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 Gwenni Morgan is caught between childhood and adolescence. She reads voraciously despite her mother’s disapproval, flies in her sleep, and wants to be a real detective. When one of the men from her small Welsh town goes missing, Gwenni decides that she’s going to try and find him. Her investigation leads to unwelcome truths about Gwenni’s town, family, and life. Those discoveries catapult her into an adulthood she may not be ready for.
This is a totally stunning coming-of-age story. I was surprised by how very much I enjoyed it. I loved Gwenni as a narrator. She was completely charming in her naivete about her small town life. I could see why the cover described it as heartbreaking though – with every coming-of-age, some innocence is lost, and it genuinely hurts to see this girl suffer even though it strengthens her in the end. Though her discoveries and the past make some sense, it’s still painful to discover it – and witness the consequences – right along with her. I loved the way she became a big sister figure to another character, a real manifestation of her growing maturity. It’s whimsical but realistic at the exact same time.
The way that Mari Strachan portrayed post-World War II life in Wales was absolutely fascinating. These regions are still feeling the effects of the war, as are the people. Gwenni’s father carries a limp from his own service and there are a variety of other consequences that are discovered as time goes on. It’s over but not forgotten. The conflict between England and Wales was very interesting as well; one of Gwenni’s friends doesn’t speak Welsh and there is some tension over what language the characters choose and when. I’m fascinated by this idea of Welsh pride in the face of continuous English dominance over the years. It perfectly fits with the image of a small town resisting and at the same time embracing change – Gwenni’s mother longs for new appliances but is downright superstitious about her own child.
This book is written so well, too. For me it was perfectly evocative of a twelve-year-old’s thought process while still retaining beauty and grace with some really charming passages. One particularly memorable scene here that had me longing for toast with butter:
The toast is crunchy at the edges and hot, and the butter is yellow and salty and so cold I can see the marks my teeth make in it although it’s melting by the time I’m on the last two bits and drips down my chin. I wipe my chin with my handkerchief and put a slice of bread on the fork to toast for Nain.
– p 226-7.
Doesn’t that sound surprisingly appealing?
I’m amazed that this was Mari Strachan’s debut novel. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. I’ll definitely be recommending The Earth Hums in B Flat to anyone who is interested in the many topics it deals with, or even just after a plain great read.
I am an Amazon Associate. I received this book for free from the publisher for review.
I was really interested to see what happened with my reading this month. It’s my first full month working full-time ever, so I figured my reading was going to take a hit. It did, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. I finished 18 books this month.
Fiction
Classics
Romance
YA Fiction
- Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld
- How I Live Now, Meg Rosoff
- What I Was, Meg Rosoff
Fantasy
Non-fiction
- Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
- Chinese Cinderella, Adeline Yen Mah
I’m also pleased to see that I managed three non-fiction books. Okay, one was a YA memoir and the other was a very short celebrity memoir, but I am trying harder to include non-fiction in my reading choices. You’ll also notice that only three of these books were set before the twentieth century, and one was written in the nineteenth century anyway. How unusual is that? I’m actually reading a historical fiction novel at the moment, but typically it’s not resonating with me. So we’ll see how that goes.
I read a ton of great books this month, though. Favorite non-fiction is definitely The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I would put it above much of the fiction as well, actually. I’m not sure I can choose a fiction novel – it may have to be Under the Skin by Michel Faber which has remained with me so far.
A few changes are going to be taking place around here. I am moving my blog to medievalbookworm.com very soon, so I may have a new feed address. I’ll be sure to post it on twitter and facebook when that happens so if you’d like to keep subscribing, please stay aware! I have a lot of changes to enact with all of this so some links may be broken, etc., but this is something I need to do before it gets even more difficult! If anyone knows of a good way to redirect all of my old review links to my new site, please do share. =) In the meantime, have a great weekend!
 It shouldn’t surprise anyone that I’ve had to start taking out fewer books because I already reached my limit of 12! My new library is pretty small, but they have a lot of good books. I’m also thrilled by the fact that they have a free holds system for all the branches. Both of my last libraries charged for holds of any kind, which I thought was pretty crappy even if I understand they have to make money somehow.
Thanks as always to Eva and Marg for hosting this meme!
Here’s what came home with me last week and this week:
   
- What I Was by Meg Rosoff – Anyone who saw my review of How I Live Now shouldn’t be too surprised that I immediately picked up the next Rosoff I could find! I was hoping for The Bride’s Farewell but figured I would take what I could get. :p Already read this and review is coming soon.
- Vanilla by Tim Ecott – This was an impulse pick-up. I saw a display on vanilla beans last summer in Cornwall at The Eden Project and I was astonished at how much work it takes just to get one little bottle of vanilla. This is a travelogue about it, which I thought sounded pretty cool.
- Talking About Jane Austen in Baghdad by Bee Rowlatt and May Witwit – This is a memoir about a series of emails written between two women starting in 2005. Bee Rowlatt, a BBC reporter, contacted May Witwit, an English professor in Iraq, with a few interview questions and a friendship formed. Looks just like my kind of book.
- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry – Tasha and I had enough fun together reading Lorna Doone that we decided to try another book! I let her choose and so in May we’ll be reading this doorstopper together. It’s a western historical saga, so let’s see if it can jolt me out of my boredom with the historical genre.
Have you found any good library loot lately?
I am an Amazon Associate.
 The Nameless One is stirring, gathering huge armies that are going to threaten the city of Avendoom. It’s up to Shadow Harold to stop them, because only he is talented enough to steal something which could change the course of history. But first he has to thwart the demons he created out of his own curiosity, explore the forbidden interiors of his own city, and prepare to save everything he knows.
I so wanted to like Shadow Prowler! I’ve seen positive reviews of it elsewhere and as I mentioned on Sunday, I’ve really been looking for the book that will make me crave epic fantasy like I used to. Unfortunately, this book is not it. I thought the story itself was fairly interesting. I like epic quests to save the world. In this case, it was the execution rather than the plot which really let me down.
First off, it takes so long for Harold to actually leave. We learn about his mission and the issues in the first few pages of the book, so my summary isn’t giving anything away. It opens well, with a theft in progress. But after that the book just seems to drag painfully because it takes so long for him to get going on the quest. By the time the little party set out, I already had lost interest and forgotten what happened in the beginning.
I also just plain didn’t like the way the story is told. This is actually quite strange because initially I thought it felt very Russian and I liked that, just in the way Harold approached his life. My appreciation diminished quickly because I got tired of the main character’s stupid jokes and info dumping. Moreover, there was absolutely no build-up of suspense. In short, it didn’t feel epic, even though it’s meant to be. Nothing was serious even when Harold’s life was in danger. I want to be moved, not roll my eyes. I just never cared about what was happening.
I also had the nagging feeling that this book had been done before. A hero quest is absolutely nothing new, the different races are nothing new, but I think it can be done in interesting and exciting ways. Sadly not much about this book feels fresh. I love that Russian fantasy is now being translated into English – I’ve had my eye on the Night Watch trilogy for a while now – but not if it’s just more of the same with a different attitude.
I honestly couldn’t tell you if I’ll continue to read this trilogy or not. I did enjoy some of the flashbacks and I think the past and present could merge in interesting ways in the next couple of books. But it will most definitely be a library choice, not a purchase.
I am an Amazon Associate. I received this book for free from the publisher for review.
 Summary from the back:
As growing up in pre-war London looms large in the lives of the Carne sisters, Deirdre, Katrine, and young Sheil still cannot resist making up stories as they have done since childhood; from their talking nursery toys to their fulsomely imagined friendship with real high-court Judge Toddington. But when Deirdre meets the judge’s real life wife at a charity bazaar the sisters are forced to confront the subject of their imaginings. Will they cast off the fantasies of childhood forever?
I really wanted to love this book. I think what threw me was how imaginative the sisters actually were. I had such a hard time figuring out when they were playing and when they were actually living. It’s playful and funny, but almost too much so for the first half. Luckily, it improved when Deirdre met Mrs. Toddington because finally real life started to have a discernible effect on the novel and it all interwove in a charming way as the girls start to grow up and realize how damaging their fantasies can be.
I did enjoy the language; it’s so playfully British that it’s hard not to cherish each individual word! The time period is also interesting and I know I’d like to read more classics with this sort of feel to them. But mostly, I feel like I missed the part that makes this book brilliant. I think I was too caught up in just how childish their games felt to me – and I thought it was a little mean on their part, as well. It was all in fun but it did feel a little like they were mocking the people when they didn’t even know what they were like. I guess I’m just too much of a wet blanket!
In short, I think The Brontes Went to Woolworths could be charming for another reader, but it didn’t quite cut it for me.
I am an Amazon Associate. I bought this book.
I fully intended to write full reviews for these books, but time has gone away from me! I thought mini-reviews would be easier and then I’d have less chance of forgetting what I actually read.
 Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher
In this memoir, Carrie Fisher takes the opportunity to humorously reflect on what she remembers of her life since she got electroshock therapy. The famous actress talks about such topics as her parents’ many marriages and her movie experiences with pictures to illustrate her life.
I mostly chose this book because I’ve always been a huge Star Wars fan. I knew Carrie Fisher has had quite a challenging life, so I thought it would make for interesting reading besides the Star Wars memories. Unfortunately I was disappointed on both fronts. She mentions very little about Star Wars and she treats her whole life as a joke. I could definitely tell the book was first a stand-up routine, but it wasn’t really funny in writing. A couple of jokes caught me, but for the most part I could tell it was meant to be funny but wasn’t working.
On the bright side, the book was short and it took me less than two hours to read, making it a good Read-a-Thon choice from a totals perspective!
 On the Edge, Ilona Andrews
Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, between the magic world (The Weird) and the nonmagic world (The Broken). Edgers can easily travel between the worlds – Rose works in the Broken – but don’t feel at home in either. Because Rose’s magic is far stronger than it should be, she’s been pursued as a marriage prospect for years. All she wants is to stay home and take care of her little brothers. The world’s not going to leave her alone, though, because one day Declan Camarine, a noble from the Weird, walks straight into her life and refuses to leave. When strange things start attacking people in the Edge, Rose has to get past her dislike of Declan and work with him to save her home.
Ilona Andrews, really the pseudonym of a husband and wife pair of writers, continues to put out awesome books. This one is definitely not an exception. It’s more romantic than the Kate Daniels series (not like I mind!) and is quite self-contained, so I’m not sure whether not it will be developed into a series. I really liked the two boys, Georgie and Jack, and the different ways they, Rose, and Declan all had magic. If there is another book in the series, I hope we can spend more time in the Weird!
I am an Amazon Associate. I borrowed one of these books and purchased the other.
 I’ve had the strangest experience this year in terms of what genres I’m enjoying. When I started this blog, my clear favorite was historical fiction (hence the title). It’s the largest section of my personal library by a fair stretch and goes even further if you include historical romance. And I love history; I find myself drooling over the history section in the library much more these days though I don’t always have the mental stamina to read non-fiction as often as I’d like. But fiction? I don’t think I’ve loved a single title this year.
Then there’s fantasy. Epic fantasy has long been one of my absolute favorite genres. Am I feeling it this year? Not at all. I’m reading a book now, Shadow Prowler by Alexey Pehov, which just isn’t working for me. I’ve been reading it for a week (I’m sensing a trend in now reading difficult books for a week!) and I haven’t finished yet. I’m still not thrilled by it. To be fair, I have reasons, but I’m not even interested in their quest. I haven’t picked up a truly epic fantasy of my own free will since January, and even that one wasn’t one of my favorites. I intend to test this out by reading one of my favorite authors, Brandon Sanderson, and seeing what happens there, but it’s a little dismaying to realize my favorites might not actually be my favorites.
So what do I like now? I still love speculative fiction, and I love that epic feel, but I’m more into urban fantasy or YA fantasy these days. Maybe because it’s shorter, maybe because I’m more demanding – I don’t know. And I’ve loved more books set in modern day or relatively recent eras this year than possibly ever before. But I still feel like I’m looking for the next historical or fantasy epic that will astonish and delight me and make me fall in love with my two favorite genres all over again.
Has a total shift in genre taste ever happened to you? And did it ever switch back?
 Isserley spends almost all of her days driving. She drives up and down the A9 in Scotland, looking for hitchhikers. Not just any hitchhikers, though. She’s looking for muscled men, alone in the world and without any ties. Sometimes she’ll drive past them three times just to make sure that they’re right. But why?
This is a book that was not at all what I’d expected. Your idea of the book from reading just that synopsis is probably the same as mine was, especially when we become aware in the opening pages that Isserley is wearing a low-cut top and checks herself in the mirror before pulling over. It’s not what you think it is. I’m actually surprised by the depth of Michel Faber’s talent, that he can turn out novels so different in style and genre; all they have in common are his beautiful prose style and talent for fantastic storytelling. It’s interesting because you might like all of them, or perhaps you might just like one. So far I have enjoyed all of them.
I don’t want to give away much about this one because so much of it is built on suspense and unpredictability. I had no idea what was coming and I think the book was better for it; it wouldn’t have had the same effect if I knew what was happening. I was left guessing up until the very end. I will say, however, that it could easily be classed as science fiction but it’s another one that could be easily appreciated by anyone who is looking to think a little more deeply about the issues presented. I was astonished as each layer of the story peeled away and I was confronted with some uncomfortable truths even as I was stuck to the page wondering what was going to happen next.
The whole book is ultimately an allegory for something we think very little about. It’s disturbing and makes you rethink certain things. It’s also, however, a very good story. I find it hard to believe that this was Faber’s first novel because it feels like he’s already a master of the craft. His writing is already well polished and really drew me into the story.
Under the Skin was an intensely compelling, thoughtful mystery. I have a feeling I’ll be thinking about it for some time to come.
I am an Amazon Associate. I received this book from the publisher for review.
 Reese’s Bride, Kat Martin
Reese Dewar left to fight for England with a promise from beautiful Elizabeth Clemens – that she would marry him when he returned. But days after he left, Elizabeth married an earl, gaining wealth and status beyond anything she’d achieve with Reese. Broken-hearted and determined to hate her, a wounded Reese returns to England, but finds his defenses alarmingly low when Elizabeth and her young son need his protection from her abusive in-laws.
I could probably complete this review with “meh”. The book was enjoyable, but nothing particularly special. Most of it felt like it had been done before, right down to the phrases the author used to describe various feelings. I remembered Kat Martin as a better author than this – I often find that my experience with authors I enjoyed as a teen is disappointing as an adult. This one was no exception.
 Bound by Your Touch, Meredith Duran
When she gives a speech on her archaeologist father’s research, Lydia Boyce is dismayed to find that James Durham, Viscount Sanburne, takes all the attention away from her father’s important research. She gets back at him by pointing out that the statue he’s brought is a fake – but as it turns out, Sanburne’s bust was in one of her father’s shipments. Lydia determines to find the answer to this mystery herself, with no help from the eloquent and mischievous James, but she is drawn to him, surprised that he sees beneath the cold spinster to the woman who longs for love.
I wish I had written this review sooner to reading the book so I could do it the proper justice. Suffice it to say that I loved it, that Meredith Duran is equally as skilled with two characters in ordinary England as she is with exotic ones, and that I think she only got better. I sincerely adored the relationship between these two people. They found each other’s flaws and not only did they learn to accept one another but they also learned that they had to compromise in order to stay with one another. Both of their stories were wonderfully done. The whole book was excellent and made me immediately want to pick up Written on Your Skin.
 Written on Your Skin, Meredith Duran
On the surface, Mina Masters appears to have it all. She can lay claim to beauty, charm, and wealth – but she’s not free. Trapped by a hateful stepfather and a looming unwanted marriage, Mina finds herself drawing close to a handsome stranger. But Phin Granville isn’t free, either, and has little interest in an empty-headed society girl. When Mina saves his life, however, he finds himself bound to her until they rediscover one another four long years later.
While I didn’t like this one as much as The Duke of Shadows or Bound by Your Touch, Written on Your Skin was still a great romantic read. Meredith Duran’s writing is, if anything, getting better, and I really look forward to what she’s able to write in the future. I think great things are on the way.
I liked the reversal of character roles in this one; Mina is the tough, clever girl who fakes a lack of brains to fool people into thinking she’s defenseless. I didn’t really appreciate that she had to fake stupidity, but I did like that she took on the role more traditionally assigned to men in romances. Phin has been forced into espionage, but he’s really a mapmaker at heart and wants to discover the world. I wouldn’t call him submissive, exactly, but he’s more so than Mina.
 Archangel’s Kiss, Nalini Singh
This second book in the Guild Hunter series again focuses on Elena and Raphael. Though her life has changed drastically, Elena is still a Guild Hunter. She’ll face great danger in her new role but still fights to keep her friends safe.
I liked this and I thought it was good for the Read-a-Thon, but I thought there was too much sex – there was much more than in the first of the series. It probably wouldn’t bother someone who liked more of it but I’m not really that person. I’ll probably keep reading anyway because I’m interested to see what happens!
I am an Amazon Associate. I purchased all of these books.
 Fifteen-year-old Daisy goes to live with her aunt Penn and cousins in England when her stepmother gets pregnant. At first upset by her exile, Daisy quickly adjusts to life with her cousins and finds herself in the bosom of a family. At that moment, however, England finds itself in a severe war and the children are left without any parental supervision as the war comes right to their doorstep.
This is an incredibly compelling book. Daisy is a fifteen-year-old with serious issues. She makes light of her anorexia, which is severe, and she proceeds to fall in love with her first cousin in a matter of days. Yet I found her voice incredibly compelling, very much like a teenager would talk. I may be the only one who wasn’t annoyed by the run-on sentences. I just loved the way it changed over the course of the book as she matured and had to deal with harder and harder situations. I felt bad for her at the beginning but she really strengthened and even though her situation didn’t really improve, I started to believe she could handle it. Some of the realizations and changes she makes towards the end were brilliantly done.
I also thought the whole book was a stunning look at the effect a real-life war would have on a first world country at this point in time. The enemy takes over England and everything changes. I actually thought some of the sections towards the end, when two of the characters are particularly desperate, were some of the best in the book. They were so realistically drawn, even though there is a slight hint of fantasy throughout the book. It’s hard to tell whether it’s actually meant or just children’s imaginings but it fit well.
I suppose if I were to have any problem with this book, it might be the fact that Daisy almost instantly falls in love with her first cousin. But she’d never met him before, so it’s difficult to blame her even if it is a bit unnatural. Perhaps it’s just uncomfortable because the author writes their love story so well in the first place!
This was a perfect Read-a-Thon book but I’d recommend How I Live Now to anyone, especially those who like YA dystopias.
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