Hot historicals for August

I'm planning on reading and reviewing some inexpensive historical romances in August. I just spent $25.00, and bought seven books:


 

This book is priced @ $3.99, and I have heard really good things about Sherry Thomas. The product description is quite intriguing - estranged husband and wife see one another again after many years.

 

Unraveled is $3.82. I have enjoyed everything I've read by Courtney Milan. We'll see how this one works out for me.

 

At 4.99, this was one of the two the most expensive books I bought. The description looked like so much fun, I couldn't resist it.

 

 I love Loretta Chase's Lord of Scoundrels. At $4.99, this should be a good read for the price.

 

A full-length novel (405 pages) for .99 and the first book in Tessa Dare's Spindle Cove. She is a new author to me, so, here's hoping for a good read for the money.

 

This one was only $1.99. Another fun premise, with a young widow as the heroine. Hopefully a nice change from the classic debutante historical. And, finally:

 

For 3.99, this is the first in Hoyt's Princes trilogy. I enjoyed the first book of her Maiden Lane series, and I've heard really good things about this trilogy. All three books are reasonably priced @ $3.99.

So, there we are - for $25.00, a nice little stack of books. I'll probably sort through my kindle looking for some additional historical romances that have been sitting around for a while and give them a go as well.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First off, I love the cover. It's gorgeous, even on a computer screen, and is a nice change from the ubiquitous pretty girl in a ball gown which seems to be on about every third YA book being published these days. The drawing is fabulous, and really helped me to visualize how the Hartmann saw the world that she was building.

Second, the world building. Far be it from me to go all squealing fan girly, but dang it, this was some good world building. The richness is unbelievable, from philosophy to religion to music. I loved everything about the world of Goredd and the dragons and the dragon/human interaction.

Third, the richness of the characters. Seraphina is internally conflicted, and occasionally filled with self-loathing, which is her birthright. As the daughter of a dragon and a human, she is considered a freak, and an abomination by every one who knows about her parentage, right down to her own father. Her status of a half-breed, though, in a sense, is freeing. Her loyalties are not with one, nor the other, and she can choose who, and what, to believe in based upon what is right, not what is expected. Lucien Kiggs, her love interest, is almost always worthy of her regard. And how refreshing is it to have a Princess - Gisselda - who is not inane, who is not petty, and who is more than just a pretty face?

The first half of the book is a bit of a rough go, but the last half is a headlong rush to the finish. It's not that the first half is poorly paced, it just took me a while to warm up to the characters and to become so deeply engrossed in the story that it played itself out across my mind like actors on a stage.

Finally, the love story between Linn - Seraphina's mother - and Claude - her father - is almost unbearably poignant. I don't know if Hartman plans to write a prequel, or a story, that tells Linn's story, but I hope she does. Just the little bits and pieces that she gave her readers in this book, through Seraphina, about Linn and about her decision to leave behind her people because she fell in love with a human is so compelling that thinking about it hurts a little bit.

I really, really liked this book.

In The Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming

In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I bought this book for a whopping 2.99 back in February, when it was on sale. It's taken me this long to read it, but I've been in a bit of a mystery frame of mind recently, and my mom recommended it to me, so I thought I'd give it a try.

This is the first in a series of books about Russ Van Alstyn, the police chief of the small town of Millers Kill in upstate NY, and Reverend Clare Fergusson, Episcopal priest and former helicopter pilot. Millers Kill is her first parish, and the story begins when someone leaves a newborn baby boy on the steps of the church on a dark winter's evening in December. The bodies quickly pile up after the police launch an investigation into the identity of the baby's parents.

In this book, the mystery took a bit of a backseat to the character development and to the rapidly developing relationship between Russ and Clare. Clare is single, but Episcopal priests are, of course, able to marry. Russ is married, and wife hovers at the fringes of this book, but never makes an appearance. The attraction between them is nearly immediate. I also love a good cold weather mystery set in a small town. Millers Kill is an appealing setting.

The mystery was interesting albeit predictable. I don't necessarily object to predictability in a crime novel, since most murders are, in actuality, fairly predictable events. A convoluted plot relying too much on coincidence does not, in my opinion, make a compelling crime story. I have the second and third books in this series already loaded onto my kindle, as they also went on sale in March and April, and look forward to reading them.

The Witch In Winter by Ruth Warburton

A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Having just finished two really exceptional books, this book suffered a bit by comparison. It's not a bad book, and is fairly well written, but it didn't possess that spark that separates the awesome from the pretty good.

There are things that I liked about this book. I liked the characters, especially Maya. I am a bit of a sucker for witch stories, especially where the story incorporates historical witchcraft elements. I also really enjoy stories set in England, and written by English authors.

Overall, though, I would say that the book had a lot of weaknesses. First, I found Anna's untrained ability to manipulate her power to be completely unconvincing. There was not an adequate explanation of how her power could be so latent, yet when she started using it, was so substantial. It is also absolutely inconceivable to me that she would've been able to fly under the radar for as long as she did. Perhaps some of these questions are answered in the second book.

In addition, I always have a problem with romances that develop too quickly and unrealistically. Infatuation, and even too rapid professions of love, are all well and good, but they don't convince me that the love is genuine or deep. The relationship between Seth and Anna felt like it developed far too quickly without anything genuine behind it. Hopefully, this will also be remedied in the second book.

The final conflict was resolved far too easily, and the idea that Anna could've tapped that latent power and overcome witches and warlocks who far outstrip her in training and resources is simple unbelievable. While I am prepared to suspend my belief to some degree - this is a story about witchcraft, after all - this is sort of the equivalent of the girl from my local raquet club managing to win Wimbledon after receiving a couple of tennis lessons. I don't care how good of an athlete you are - the untrained prodigy doesn't beat the well-trained expert.

If I had to sum up this book, it is an acceptable first effort by a new author. It felt very shallow, and I could see it being developed as a television show for the Disney Channel or Nickleodeon. It was a bit too "Witches of Waverly Place" for my taste, without enough convincing conflict to keep me satisfied. Having said that, I liked it enough that I think that I will read the sequel and see where Ms. Warburton takes the story next.

Happy Fifth of July

The fifth of July - not nearly so much fun as the fourth. Especially when the fourth falls on a Wednesday, which basically means one day off in the middle of the week. Although that one day off does involve fireworks, which, when there is a 12 year old boy in one's life, is monumentally awesome.

I got in lots of quality reading time between the barbecue and darkness yesterday, so I was able to finish off Grave Mercy - a very, very long book that I loved - and I started




which isn't nearly as interesting, subtle or unique as Grave Mercy, but it is entertaining so far, nonetheless.
 
I am behind on my reviews. I need to post reviews of:
 









and
 



I have also decided that I am simply not going to include plot summaries in my reviews anymore. They are boring to write, and, probably, more boring to read. The product pages always contain plot summaries. Trying to write a plot summary without spoilers is difficult, because I never really know what readers will consider a spoiler, since I am not a spoiler-hater myself.
 
I am going to try to update the blog every other day for the rest of July, and I have some organization changes that I want to make to the blog, including some posts related to what I've bought during the month. I belong to a wonderful kindle book club where the seven of us contribute $25.00 to the account and we end up buying between 15 and 20 books during the course of the month. My backlog grows bigger with every passing day. I'm so far behind, I'm sure I'll never catch up.

Grave Mercy by R.L. LaFevers

I have decided that I am not going to do plot summaries on my reviews anymore, because I am just that kind of a rebel. And, because they are boring to write and to read. If you want a plot summary, the author has kindly provided one on the book page.

Now, who is this R.L. LaFevers who wrote this book, and where has she been all my life? I see from looking at her backlist that she has written two separate middle grade series. This book is targeted toward an older, late YA audience, but if her other books are as enjoyable as this one, I'm prepared to give them a try.

I really liked this book. In spite of the cover, which does a poor job communicating how unique this book is (don't get me wrong, the cover is lovely. But it looks like every other YA paranormal cover with a pretty girl in a ballgown standing about looking fabulous). For starters, it is set in Breton, in the 15th century, and is very much a piece of historical fiction. In addition, the main character, Ismaie, is a nun. A nun who is also an assassin. Which is awesome.

The main character, therefore, is a treat. Her romantic interest, Gavriel Duval, is also a treat. Ismaie is tough as nails, knows 300 ways to kill a man (or a woman) and is doing the work of her god, Mortain, the god of death. She is well versed in the subtle art of the poisoner, is capable of freeing a man's soul from his body with the prick of a blade, and is a protector of Breton's independence and freedom. There is lots of court intrigue, and more than a spot of treachery. This book will appeal to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, and has enough magic to satisfy the YA reader who likes a good paranormal romance. It is a genuinely genre-busting read. Can't wait for the sequel.

4 1/2 of 5 stars.