherein Lara and her best friend take a cab to her birthday party , and then Lara tears out of there in her own car after her birth mother surprises her. This may have been caught before the final, but as they took a cab for a very specific reason, it would have required some re-writing.

Although Being Lara is an interesting story with a satisfying conclusion, the first half in particular failed to impress me as much as I hoped it would.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher.
* 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.

The Vanishers by Heidi Julavits – Book Review

Mar 122012

The Vanishers by Heidi Julavits
Published by Doubleday Books, an imprint of Random House

From the publisher:

Is the bond between mother and daughter unbreakable, even by death?

Julia Severn is a student at an elite institute for psychics. Her mentor, the legendary Madame Ackermann, afflicted by jealousy, refuses to pass the torch to her young disciple. Instead, she subjects Julia to the humiliation of reliving her mother’s suicide when Julia was an infant. As the two lock horns, and Julia gains power, Madame Ackermann launches a desperate psychic attack that leaves Julia the victim of a crippling ailment.

Julia retreats to a faceless job in Manhattan. But others have noted Julia’s emerging gifts, and soon she’s recruited to track down an elusive missing person—a controversial artist who might have a connection to her mother. As Julia sifts through ghosts and astral clues, everything she thought she knew of her mother is called into question, and she discovers that her ability to know the minds of others—including her own—goes far deeper than she ever imagined.

From plot to characterization to prose, Julavits has a mesmerizing writing style, something that makes her particularly well suited to telling the story of a woman with psychic aptitude slowly regaining her talent. The Vanishers is intriguing, unexpected, and difficult to put down. Julia is woefully unaware of the direction her life is taking, in a manner that would be obnoxious in most protagonists.

Given my repeated failures to intuit when danger awaited me, it should come as no surprise to learn: I went. -p. 219

Perhaps it is because of the completely unexpected plot Julavits has introduced. Readers are not often asked to accept a world populated by characters with genuine psychic abilities, particularly in literary fiction. Somehow Julavits manages to put her reader squarely in the realm of suspended disbelief, enough so that even Julia’s nearly aimless wanderings do not grate. Or, perhaps it is the themes of female relationships and the tension and love that can ensue and even coexist that universalizes the story Julavits is telling about Julia’s life, even as most of her specific experiences do not resemble those of the average reader in the least.

The Vanishers is at times jarring and, as such, is certainly not for everyone, particularly with the threads of suicide, radical surgery, and people going missing on purpose running through it. However, for those willing to approach it, Julavits has magic to work. Highly recommended.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher.
* 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.

Older Entries Newer Entries

Devourer of Books

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers – Book Review

Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore – Book Review

An Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear – Book Review

The Truth of All Things by Kieran Shields – Book Review

The Smiley Book of Colors by Ruth Kaiser – Saturday Story Spotlight

Save Me by Lisa Scottoline – Audiobook Review

The Good Father by Noah Hawley – Book Review

NPR American Chronicles: Women’s Equality – Audiobook Review

Being Lara by Lola Jaye – Book Review

The Vanishers by Heidi Julavits – Book Review

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