Teaser Tuesday - Dragon Prince, by Melanie Rawn

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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I've decided that in 2013, I'm going to spend some of my time rereading a few of my old favorites, and so last week I started one of my favorite fantasy novels.  Many people don't care for it, feeling that it is poorly written, plotted, and that the characters and themes are unoriginal.  I don't understand those people.  I love this story, and I love the characters, and while it might not be perfect, it's pretty darn close in my mind.  For a good number of years, Prince Rohan - in spite of, or maybe because of, his flaws - was the perfect man in my eyes and definitely my first Book Crush.

Last week I took our Tease from Chapter 1, where we were introduced to Prince Zehava, the grand Patriarch of the desert.  This week, let's meet Sioned, a young Sunrunner destined to marry Zehava's son Rohan.

The Tease:

"When Sioned was three years old, the death of her parents left her brother Davvi, her elder by twelve winters, Lord of River Run.  Within a few years he married...but the new Lady of River Run was the possessive sort...Thus she purchased Sioned's entry into Goddess Keep. 

There she found companionship among the other students and knowledge enough to feed her ravenous appetite for learning.  The small oddities that her sister-by-marriage derided as "fey" turned out to be indications that she had the faradhi gift and could become a Sunrunner. 

Not everyone who west to Goddess Keep became faradhi, and Lady Andrade did not tolerate arrogance among those who could, or envy among those who could not.  But there were certain distinctions involved in becoming a Sunrunner: the rings of earned rank and periodic visits to the grove of pines near the keep. 
In the year 693, when Sioned was sixteen and had earned the first silver circle on her right middle finger, she went to this place where, if her talents were strong and the Goddess was disposed to revelations, she might glimpse her future."

 -Dragon Prince, by Melanie Rawn

What's your Tease?

Teaser Tuesday - Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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I've decided that in 2013, I'm going to spend some of my time rereading a few of my old favorites; books that I love so much that I just have to pull them out and reread them every few years.  They're comfy and familiar, like a pair of soft, warm slippers, and each time I read them they evoke that feeling, that sense of nostalgia, that makes me feel I'm reading them for the first time.

This week I've started one of my favorite fantasy novels.  Many people don't care for it, feeling that it is poorly written, plotted, and that the characters and themes are unoriginal.  I don't understand those people.  At all.  I love this story, I love the characters, and while it might not be perfect, it's pretty darn close in my mind.  For a good number of years, Prince Rohan - in spite of, or maybe because of, his flaws - was the perfect man in my eyes and definitely my first Book Crush.

So let's kick this off with a tease from the very first page of the book, shall we?  I'm not even going to apologize for breaking the two sentence rule.

The Tease:

"Prince Zehava squinted into the sunlight and smiled his satisfaction.  All the signs were good for the hunt today: claw marks on the cliffs, wing marks on the sand, and the close cropping of bittersweet plants along the canyon ridges.  But the prince's perceptions were more subtle and had no need of these obvious signs.  He could feel the presence of his prey all along his skin, scent it in the air, sense it in every nerve.  His admirers said he could tell when the time was ripe for the hunt simply by glancing at the sky.  His enemies said it was not surprising that he could sense such things, for he himself had been dragon-spawned."

 -Dragon Prince, by Melanie Rawn

What's your Tease?

Book Review - Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

All Soul's Trilogy, by Deborah Harkness
1. A Discovery of Witches    12/01/2011  * * * * * (My Review)
2. Shadow of Night              10/21/2012  * * * *

From Goodreads:

"Together we lifted our feet and stepped into the unknown"—the thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestseller A Discovery of Witches

Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.

Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.

Deborah Harkness has crafted a gripping journey through a world of alchemy, time travel, and magical discoveries, delivering one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the season.

My Thoughts:
Shadow of Night is indeed a gripping novel in many ways.  The author, Deborah Harkness, has definitely done the required research of the historical period and characters involved in this portion of the story, and manages to make England and Western Europe come alive.  From the moment Diana and Matthew arrive in England, and as they travel to London, France, and beyond, the reader is steeped in fascinating and colorful historical detail.

Unfortunately, as wonderful as the setting is, the story itself suffers from middle book syndrome.  The couple join up with Matthew's  friends - the School of Night - and seem to just wander aimlessly from place to place, reliving events that Matthew has already experienced, and is unable to change the outcome of those events.

Additionally, occasional forward-flashes to the current time are interspersed throughout the story, many of which don't seem to connect to anything that it happening in the story, and these tend to be a little confusing.

Overall though, it's a good story, if a bit slow, and sets the characters up for the events to come in the third novel, which I am anticipating reading.  I give Shadow of Night four stars, one less than A Discovery of Witches, due to the dragging plot lines and confusing flash-forwards.

Have you read Shadow of Night?  What did you think??

Teaser Tuesday - Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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Last night I finished Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness.  I know I'm a little behind in reading it, but it was really quite good.  So before I start my next read, let's have one more Tease from Shadow of Night.

The Tease:

 "My attempts to reach the Old Lodge's future from its past were unsuccessful.  I focused on the look and smell of the place and saw the threads that bound Matthew and me to the house - brown and green and gold. But they slipped out of my fingers repeatedly."

 -Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

What's your Tease?

Teaser Tuesday - Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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Matthew and Diana have traveled to Prague, where they not only find themselves in more danger than ever, but also finally find the mysterious manuscript that originally brought them together...But their problems are far from over, and possessing the book may be more dangerous than searching for it.

The Tease:

 "Maybe my questions don't need answers as urgently as I thought they did."
To prove his point, Matthew put the book on the floor, out of sight.
"I thought it would tell me who I am and why I'm here.  Perhaps I already know."
I waited for him to explain.
After all my searching, I discover that I am who I always was: Matthew de Clermont.
Husband.  Father.  Vampire.  And I am here for only one reason: To make a difference.""

 -Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

What's your Tease?

Teaser Tuesday - Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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Matthew and Diana seem to have settled down in London.  Matthew keeps busy with his spy duties, and Diana has finally found someone to teach her to control her magic.  Everything appears to be going well, until the unthinkable happens, and the Queen of England summons them both to court.

The Tease:

 "Henry tells me you are expected at court this afternoon.  You have nothing to wear."  With an imperious finger, Mary directed still more of her crew in the direction of our bedchamber.
"I was going to wear the gown I was married in," I protested.
"But it is French!" Mary said, aghast. "You cannot wear that!"

 -Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

What's your Tease?

Teaser Tuesday - Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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So after a brief visit in France, Matthew and Diana have traveled to London.  Diana is trying to fit in and further her education, but Matthew is frightened and over-protective of her.  The political scene is fraught with danger, and should anyone discovers their true identities they could both be in serious trouble.  In this scene, Diana tries to convince Matthew that she can handle the search for a suitable tutor on her own.

The Tease:

 "'You're being watched, Matthew.  I'm sure of it, and so is Mary Sydney.  You take care of the queen's business and the problem in Scotland, and let me take care of this."
When he opened his mouth to negotiate further, I shook my head.
"Listen to me.  A witch will come. I promise.""

 -Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

What's your Tease?

Teaser Tuesday - Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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Matthew and Diana have left England and traveled to Matthew's ancestral home in France, at the command of his father, Philippe.  Philippe has decided that Matthew and Diana's marriage isn't "real," and that a new wedding must be held, beginning with a feast, with everyone in the castle and village in attendance.

The Tease:

 "Our entry into the hall was greeted with whispers and sidelong glances.  The changes in my appearance had been noted, and the nods told me that at last I looked like someone who was fit to marry milord."

 -Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

What's your Tease?

Teaser Tuesday - Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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This week I've just begun a new book, Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness.  This is the second book in the All Soul's Trilogy.  Matthew and Diana have safely time-walked back to the year 1590 and arrived in England as planned.  After a few days settling in, Matthew makes an attempt to find a local witch to teach Diana how to control her constantly changing powers.

The Tease:

 "A true witch can relight the fire, open the pages of the book, and stop the bell from ringing.  She is a wonderful creature in the eyes of God."
Widow Beaton paused for dramatic effect, and her milky eye rolled in my direction.
  "Can you perform these acts, girl?"
"I'm not sure," I confessed hesitantly."

 -Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

What's your Tease?

Teaser Tuesday - The Chessmen of Mars

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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I've almost finished The Chessmen of Mars, which, while it isn't the last in the series (there are 5 or 6 more books, I believe) will be the last one that I'll be reading for now.  I've thoroughly enjoyed the series so far, but it's time to move on to something else.

Tara and her companions have escaped their captivity, only to be captured by yet another previously unknown race of Martians who are determined to keep them as slaves.  Many believe that Tara is a Corphal (a witch) and are afraid of her, but some are not so blinded by superstition.

The Tease:

 "I-Gos laughed, "Terror turned your heart to water," he replied; "and shame your tongue to libel.  This be no Corphal, but only a woman of Helium; her companion a warrior who can match blades with the best of you and cut your putrid hearts.""

 -The Chessmen of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs

What's your Tease?

Teaser Tuesday - Thuvia, Maid of Mars

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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In the fourth book in the Barsoom series, the focus switches from John Carter and his beloved Princess Dejah Thoris, to their son Carthoris who is deeply in love with the Princess Thuvia of Ptarth.  But several other princes are also vying for her hand, and when Thuvia is kidnapped, the resulting chaos may throw the planet back into civil war...
(I love this passage - it almost sounds like it was written by Yoda!)

The Tease:

 "The morning of the second day of her incarceration in the east tower of the palace of Astok, Prince of Dusar, found Thuvia of Ptarth waiting in dull apathy the coming of the assassin.  She had exhausted every possibility of escape, going over and over again the door and the windows, the floor and the walls.
There was no escape."

 -Thuvia, Maid of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs

What's your Tease?

Book Review - A Discovery of Witches

All Soul's Trilogy, by Deborah Harkness
1. A Discovery of Witches, 12/01/2011 * * * * *

From Goodreads:

"A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism."

My Thoughts:
A very good friend of mine had been telling me that I should read this book for months before I finally gave in and downloaded it to my NookColor.  I didn't want to read A Discovery of Witches, not because of all the wonderful things my friend had to say about it, but because after she recommended it to me the first time I went to Goodreads and read their description of the novel, and that last little line that compares it to the Twilight series completely and totally turned me off.

I realize that it is entirely possible that I am the only person in the world who doesn't care for the Twilight series, and that for MOST people that comparison would be a rousing endorsement.  What it did for me was to cause me to determine to stay as far away from the novel as I possibly could.

Of course, my friend continued to tell me how good the book was and that I would like it, yada yada, and I finally surrendered.  And I am SO GLAD that I did, and so glad that she kept bringing it up, because in truth, A Discovery of Witches is an amazing novel that is incredibly well written, deeply involving, very well researched, and on top of all that, it was impossible to put down.  I loved it!

Diana Bishop is a descendant of very powerful witches, and has purposely ignored her magic nearly all her life.  She has dedicated her life to history, research, and science, and does her very best to avoid the supernatural whenever possible.  But her request of a strange obscure manuscript at the university library initiates a chain of events that force her to deal with her heritage, as members of the three branches of supernatural creatures (witches, vampires, and demons) begin stalking her, waiting for her to break an ancient spell.  Matthew Clairmont, a very old vampire doing genetic research at the same university becomes her protector and of course falls in love with her.  The story moves quickly as the unlikely pair try to escape and evade the many threats against Diana, as Matthew takes her to his home in France and eventually to Diana's old home in upper New York State to try to keep her safe. With the help of Diana's aunts, and several unexpected visitors, Matthew and Diana try to learn more about the mysterious manuscript everyone wants to get their hands on, why the three races are dead set against their relationship, and the mystery of Diana's extremely powerful but nearly uncontrollable magic.

Blending science and the supernatural, A Discovery of Witches is a mesmerizing story with many twists and turns, unexpected plot points, excellent pacing, wonderful characters that come alive in your mind, a tiny dash of romance, and multiple intriguing mysteries.  While I originally did not expect to enjoy the story nearly as much as I did, it now gets 5 stars, and I'm very excited to read book 2, Shadow of Night, which is expected to be released in mid-July, 2012.  I strongly recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries, vampires, or Anne Rice - just don't let the comparison to Twilight throw you off!

As always, please feel free to leave a comment below  - I'd love to hear your thoughts, whether you've read A Discovery of Witches or not.  But if you haven't read it, you totally should, you know.  I'll keep bugging you until you do.

Teaser Tuesday - A Discovery of Witches

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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So, this is the third week that I've been reading this book on Teaser Tuesday, but I'm almost done, so we only get one more Tease from A Discovery of Witches.  In this scene, Matthew and Diana are discussing an unexpected discovery with Diana's aunt Sarah.

The Tease:

 ""Sarah," I said impatiently.  "Daddy couldn't have wanted me to go back in the past and get the manuscript.  What did he think, that I'd timewalk and snatch it before it was bewitched?  What if I ran into Matthew by accident?  Surely that would mess up the time-space continuum."
"Oh, relativity," Sarah's voice was dismissive.  "As an explanation that only goes so far.'"

 -A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness

What's your Tease?

Teaser Tuesday - A Discovery of Witches

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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Can I just pause for a moment and say how MUCH I'm enjoying this book?!  It is seriously, amazingly good, and I'm so glad I finally decided to listen to the person who recommended it to me.  Good stuff!!

In this scene, Ysabeau, Matthew's mother, tries to drive home the point that vampires are not always the romantic and noble creatures that humans sometimes imagine.


The Tease:

 "Ysabeau grabbed my horse's reins.  There were tiny drops of blood on her cream shirt. 
"Do you think vampires are beautiful now?  Do you still think it would be easy to live with my son, knowing that he must kill to survive?" 
It was difficult for me to put "Matthew" and "killing" in the same sentence.  Were I to kiss him one day, when he was just returned from hunting, there might still be the taste of blood on his lips. 
And days like the one I was now spending with Ysabeau would be regular occurrences."

 -A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness

What's your Tease?

Book Review - Heartless

The Parasol Protectorate, by Gail Carriger       
1. Soulless         10/25/2010
2. Changeless    11/2/2010
3. Blameless      11/22/2010
4. Heartless        07/17/2011 * * * * *
5. Timeless         Due 03/01/12

From Goodreads:

Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband's past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux's latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines and Alexia barely has time to remember she happens to be eight months pregnant.

Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf's clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama's second best closet?

My Thoughts:
Well, I think we all remember how much I love this series, and Alexia, and Gail Carriger!  Each book in the series is better than the one before, and Heartless is no different.  I mean really, zombie porcupines?! What more could you possibly want?

Oh, but there is sooooo much more to Heartless than that.  Building upon the events from the previous novels, Alexia becomes aware of a threat against the queen, and begins searching for clues - clues that lead her straight back to the failed assassination attempt by the werewolves 20 years before.  As Alexia waddles around London (her baby is due any day!) she learns secrets that her husband's previous pack would rather stay hidden, and stumbles into the middle of a conspiracy to commit kidnapping and possibly murder.  But who is the culprit?  If only the ghosts weren't so unreliable!

Alexia sails through all these difficulties with her usual wit and charm - but can she solve the mystery and prevent the crime before the infant inconvenience makes its' appearance?  Will Ivy's taste in hats get better, and can she hold true to the sacred vows of the Parasol Protectorate?  Can a vampire and a werewolf find true love?  And what really happens when vampires swarm? 

I give Heartless 5 stars for being a thoroughly enjoyable and fantastically fun read.  And don't forget that Book the Fifth of The Parasol Protectorate is scheduled to be released on March 1, 2012!

Book Review - Dead Until Dark

 The Sookie Stackhouse Series, by Charlaine Harris
1. Dead Until Dark, 6/26/2011, * * * *

So, it seems kind of weird to try to do a "review" on a book that I just finished doing a "Read & React" on, because I've already said a lot about what I thought of the book and characters specifically.  What's left to say?

Let's start with the Goodreads synopsis:

"Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out....

Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea.

A fun, fast, funny, and wonderfully intriguing blend of vampire and mystery that's hard to put down, and should not be missed."

My thoughts:
Earlier this spring we got HBO at our house so that I could watch their adaptation of GRRM's Game of Thrones.  Once I realized that the subscription also included HBO On Demand (or whatever it's called), I quickly raced through the first three seasons of True Blood, which I hugely enjoyed.  The show increased my interest in the book series, and gave me a general idea of what to expect when I picked up Dead Until Dark.

The book is good - great pacing, nice mystery, intriguing love-triangle possibilities.  But I have to say that I was slightly disappointed that some of my favorite characters from the show (Lafayette, Tara, Jessica), were either not in the book at all, or else took a serious back seat role.  (As in, all the way in the very back of the very long car that's two cars behind the car that I'm in).

However, there's also a lot that is good about the book.  It's very obviously the first in a series, and as such a lot of time is spent setting up the characters and settings, many of which while seeming to go nowhere, will probably be followed up on in later novels.  The author is very good at describing the settings and environments, but sometimes a little too good, such as when Sookie decides what to wear and showers and shaves her legs, etc.  Sometimes the reader just really doesn't need to know that much detail and just wants to move along to the next plot point.

And there are some great plot points, including several things that were different from what I had expected by watching the series, and that I think were handled better by the book.  Overall, I think that it is a good, solid, first book and does a good job in setting up the series.

~Ang at Eastern Sunset Reads also posted a review of Dead Until Dark - you should definitely check out her review as well!!

Have you read this series?  Liked it, loved it, hated it?  Should I continue on with Book 2: Living Dead in Dalas, or skip it?  Leave a comment and let me know what you think!!

Review - Blameless: The Parasol Protectorate: Book the Third

The Parasol Protectorate, by Gail Carriger
1. Soulless, 10.19.2010, * * * *
2. Changeless, 11.02.2010, * * * *
3. Blameless, 11.22.2010, * * * *

Warning! - It is impossible to comment on Blameless without minor and major spoilage occurring for the previous books in the series!  If you have not read Soulless and Changeless, stop reading this, go buy the books, and read them IMMEDIATELY!!!
(Don't forget to come back here when you are done!!)

From the Back:

Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon is the scandal of the London season.  Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town.  To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.  While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templar's.  Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse that the vampires - AND they're armed with pesto.

My Thoughts:
So, after the revelations that occur at the end of Changeless, Alexia wastes no time leaving Castle Woolsey.  Unfortunately she has nowhere to go except home.  Things are all right at first - other than having to deal with her wretched half-sisters, of course - but somehow the news of her inconvenient condition leaks to the society pages, and suddenly her life is even more of a scandal than it already was!  After the attack by the previously mentioned mechanical ladybugs with their poison-tipped antenna, Professor Lyall and Madame Lefoux urge her to leave town.  Alexia does one better, and leaves England altogether in search of answers.
First stop, Paris, where she is almost immediately attacked by vampires at the home of Madame Lefoux's inventor friend, and the trio (you didn't think Floote would let her go traipsing off across Europe without him, did you?) barely escape by fleeing to the roof and flying away in their host's Ornithopter.
From there they head to the coast and stop briefly in Nice to consult with a member of the Order of the Brass Octopus who may know something that will help explain Alexia's condition and why the vampires are so desperate to kill her, but before they can learn anything they are forced to flee again, over the mountains and into Italy, and straight into the welcoming arms of the Templar's, who wage an eternal war against the supernatural vampires and werewolves.  Alexia and gang find themselves comfortably (if closely) held at the Templar HQ, and Alexia discovers the joys of pesto sauce.  But she begins to suspect that not all is as it seems, and goes digging for more information, discovering much more about her heritage and how the Templar's have used her kind in the past.  Deciding at last to flee the Templar's the Trio find themselves trapped, and Alexia must use all her skill and wits to remain safe - and in one piece.  If only Lord Maccon would leave off the formaldehyde and make himself useful!

This was probably the most enjoyable of the three novels to date - a light quick fun read, with just enough suspense and danger to keep things interesting.  The little reveals about the Templars view of the supernatural set and their many abuses of the preternaturals were interesting - Carriger has obviously spent a lot of time with her world-building and following the effects of supernatural entities out to their logical conclusions - including the invention of pesto sauce!  I give Blameless 4 out of 5 stars, highly recommend it to anyone, and anxiously await Heartless: Book the Fourth, which will be released in July 2011.

Have you read Blameless?  Leave a comment and tell me what you thought!!  Or if you haven't, tell me what you are reading now - Curious minds want to know!!

Review - Changeless: The Parasol Protectorate: Book the Second

The Parasol Protectorate, by Gail Carriger
1. Soulless, 10.19.2010, * * * *
2. Changeless, 11.02.2010, * * * *
3. Blameless

Alexia Tarabotti, now Lady Alexia Maccon, is busy getting on with her new life as a happily married woman, and her new job as the muhjah, the third member of the Queen's top secret Shadow Council.  But when the Queen's armies, who have been recalled from India, arrive in London, Alexia inherits two new problems: a regiment of supernatural werewolf soldiers camping on her lawn, and a mysterious "ailment" that humanizes all vampires and werewolves in London, and exorcises all ghosts from their homes.  When her husband suddenly announces that he must leave at once for his native Scotland, (and refuses to tell her why), Alexia is concerned, but when the area of the "affliction" leaves London and begins traveling northward as well, Alexia decides she must do something at once!

Floating aboard a dirigible has always been one of her fondest wishes, but the reality is not quite up to her standards - bad food, poisoners, and secret attacks threaten her life and those of her traveling companions.  But upon arriving at Kingair Castle in Scotland she realizes that things are not likely to get better.  The "affliction" has arrived, no one knows why, what, or where it is, the pack can't change into their wolf forms and haven't been able to for months, and there's a whole leadership issue to be resolved - not to mention, who keeps searching Alexia's room and shooting at her?  Of course, Alexia considers all this to be merely par for the course, and she'll get around to solving everything after she has a decent tea - if she feels like it, that is!

Again, another smashing success, full of surprises and mysteries, and even a reappearance of those darn brass octopuses - what could they mean?!  4 out of 5 stars, and I can't wait to get started on Blameless: Book the Third!

But it will have to wait, as I'm currently reading Towers of Midnight, which may take me awhile!  Until then, why don't you leave a comment below and tell my what you are reading this week?

Review - Soulless: The Parasol Protectorate: Book the First

The Parasol Protectorate, by Gail Carriger
1. Soulless, 10.19.2010, * * * *
2. Changeless
3. Blameless

Alexia Tarabotti is one of the most fascinating characters that I have come across since first discovering Amelia Peabody several years ago.  She's a straight to the point, no-nonsense kind of girl.  This may have something to do with the fact that she's a spinster, far too old to be good marriage material.  Add to that, her father was Italian.  Oh, and plus that, she a preternatural - meaning she has no soul.

Set in an alternate earth where vampires and werewolves are an accepted part of London's high society, Alexia is a true oddity.  Very few know about her unique abilities, and her intense interests in science and technology are frowned upon by her family as being unladylike.  When a vampire attacks her at a private ball, she is both shocked and outraged at his behavior, which goes against all common decency and social etiquette.  Somehow he doesn't seem to know the rules, and she accidentally kills him.  Lord Maccon, from the Bureau of Unnatural Registry, arrives to investigate, and suddenly Alexia finds herself involved in the investigation.  Someone is making vampires and werewolves disappear, new vampires keep appearing with no one to claim them, and Alexia and her trusted parasol must get to the bottom of the mystery before time runs out for both her, and the werewolf who loves her.

I adore the slightly steampunk-ish setting of this novel, and Alexia herself is a riot.  Opinionated and not afraid to speak her mind or get her hands dirty, she's always right in the thick of things.  The romance part of the story was ok, but the best part was the mystery itself.  I give Soulless 4 stars, and would definitely recommend it!

What I've Been Reading: The Pink Carnation Series

The Pink Carnation Series, by Lauren Willig
1. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, 07.30.08
2. The Masque of the Black Tulip, 07.09.08
3. The Deception of the Emerald Ring, 08.01.08
4. The Seduction of the Crimson Rose, 08.04.08
5. The Temptation of the Night Jasmine, 07.19.09
6. The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, (To Be Read)
7. The Mischief of the Mistletoe, Pub. Date 10.28.2010

Eloise Kelly, a young American graduate student, is in London working on her history dissertation.  She is desperate to prove the identity of that most elusive of the "flower" spies of the Napoleonic wars, The Pink Carnation.  The Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian were unmasked by the French, but no one has ever proven who the Pink Carnation was, or if he even actually existed at all.

After having searched through all the old museums and libraries with no results, Eloise hits the jackpot when she stumbles onto a treasure trove of old papers, journals, diaries, and letters owned by the Selwick family. Diving headlong into the story of the Pink Carnation, Eloise discovers how this enigmatic and obscure character foiled the Emperor's plan to invade England, avenged a father's wrongful death, and saved the Purple Gentian from discovery by the French police.

As the series continues, Eloise continues to search the family's old papers for more clues and stories regarding the rather active spy business between France and England, and a romance slowly blossoms between Eloise and the handsome Colin Selwick.  These "stories within a story" are fun and light-hearted, and give a fascinating glimpse into English high society during the Napoleonic wars, and while the author takes some historical liberties, at the end of each novel she includes a short afterword that lists what she tinkered with.  If you are a fan of historical romance thrillers, then you should definitely check out this series!

Do you have a good recommendation of a great historical romance/thriller?  Leave a comment and tell me about it!