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 Question: Were you aware of the Early Reviewer Program? Have you received any books from the program? If you have, how have you liked the book(s)? Any other thoughts on the LTER program?
I’m quite fond of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program! I’ve actually received 9 books so far and have been incredibly lucky. I’ve been in the program from the beginning though, sometime in 2007, so I’ve had many more opportunities than most people, who seem to be newcomers. It took me a few months to get my first book and I’ve had some substantial gaps, but I love choosing and waiting for the notification.
I’ve received:
Luminous Cities by Eduardo Garcia Aguilar
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris
The Venetian Mask by Rosalind Laker
Sweetsmoke by David Fuller
Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland
The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee
Serendipity by Louise Shaffer
The Red Siren by M. L. (Marylu) Tyndall
If you do click through to the first few – be kind, my reviewing career was in the very early stages back then! And the last two link to LT because I haven’t read them yet. I know, I’m horrible, I don’t even have them in my possession. To be fair, I didn’t expect to get any after I left because The Piano Teacher was the first in months! That might be why I didn’t get one this month, though!
As far as how I’ve liked them, it varies a lot. Looking at my list, I’ve only really loved two. I have moderately enjoyed two more. I disliked two, and I absolutely hated one. So my success rate is really not fantastic, very even actually, but I love the program anyway. It’s also led me to do a few cold requests for books I didn’t win, and I’ve enjoyed those. I think this is a great way to get interested readers in touch with new books. I love looking at the list because it means I know what’s coming out soon and I have gone to bookstore tables and remembered all the ones that were offered. I’ve even purchased books that were offered on the program because I still wanted them. Overall, I’m a fan!
 Lady Julia Grey and her husband Edward are giving a dinner party when he is suddenly struck with convulsions. One of the guests, Nicholas Brisbane, immediately rushes to help, but Edward dies later that night. Julia is unsure what to think or feel, especially when Nicholas comes to her door claiming that Edward feared for his life and that he may have been murdered. Julia has heard the coroner’s reports and dismisses Nicholas immediately. One year later, however, she finds an incriminating piece of evidence suggesting that Brisbane was actually telling the truth. The trail has gone cold, but she enlists his help to determine whether her husband was murdered and if so, who did it.
I loved this book, from the first word to the last, and usually that only happens with my favorite authors. I picked it up and simply did not want to put it down, ever again. I think it’s the way that Raybourn writes, very elegantly, carefully, but with a little twist of humor, exactly how I’d envision a Victorian lady thinking. Or perhaps it just suits me. Whatever the combination, I was immediately swept into the book and Julia came to feel like a close friend.
I’m not a huge fan of mysteries, but I definitely felt that this one was well within my comfort range. I always understood what was happening and why characters reached certain conclusions, but I could never have guessed the ending. In fact, it’s very cleverly done so that the culprit’s name isn’t said in the scene and I actually thought it was the wrong guy! I was ready to throw the book across the room until I realized who it was, and then I realized that Deanna Raybourn deserves serious accolades for making it so tricky yet so obvious once you “get it”, because then it all makes perfect sense. I guess I could just be slow (and indeed I am according to Amazon reviews), but I was genuinely surprised. I enjoyed all the little side plots and the quirky characters, even the sleazy ones, because they really created an atmosphere for the whole story.
In conclusion, fantastic book. I adored it. I want to read it again. It’s so much fun and so enthralling and it has an edge of cleverness which makes it all come together really well.
Buy Silent In The Grave on Amazon.
 I have no history on the brain for all of you today. In fact, I’ve, quite frankly, had enough of history right now. I’ve spent the past three days writing an essay on Henry V, which is now ready for editing by my supervisor, and researching for my dissertation proposal, tentatively titled Chivalry in the Reign of Edward IV, not to mention the reading I’m doing for class on Monday. I’m considering starting a weekly historical feature, and I do have to prepare some posts for Early Medieval Britain, but I just don’t have it in me to do either of those things this weekend. So I will be focusing my post on other things.
Aside from Edward IV: A Source Book today I plan on finishing two things; Watchmen by Alan Moore and Mr Impossible by Loretta Chase. I think Watchmen may have been a little too heavy for my mood, in all honesty, but it’s really interesting. It’s my first graphic novel and I didn’t really know what to expect from it. I like how I can almost use the pictures to make a movie in my head. It definitely makes up for lack of text, although I had to spend some time getting used to it first. I think a lot of the meaning has gone over my head due to my mental focus right now, but I can certainly pick up some. I’m looking forward to foisting it on my brilliant fiance and getting him to tell me what it means, and then we’ll go see the film.
As for Mr. Impossible, let’s just say I need that fluff pretty desperately. It’s not good enough to keep me up at night but it lets my brain go off on a nice vacation. It’s also set in Egypt, which makes it more interesting right now. My romances are exclusively historical and in large part set in England, which I prefer, but it’s nice to travel somewhere else when the rest of my life is about England. Mostly, I am really looking forward to Wednesday, because then I will be handing in both the proposal and the essay (for editing) and I won’t have to think about them for days, or at least until my supervisor tells me what he thinks of them. It’s also Keith’s birthday, so we will be celebrating!
This week, I have reviews coming up for Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn (I will finally be getting to her next two books after Wednesday) and The Witch’s Trinity by Erika Mailman. I really enjoyed both of them. I read The Witch’s Trinity the same day that I received it in the mail, in fact. I’d written 3/4 of my essay and decided to take a break. It was a good break! I’d also like to do a monthly wrap-up post for February, but that will probably be on Thursday.
Wishing everyone a lovely week and see you back here next Sunday!
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