Archives

Unnaturalists, by Tiffany Trent (fiction) – steampunk, witch-fairy mutiny?

Jan23

book cover of The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent published by Simon SchusterScience is good, magic is bad.
Technology is better than nature.
The powers-that-be hold all the power in this city…
or do they?

Steampunk plus pixies, manticores, and sphinxes – all in an alternate London swept out of its own world and time by a Tesla coil in the wrong hands! Vespa is in great peril as she awakens to her powers as a witch in this so-rational City.

If you’ve ever wondered about how book covers are created, go behind the scenes at the photo shoot for The Unnaturalists.  You’ll find it in hardback now at your local library or independent bookstore; don’t wait for the August 2013 paperback edition!

So, just how steampunk do you like your alternate history books?
**kmm

Book info: The Unnaturalists / Tiffany Trent. Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2012. [author’s website] [publisher site]

My Recommendation: Vespa loves working with her father, preparing captured magical creatures for display in the museum. But now she must make a good match, ignoring the signs that she’s as Unnatural as anything in the museum – and in terrible danger.

The Church of Science and Technology controls New London after a temporal quirk landed that city in an alternate England generations ago; it allows no magic or witchery within its bounds. The Tinker folk who respect nature and its Elementals endure a hardscrabble existence outside the City Wall, adopting City children born with magical traits and abandoned there, exposed to the Creeping Waste.

Syrus listens to Granny’s stories in the Tinker camp, knows that the City soldiers will soon take more Tinkers to slave in the Refinery which produces the substance to power the City, senses that Vespa is not like other City folk, knows that the land will rupture and perish when the last Elementals are gone.

The secret society of Architects also knows that the Church cannot keep capturing Elementals /Unnaturals without endangering their world, and they foil the Refiners at every turn. When Syrus gets caught up in their conflict, he rushes to rescue his clan members from the Refinery.

Vespa’s time as Companion to high-born Lucy is filled with dressmaker’s appointments and matchmaker consultations, when her mistress suddenly demands that she use magic to craft a love charm! But lurking secrets in Lord Virulen’s manor house may upset the young ladies’ scheme before it begins.

Does so-ordinary Vespa possess enough untapped magic to help Lucy capture a nobleman’s heart before the Empress discovers their crime?
Who is the secretive Architect risking exposure as he shields Syrus from the Refiners’ wrath?
Why didn’t Vespa ever suspect that she was a witch in the first place?

Steampunk and fantasy collide in this alternate world created by Tiffany Trent, as the creatures seen as Elementals by the Tinkers and as Unnaturals by the Citizens hold the key to everything.(One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Watersmeet, by Ellen Jensen Abbott (fiction) – outcast, healer, in danger

Jan7

book cover of Watersmeet by Ellen Jensen Abbott published by Marshall Cavendish and AmazonCentaurs who collect human toes as souvenirs.
Obrium metal that only the dwarves can mine.
Settlers always moving into enemy lands, always at war.

Despite making the required sacrifices to Vran, there are still imperfect children born to Vranille village, doomed to be outcasts.
Amid grinding poverty, the outcasts are poorer still.
Among the outcasts, Abisina is most despised, her father unknown.

Look for Watersmeet (remember, the main action occurs where the waters meet) at your local library. Alas, your independent bookstore will probably not have this great fantasy, as Amazon Publishing acquired Marshall Cavendish Publishing’s fiction books and many others in late 2011, reprinting this one in paperback in 2012.
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Book info: Watersmeet / Ellen Jensen Abbott. Marshall Cavendish, 2009, hardback; Amazon Publishing, 2012, paperback. [author’s blog] [publisher site] [author interview]

My Book Talk:  Outcast, always an outcast, fatherless Abisina with her different hair color, different skin color, barely tolerated in the tradition-bound outpost because of her mother’s healing skills, until a new leader comes to Vranille. Now, anyone with the slightest difference at the Ritual of Penance is outcast, and Charach decrees all the outcasts hunted to the death.

“Watersmeet,” says her mother, finally telling Abisina where she will find her father. Far away in the mountains, through the dread country where centaurs and dwarves capture humans for sport or for food.

As Charach leads the slaughter of outcasts, Abisina watches helplessly from the woods, retrieves her mother’s necklace from the ashes, then runs until she can go no further. Rescued by a mother and son, Abisina regains her strength and plans to head north, to Watersmeet.

Will Charach allow her to escape from the lands of Vran unharmed?
Can the young teen make it all the way to the fabled city of peace?
After so many years, will her father truly be at Watersmeet?

Dark the nights, bitter the heart of Charach, growing the hope of Abisina to live free from fear in this stunning debut novel of a world where truths can be stranger than fables. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

TBR – books To Be Read AND books To Be Reviewed! (reflective)

Jan1

cartoon of cat wearing party hat with champagne glassWell, the holiday season is almost complete, the old year nearly done, the new year peeking around the clocktower… and soon I’ll be back in the saddle, writing BooksYALove blog posts, recommending YA books that you might miss if you rely on the big-box stores’ displays and promotions.

So it’s a great time to make resolutions – especially ones that you can successfully keep! I’m taking my cue from Evie over at her Bookish blog and concentrating on my overflowing TBR piles and shelves.

For me, that’s the To Be Read shelves, whose covers I haven’t even opened yet, as well as the other TBR shelves, my To Be Reviewed/Recommended books, the ones that I’ve read and enjoyed, but haven’t quite gotten around to crafting my recommendations for… yet.

And they’re really good books! Otherwise, I just chuck them into the giveaway box. Y’all don’t have time to read ho-hum, formulaic books, do you? So I have stacks of 2012 copyright books that I haven’t told you about…yet.

So that’s my priority for BooksYALove in 2013: to efficiently tackle my 2012 awesome books while bringing you the best debut titles and books from smaller publishers as they arrive, hot off the presses throughout the year. TBR Challenge, here I come!

To keep me honest, I’m registering my intent over on Evie’s blog: http://www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com/p/welcome-to-2012-tbr-pile-reading.html and will be checking in with a linked post monthly, highlighting my 2012 must-reads, as shared with y’all through BooksYALove (and usually on Barb Langridge’s abookandahug site, too: www.abookandahug.com).

Promising an exact number of posts each week seems unrealistic, but I’ll do my best to make you hungry to read these wonderful books at your local library or purchased from your favorite indie bookstore (keep your money in town, okay?) – and please, let me know if I’m bringing you titles that sound intriguing, unmissable, or out-of-the-ordinary.

Indeed, 2012 was a great year for Young Adult books, so let’s hope that 2013 is equally stellar.
Which genre is your can’t-wait-to-read favorite? Happy New Year, and happy reading!

*kmm
(celebratory cat cartoon courtesy of DesignedToaT: http://www.designedtoat.com/newyears.shtml)

Iron Hearted Violet, by Kelly Barnhill (fiction) – a plain princess, evil whispers, lying mirrors

Oct22
book cover of Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill published by Little Brown

Must every princess be beautiful?
Must every king be brave?
If they aren’t, can the realm survive?

Secret rooms in the castle, glinting hints in mirrors, lost dragons under the two-sunned sky – Princess Violet lives in a world where stories have more power than anyone living can imagine, and no one living can imagine the threat that lies just ahead for the kingdom.

Find this September-published adventure of a most-unusual princess,  a clever stableboy, a forbidden book, and a long-suppressed god of the metaverse at your local library or independent bookstore today.
**kmm

Book info: Iron Hearted Violet / Kelly Barnhill; illustrator: Iacopo Bruno. Little Brown, 2012. [author’s blog] [publisher site] [illustrator interview]

My Recommendation: Princess Violet isn’t beautiful, but she is brave and clever and loved by all. If royal storyteller Cassian hadn’t always made the princesses in his stories beautiful, perhaps plain-looking Violet might not have listened to the sinister whispers from mirror corners, might not have searched deep below the castle with her friend Demetrius, might not have found the evil something that wants to destroy their world.
In the Old World, there were twelve gods (no one dares speak of the thirteenth) and dragons and such. Now, the King has gone searching for the possible last dragon, taking Demetrius along for his amazing skill with animals, little realizing that the Mountain King is preparing to invade the Andulan Realms or that the something beneath the castle is spreading evil thoughts like a fog.

Perhaps Violet can change her mismatched eyes to the blue of the sky, if she discovers enough secrets in the hidden library. Perhaps she can be a “real princess” if she becomes beautiful, the unwanted thought sneaks in. Perhaps the evil Nybbas will be able to control everything if it leads Violet along the selfish path that makes her neglect the kingdom…

A mournful dragon who can’t remember where it has hidden its heart, the ill-health of Queen Rose, three very worried ancient guardians, and the twisty stories used by Nybbas to turn people on one another – is Violet strong enough to discover her true path and save her kingdom? Can the wrong stories be turned right before both suns set forever?

This epic tale of adventure and forgiveness introduces an unforgettable princess, as she and Demetrius discover the true power of stories in creating the world.  (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

The Wishing Spell, by Chris Colfer (fiction) – traveling fairy tale roads in search of a way home

Jul9
book cover of Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer published by Little Brown

Jack and the Beanstalk.
Rapunzel.
The Walking Fish?
Perhaps we haven’t read all the world’s fairy tales yet!

A family love of books may very well be the key to escaping from the Land of Stories for a brother and sister who are still mourning their father’s death.

They’ll also find out what happened “happily ever after” to Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and other famous fairy tale subjects when they grew up!

When I picked up The Wishing Spell,  my first thought was “hey, this guy’s book will be shelved next to Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl series – should get lots of attention that way” – not realizing that author Chris Colfer was also television star Chris Colfer. He ably weaves new stories like the Curvy Tree and the Walking Fish into Conner and Alex’s adventures and encounters with classic fairy tale characters.

This first book in The Land of Stories series will be published on July 17, 2012, so get on the reserve list at your local library or independent bookstore now.
**kmm

Book info: The Wishing Spell (The Land of Stories #1) / Chris Colfer. Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2012. [book series site] [publisher site] 

My Recommendation:  A dark dungeon or a middle school classroom – both can be prisons until the right fairy tale magic opens all the doors. One story sends a brother and sister questing through amazing lands where courage and cleverness may unlock the secrets to save a kingdom …and their lives.
Conner and Alex loved Dad’s stories, like the legend of the Curvy Tree and the tale of the Walking Fish. Since he was killed last year in a car crash, it’s been rough for the twins and their mom. When Grandma gives them the family’s special storybook for their twelfth birthday, Alex reads herself right into the Land of Stories, and her brother has to jump in after her!
A talking frog who collects books, a gingerbread house in the woods, the three Charming brothers (formerly princes, now kings) – all the tales that the Baileys grew up hearing are real and true here! But now Goldilocks has grown up to be a swordswoman and wanted fugitive, the Big Bad Wolf’s family has vowed revenge on self-obsessed Queen Red Riding Hood, and Queen Cinderella is expecting a royal baby any day now.
If they ever want to see their mom or their world again, the twins will need the rare Wishing Spell. Luckily, Froggy had found a handwritten journal outlining the items needed to create the Spell, sending Conner and Alex through all the kingdoms of Happily Ever After to find them.
Alas, the Evil Queen has escaped from Queen Snow White’s dungeon with the magic mirror and will stop at nothing to have the Wishing Spell for herself!
Will the twins be able to acquire everything for the Wishing Spell? Can they escape troll caverns, goblin prisons, and over-talkative travel companions? Is the Big Bad Wolf Pack still on their trail? And what did the journal-writer wish for when he completed the first Wishing Spell?

First in a new series, this adventure story introduces new-to-us fairy tales along with intriguing what-happened-later versions of familiar classics. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Faerie Ring, by Kiki Hamilton (book review) – royalty, orphans, human and fae, a treaty in danger

Jun11

book cover of The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton published by Tor Teen“Long live the Queen!”
we hear during this Diamond Jubilee season for Elizabeth II.

Fascination with royalty is nothing new. Queen Victoria called Buckingham Palace home well over a century ago, celebrating her Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

Who’s to say that Prince Leopold didn’t borrow a particular ring from his mother’s strongbox to show his royal brother Arthur? Or that certain well-dressed ladies at the masquerade ball at the Palace were not exactly who they seemed… or even as human as they appeared to be?

Commoners and royalty, the calm Seelie Court of Faerie opposed by the Unseelie Court determined to take back the world from humans… all bound up in the truce of The Faerie Ring. This first book in the series by Kiki Hamilton is an exciting read. Now, to wait for the October 2012 publication of book two, The Torn Wing !
**kmm

Book info: The Faerie Ring / Kiki Hamilton. Tor Teen, 2011. [author’s website]    [publisher site]    [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk:  Not many orphans find themselves accidentally inside Buckingham Palace; only Tiki could accidentally find a gold ring as she escaped. The strange words of its inscription remind her of a childhood rhyme, but carry a violent oath about a treaty broken. Perhaps that’s why the London slum shadows now fill with winged beings trying to steal the ring back…

Tiki only picks pockets to keep her small family of other orphans alive in 1871’s brutal winter cold, hidden in an abandoned shop near Charing Cross Station. After her father and mother died of the fever, Tiki went to live with her aunt and uncle, whose leering grabs sent the young teen fleeing.

Fellow thief Rieker warns her of danger – from the Queen’s agents and from the winged ones she’s spotted. For the ring that Tiki found is more valuable than mere gold – it’s the treaty between Faerie and the mortal world. If it is out of Queen Victoria’s possession, then the separation between the two realms can be crossed over. As disasters begin to rock the human world and the Queen falls ill, reward posters about the gold ring appear. Tiki is too clever to directly return it and starts to formulate a plan that could get the orphans off the streets.

Why can’t anyone else see the faeries but Tiki and Rieker?
Why does the ring’s inscription sound so familiar?
Will Prince Leopold discover her secret before she can return the ring without endangering the orphan children she has sworn to protect?
And who exactly is Rieker anyway?

This thrilling debut novel takes readers from the coal-smoky backstreets of Victorian London to the palatial halls of royalty as warring factions of Faerie take advantage of the ring’s absence to enter England for good and for evil.  (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

The Peculiars, by Maureen Doyle McQuerry (book review) – quests, steampunk inventions, strange folk

May29

book cover of The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry published by AmuletLying awake at night,
wondering if she’s “having wild thoughts”
or if her overlong fingers truly are goblin hands,
Lena never hears good things about her father…

Never hears from him until her 18th birthday when the money enclosed in the only letter he’s ever written to her allows her to start searching for him, despite her mother’s concerns and her grandmother’s fretting about unladylike behavior.
Why stay hidden in the City when adventure calls?

This steampunk adventure-romance-paranormal quest is set in a different United States of America than the one seen in our history textbooks about the late 19th century. While both USAs share Charles Darwin, the Pony Express, self-righteous missionaries, and Mark Twain’s writings, only Lena’s world includes winged persons, a cat whose purrs always sound like human speech, and a successful steam-powered flying machine with titanium frame.

Hoping that author McQuerry is a fast writer so that we can have more of Lena’s adventures soon!
**kmm

Book info: The Peculiars / Maureen Doyle McQuerry. Amulet Books, 2012.  [author’s website]   [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: Lena’s long-vanished father is responsible for her elongated fingers and overlarge feet and not much else in her life. So when her 18thbirthday brings a message from him, she feels compelled to travel from the City to the wildness of Scree – hiding place of goblins, flying people, and outlaws – to find him and discover what Peculiar blood might flow in her veins.

As the steam train chugs north, Lena keeps to herself, longtoed boots hidden by her traveling skirt, gray gloves covering her long, long fingers. One young man doesn’t take her hints, insisting on talking about their destination, a coastal town near Scree where he’s taken a position as librarian to a scientist, and about his fiancée and his family’s expectations.

During dinner, the train suddenly halts as masked men rescue a prisoner and rob the passengers! Thankfully, Lena had pinned her father’s envelope inside her bodice, but now has little money to finance her planned expedition into Scree. And the sheriff investigating the train heist has been chasing after her father for years…

Luckily, Jimson’s eccentric employer decides that Lena should also help catalog his unusual collection, giving her time to save up money to venture into Scree. A steam-powered typewriter, doors with intricate opening mechanisms, books with gem-encrusted covers – the library is a treasure of wonders and even a few answers for Lena’s questions about the Peculiars and Scree.

But she sees a strange winged figure on the roof at night, finds drawings of hands like her own in Mr. Beasley’s medical case sketchbook, and is getting more attention from Sheriff Saltre than she wants. If Lena doesn’t go into Scree quite soon, she’ll be trapped by winter weather and her growing affection for Jimson.

Alarmed by the sheriff’s investigations, Mr. Beasley and Jimson prepare for household members to escape Zephyr House. Can the flying machine get everyone out in time? Have they hidden the inventor’s secrets and experiments regarding the Peculiars well enough? Will Lena get to Scree and find her father after all these years?

Set in an alternative steampunk United States of late 1800s, those called The Peculiars face extreme prejudice and lifelong slavery in Scree’s mines, as Lena and compatriots from Zephyr House are about to discover first-hand.  (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Enchanted, by Alethea Kontis (book review) – fairy tales with a twist

May16
book cover of Enchanted by Alethea Kontis published by Harcourt

Seventh daughter of a seventh son and seventh daughter,
named for her birth-day, according to the traditional rhyme,
Sunday is accustomed to odd things in the Wood,
so a talking frog is rather expected.
But there’s nothing everyday about falling in love with him.

You’ll nod your head as you recognize the many fairy tales found in the early chapters of Enchanted, from the shape of the Woodcutter family home to the fate of sister Tuesday of the red shoes.

But there’s more to this tale than just homage to nursery rhymes and fairy tales, as Sunday strives to find her own way in the world rather than what’s been previously written, Rumbold tries to undo the actions of his impetuous younger days, and the King has his own sinister agenda.

Enchanted  was just published on May 8, 2012, so look for it at your local independent bookstore or library now. Kontis tells us that book two is in the works, giving readers a preview with a short story featuring one of its key characters, Ashes-in-the-Wind.
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Book info: Enchanted (The Woodcutter, book 1) / Alethea Kontis. Harcourt, 2012. [author’s website] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk:  A talking frog, a cow traded for beans that grow a sky-high beanstalk, a house shaped like a shoe – for Sunday, it’s just life as usual in the Wood. But when her friend Grumble disappears and the King seeks a new wife, old tales of evil spells are remembered, and Sunday tries to change what has been foretold.

Seventh daughter Sunday writes that she’s “doomed to a happy life,” but would rather be interesting than good and boring. Of course, wishes made in an enchanted land usually lead to adventures, so life in the Woodcutter family’s odd-shaped house is often more chaotic than taciturn Mama would like, despite the curlicued brightness of Papa’s stories from the Wood.

The ten Woodcutter siblings are children no more, although adopted Trix looks just as he did at age 12, thanks to his fairy blood. Ever since oldest brother Jack Jr. disappeared while in the King’s service, their family has stayed well away from the Arrilard palace, its sole prince, and its rumored curses.

Meeting Grumble by the fairy well was certainly more interesting than doing her chores, doubly so because the frog liked to listen to her stories, appreciative in his praise. Of course, any talking frog in the Wood must have been human first, so Sunday hopes that someday Grumble will tell her how he became cursed into frog form. She’d have to be careful about writing down his tale, as anything that she wrote had a strong chance of coming true, but he left the well without even saying goodbye.

Released from the froggy spell suddenly, Prince Rumbold finds himself in the palace, weak and confused. Who are his friends and who is against him? Why does he hear spirit voices in the palace night asking for death? What was the name of the girl who kissed him beside the well? His cold and regal father does allow Rumbold to invite all the eligible women of the kingdom to a grand ball at the palace, staying in his tower throne room to invoke magic for himself alone.

Will Rumbold find Sunday among all the people at the ball?
Will Sunday recognize Rumbold out of his froggy skin?
Will the Prince or the King choose a bride at the ball?

This bright-and-dark story about family, loyalty, and love in an Enchanted  land reminds us that even the simplest fairy tales and nursery rhymes can carry the power of mighty words. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

C is Cat Girl’s Day Off, by Kimberly Pauley (book review) – cat voices and kidnapping in Chicago

Apr3

book cover of Cat Girl's Day Off by Kimberly Pauley published by Tu BooksOne sister is a child genius, the other a human lie detector.
Her dad is a super-sniffer and mom can out-think anyone anywhere.
Why is Natalie’s Talent so… everyday?
No wonder “hearing cats talk” is graded as class D.

Nat is trying to keep her Talent quiet, but when she spots a pink cat on video and understands his pleas for help, she can’t just sit idly by. Rufus’s person has been kidnapped right here in Chicago, and it all has something to do with the movie being filmed at her high school.

Wrigley Field and other Windy City locales used in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” are the backdrop for the friends’ madcap chase after clues by train, car, and sneakers, discussing things with cats they encounter (through Nat, of course).

Rufus and my cat Max chat a bit in my next post as they introduce my first giveaway! For your chance to win an Advance Reader Copy of Cat Girl’s Day Off, go here.
**kmm

Book info: Cat Girl’s Day Off / Kimberly Pauley. Tu Books, 2012. [author’s website] [publisher site] Review copy (viewed through NetGalley) and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Recommendation: Better to be a regular high school kid than show off her low-level Talent, thinks Natalie – until her gift for understanding cats’ speech may solve a kidnapping!

Her mom, dad, and sisters are so Talented – supersniffing, X-ray vision, truth detection, chameleon camouflage – that Nat’s talent seems worse than worthless. If the students at Shermer High treated her like that one boy in grade school who could make frogs change color by kissing them… bad news.

Her best friends Melly and Oscar know that she can talk to cats, but it’s no big deal to them. The big deal to them is the movie that will be filming scenes at their school, just as “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” did – and they could be extras in the movie! Oscar is swooning over the leading man, while Melly hopes that appearing in “Freddy’s Day Off” will boost her acting career.

In a video news clip of movie blogger Easton West – all in pink, of course – and her dyed-pink dog and cat arriving in Chicago, Nat realizes that the pink cat is yowling that this person is an imposter and that Easton West has been kidnapped! West’s next blog post includes info that convinces Oscar that the person in that video is a fraud and that the pink cat must be telling the truth.

The three friends decide to rescue the pink cat and find out what’s happened to the real Easton West – as fast as they can between sitting through take after take of movie scenes at the school and Wrigley Field.

How can Nat make the authorities take this seriously, when no other humans speak Cat? Easton West’s last blog post before coming to Chicago threatened to expose one of the actresses – is this part of a plot? Will the imposter make good on her threat to kill the real Easton West? Oh, what will Nat’s cute classmate Ian think if he discovers that she talks to cats and that they talk back??

Lots of twists and turns as the friends and the cats they meet along the way chase after clues all over the Windy City, racing against the clock. One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)