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 As an aspiring medieval historian, Kivrin has always wanted to visit the Middle Ages for herself. Since this book is set a great deal in the future, she actually can, although that doesn’t mean all of her advisors at Oxford think it is a great idea. In fact, one of them, Dunworthy, is frantic with worry about her; he is even more worried when after the drop, the tech who sent her falls very ill and can’t tell him her coordinates. Soon, all of Oxford is under quarantine as doctors desperately try to figure out where the mystery illness came from. In 14th century England, Kivrin’s quest doesn’t go well either, as she both falls ill and realizes that something has indeed gone wrong with the drop and she is about to be tested far more than she’d ever expected.
Since this one appears to be science fiction, Keith had a go at it before I had a chance and really didn’t like it, so I was reluctant to pick it myself. Shame on me because I absolutely loved it. Obviously, as a medievalist myself, I am right there with Kivrin, I’d love to go for two weeks and experience it all for myself. Of course, I don’t think I’d much like her experience there, but I thought one of the coolest parts about the beginning of the book was when she realizes that medieval life wasn’t exactly like a textbook; not every highborn family is going to live in the exact same manor house with the same number of servants. I’m sure this was the case, although some of it is caused by events that later become prevalent (and which I won’t reveal because I don’t want to spoil the book!)
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this book for me was how exciting it was. With everyone in Oxford falling ill, and Kivrin doing so herself, and all the craziness occurring in the first third of the book, it’s hard to tell what’s going on. Events roll on and eventually all becomes clear, but the book definitely had me guessing for a while. It’s easy to figure out what happened once details emerge, but even then the level of suspense and ensuing tragedy just builds up. This is a science fiction novel, ostensibly, but that didn’t bother me one bit. The technology has some fancy words attached, but since there isn’t much explanation and all the fancy words meant things I could translate into layman’s terms on my own, I didn’t experience any trouble with it.
I was so pleased with this book that despite its chunkster status, the pages flew by and I read it in two days. I would definitely recommend it to fans of both speculative fiction and historical fiction, although given Keith’s experience, if history bores you this one probably will not be for you. I, however, loved it, and know I’ll be on the lookout for other books by Connie Willis.
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 From the back cover:
After their victory in Aurenen, Alec and Seregil have returned home to Rhiminee. But with most of their allies dead or exiled, it is difficult for them to settle in. Hoping for diversion, they accept an assignment that will take them back to Seregil’s homeland. En route, however, they are ambushed and separated, and both are sold into slavery. Clinging to life, Seregil is sustained only by the hope that Alec is alive.
But it is not Alec’s life his strange master wants – it is his blood. For his unique lineage is capable of producing a rare treasure, but only through a harrowing process that will test him body and soul and unwittingly entangle him and Seregil in the realm of alchemists and madmen – and an enigmatic creature that may hold their very destiny in its inhuman hands … but will it prove to be savior or monster?
I didn’t realize how much I really wanted to spend time in a fantasy world when I picked this up, but I really, really was in the perfect mood for it. This is the fourth book in the Nightrunner series; it was intended to be a trilogy but proved so popular that the author appears to have written more! I’m very happy about this, especially given that this is a wonderful addition to the series as it stands. I love Alec and Seregil and their world, so of course I was happy to spend another book with them. In this one, they venture to another new country (albeit unwillingly) and we get to see some of Plenimaran culture. They also run into an unpleasant reminder of Seregil’s past.
I had forgotten most of what happened in the first three books; I read them at least a year ago, before I began blogging seriously, but it didn’t seem to matter too much. I remembered enough to understand the dynamics between all the characters and picked up what I’d forgotten fairly quickly, but I’d probably recommend reading the whole series in order and fairly close together. This one definitely leads into the next one, The White Road, which is coming out next February, but wraps up its own storylines for the most part.
That storyline is very exciting; the plot twists and turns and it’s hard to know what’s going to happen next. Seregil and Alec are fantastic characters as usual; the secondary characters aren’t huge here but they also show up and remind us why we like them so much. All in all, this is a very respectable, solid fantasy novel. It does its job of transporting its reader to another world extremely well. I’m really looking forward to The White Road!
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 Quite simply, every bit of praise you’ve heard for The Hunger Games is true.
Katniss Everdeen has essentially been the provider for her mother and sister ever since her father’s death in a mine explosion. They live in poor sector 12, which has little to recommend it, but must still send two 12-18 year olds to fight in the Hunger Games every year. When Katniss’s sister is selected against all odds, Katniss takes her place in the Games, knowing that it’s almost certainly a death sentence since only two contestants from sector 12 have ever won the Games. But Katniss has already survived against the odds; can she do it this one more time?
I loved this book from start to finish and it’s rarer and rarer that I can say that these days. After everyone else in the book blogging world loved it, I just had to buy a copy and I am so glad that I did. I simply sped through this book. I spent two hours in the library with it waiting for something and then when I got home, I just sat down and read until I was finished. It was that good. It’s an adventure story, an almost-love story, an exciting edge-of-your-seat thrilling race against the odds. It’s hard to explain exactly why it’s so fantastic, but it completely rocks.
Part of it is certainly that I loved Katniss. I can’t imagine not feeling sympathetic to her character, especially for women. She’s tough because she’s had to be, but she is really just a teenage girl somewhere in there and it comes out sometimes. I loved the softer bits of her personality amidst the rough exterior that she has to develop just to survive; that is certainly evident most of the time. She’s not the only great character, though; Peeta certainly is and I’d love to hear more about Gale in the next book, Catching Fire. The other contestants don’t have much personality to them bar one, but really, they hardly need it. The book is only so long and they’re all out to kill each other anyway.
I think it’s probably the plot of this one that has made it so amazingly popular, though. Not only is Katniss fantastic, but she’s constantly fighting for her life in so many ways. The reader never knows what’s going to happen next. Some of the events herein are truly heartwrenching while others are exciting and still others gave me a huge grin. There is so much here. I mean, how many adjectives can I possibly use to describe it without sounding like a thesaurus list?
In short, this is a fantastic book. It does have a cliffhanger, so if you don’t like that, by all means wait until the third book of the trilogy is published. I hear Catching Fire has an even more frustrating cliffhanger, but you won’t find me waiting. I’ll be buying it the day it comes out.
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In an effort to bulk up my reading in June, I read three books which I feel don’t really need a full review. I read a fourth one in July. I wasn’t crazy about any of them, but I’d like to record my thoughts for posterity, so here goes.
 Simply Magic, Mary Balogh
Recently, I welcomed Mary Balogh to my favorites list. She doesn’t do badly in this book either, although I’m beginning to see her formula to an extent. Susanna, a teacher at Miss Martin’s School for Girls, is a charity case who became such a wonderful student that she earned a place among the faculty both as a teacher and friend. When visiting her friend Frances, Susanna meets Peter Edgeworth, Viscount Whitleaf, and they proceed to become friends and eventually fall in love. As I said, Balogh definitely has a formula. The characters become good friends and then realize there is more to their relationship. There is also always the “just one night” mentality, meaning that the couples do it just before they separate for good. This has gotten to me a little bit; maybe once, but every single one of her female characters is relatively unconcerned about pregnancies? I can understand the mentality but I don’t know how much I’d share it if an accidental pregnancy was an irreparable tragedy. I still liked the book but I hope the next one I read by her deviates from this formula.
Guilty Pleasures, Laurell K. Hamilton
Everyone always talks about how the first few books of this series are pretty good but the series goes downhill after that. I figured I’d try it anyway. Luckily or unluckily, I really wasn’t fond of this first book and have no plans to read more. The book is virtually dripping with sexuality even before the series has denigrated; it already disturbed me and it could only get worse. I understand that most of vampires’ appeal is that sexual aspect, but there is a point where it is too much. Worse, I didn’t really like Anita, I didn’t like the style in which the book was written, and I actually missed the world-building explanations I’ve found in other urban fantasy series. This one just tossed me in, which might have worked if I’d liked the plot, but I wasn’t feeling it in any way.
 A Little Bit Wicked, Victoria Alexander
I thought this would be a good, unconventional romance. The heroine has had affairs and been married before (gasp!) so I figured she would be relatively aware of the world. It’s not really different, though. The hero is jealous of all her former lovers and of course has to be the best of all of them. Judith is an interesting heroine, but Gideon, the hero, feels like more of the same. I also really dislike when everyone knows the couple is in love before they do. Well-meaning, but I can’t say I’d want someone telling me how I felt, so it always annoys me when they try it in the books I’m reading. I prefer the couple to develop that through their relationship, not through someone else telling them they’re in love because they have a special twinkle in their eye or something. I think I need to stop reading romance novels for a while. I’m getting tired of them; too many of them are the same and not really believable love stories.
 To Catch an Heiress, Julia Quinn
This is another cute, funny romance from Julia Quinn. I think this is one of her first books, but it still comes across fairly well and doesn’t drown in stereotypes. Caroline and Blake are a sparkling couple, full of witty dialogue and snarky comebacks. Some of the events that happen here are laugh-out-loud funny and I just loved the little blurbs at the beginning of each chapter with a vocabulary word and Caroline’s explanation of why she was thinking of it at the time. I did find that the espionage plot felt a little tacked on. It was in evidence from almost the beginning, but it seemed more a convenient foil to bring the hero and heroine together than a major plot point, until the end when the suspense suddenly takes over. I didn’t find the threat all too convincing and felt that the couple could have realized the extent of their love in some other way. Still, this is easily my favorite of the four books I’ve mentioned here and Julia Quinn is definitely remaining as my favorite romance author.
 Ever since Leslie’s life spiralled out of control and she was raped by her brother’s friend, with his permission, she is desperate to reclaim control of herself and her body. She sees a tattoo as the way to do that, laying a mark on her skin that is for her benefit alone. But the tattoo design she chooses is not that simple and instead links her to the king of the Dark Court of the faerie, Irial. Isolated from her friends, especially Aislinn who cannot tell Leslie about the world she now inhabits, Leslie finds herself in a dark place which harbors the unlikeliest heroes.
While this book is definitely considerably darker than Wicked Lovely, I found myself enjoying it just as much if not more. I like darker stories and I completely admired Leslie, who sometimes makes wrong decisions but certainly has her heart in the right place. After what happened to her, almost anyone would be damaged, and I thought that she was for the most part on the right track, strong enough to attempt to save herself but still vulnerable enough to also inspire the best in others. This creates for some fascinating character dynamics revolving around Leslie and her friends.
Many of the characters from Wicked Lovely return, like Seth, Keenan, and Aislinn; Niall returns for a very important role, which I was happy to see since I hadn’t learned much of his character before. I love when books take minor characters and flesh them out in such ways. This is definitely more of a sequel to Wicked Lovely than I had initially expected. It’s very interesting to see the characters from the first book through the eyes of others who don’t know about the world they inhabit or the deals they’ve made to continue the status quo. Leslie discovers the faerie world for herself but in a completely different way from Aislinn for obvious reasons. Her journey is more painful but more affecting as a result.
I’ve also come to really appreciate the world that Melissa Marr has created. The faerie court is fascinating and multi-faceted. Seeing another of the courts in close detail like this has really broadened the perspective that Marr has given to the series and I can’t wait for it to expand even further. I’m really looking forward to going back for more with Fragile Eternity to see how these characters develop and interact in their future.
These books are wonderful. I definitely think they can be appreciated by adults as well as their target YA audience. If you want to spend some time in a faerie world, look no further.
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 Mercy Thompson; woken at 3am by a vampire. Stefan also happens to be a friend, and he needs her help. He has to deliver a message to a fellow undead and needs a witness that won’t be noticed – and Mercy’s shapeshifting abilities make her the perfect candidate.
But the assignment turns into a bloodbath and Mercy attracts the attention of not just a powerful vampire, but the even more powerful demon possessing him. She can count on the supernatural community for protection – and alpha werewolf Adam would like her to rely on him in other ways, too – but when it comes to being proactive, she’s on her own.
Mercy Thompson is probably my favorite of all the urban fantasy heroines I’ve encountered so far. I love that she is gutsy and smart but knows when things are a little too tough for her. She knows to call in reinforcements. In this case, she starts out as a reinforcement herself, which makes things very interesting. She’s got her skills and she knows how to use them. Another thing I absolutely love about Mercy is the fact that she’s got a handle on her sex drive. It always bothers me when women in novels just can’t hold back even when their minds tell them they should. Mercy knows how to go slowly and get to know a guy before she risks deeper bonds. I like that a lot.
As far as series books go, this one is a nice follow-up to Moon Called. The characters are still awesome and their bonds only grow stronger throughout this book. We start to learn a little more about them. There is a new evil introduced that puts favorite characters in serious danger and had me racing through the book hoping that they were okay. The book isn’t hard to race through, given that my UK edition is only 326 pages. I also really enjoy the fact that this is a complete story but with some hooks to keep me reading the series. I’ll definitely be doing that; Iron Kissed is waiting for me on my TBR pile!
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(Aside: Does anyone else find that generally reviews of series books are much shorter than of others?)
 Howard Belsey is a middle-aged professor teaching at a university, Wellington, that is clearly made up, but also very elite; Howard himself, however, is rapidly becoming a failure between his inability to finish his book and his inability to keep his marriage together after an affair. His family consists of his wife, Kiki, a large black woman who is constantly aware of her race and lack of academic pretensions but who is particularly warm, generous, and loving, his children, Jerome, a recently converted Christian who is disgusted by his father’s affair, Zora, an aspiring poet who tries too hard and wants to be what she is not, and Levi, ashamed of his upper-middle-class family and seeking to rediscover his black heritage by pretending to be from the poorest area in Boston. Directly opposed to the Belseys are the Kipps family, complete with more successful academic father, vague but loving mother, and rebellious children. When the Kippses move to Massachusetts, just down the street from the Belseys, their rivalries collide in a fascinating exploration of race, politics, class, and love.
I really had no idea what to expect from this novel. I had heard mediocre reviews almost everywhere; knowing that there are flaws in a book makes it very easy to put off time and time again. When I started a real effort to read the oldest books in my collection, On Beauty was up there. Those mediocre reviews, it turned out, were to my advantage, because despite my negative expectations I found myself enjoying this book very much. Through Howard and Kiki’s relationship in particular, I really enjoyed how Smith took a good long look at love, marriage, and the problems inherent therein. Obviously, I hope most people don’t have to cheat on their spouses to realize their value; I just thought it was interesting and a bit sad that even though Howard completely loved his wife, he still found himself straying. Not excusable, but perhaps the first book I’ve read that focused on such a tender issue.
Through the character of Levi (and Kiki, to an extent but not as much), the book also examines racism and black heritage. Levi is actually ashamed of his mostly-white neighborhood. He feels that his mother and siblings have thrown away their heritage and he’s on a quest to find the street again, dressing peculiarly, adopting a very strange slang language, and befriending recent immigrants whose cause he immediately begins to champion. As a constrast the novel has Carl, who despite coming from Levi’s imitated background embraces his ability to expand his knowledge as soon as he is given a chance. Carl’s eventual exit from the novel highlights a severe problem for the intelligent who are disadvantaged by income or race.
That isn’t to mention the political tensions between Kipps and Belsey, the ideals of academics – only students who can pay or can we allow in poor students with extraordinary talents? – and the irreparable harm that a breakdown of trust can cause in relationships. Even deeper, Smith uses this novel to think about beauty, especially Kiki’s inner and outer beauty despite the fact that she doesn’t fit the stereotypes and doesn’t fit in with most of the other characters. It comes from somewhere deeper, some part of her personality, and I loved that. This is meant to be a satire (in some ways, this is obvious in the pure ridiculousness of some of the characters’ actions) and I think I failed at recognizing that, but I did enjoy what I got out of this one. I’m glad that I have White Teeth on my TBR pile.
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 Lost at war and suffering from amnesia for seven years, Garrett, duke of Calton, discovers on his return to England that his wife Sophie has married his best friend, Tristan. Worse, he’s been declared legally dead, and Tristan and Sophie are so in love that he walks in on them in bed together. Sophie is astounded and grateful for the return of her first, youthful love, but completely torn between him and Tristan, who has stolen her heart in the meantime. As the men fight for her legally and romantically, Sophie has to make a very difficult decision between the two men she loves most.
This book intrigued me from the start. Honestly, I didn’t see how it was going to work. I’m too used to a romance novel having a specific couple that I know is going to end up together. This one had me antsy, because I had no idea who she was going to end up with at first, and then when I’d chosen who I thought was the “right” one, I worried she was going to pick the other one! I was right, for the record, but it shook me a little because I’d never thought much about what a relief that happily ever after ending is. I read a lot of books without them and when I read a romance, I like the security. This was great, but I’m not sure I’d want it in every romance.
Part of that is because the story is so heartwrenching. Sophie is tortured about these men. She’s thrilled that Garrett’s come back and she still loves him and she is still attracted to him, but in the meantime she has grown and built a life and love with Tristan. She has no idea what to do and the process of her choosing is sometimes agonizing. I don’t think that it’s needlessly drawn out or anything; I definitely felt that all of the scenes were necessary and developed the story enough for her to come to the conclusion that she eventually did. And I liked Sophie and felt her indecision was justified. The men went through a similar process, realizing their place in her life, but they are agonized too. For the most part, this is a whole book of people making tough choices, looking at the love they have for each other and thinking about it.
There is a sketch of a larger story at work, complete with villain, that serves to yank the novel out of the characters’ agony occasionally and force them to focus on something else. I liked this story, actually, even though it was mostly predictable, and felt that its not-so-perfect conclusion was suitable and makes me interested in further novels in the series to see if the problem is resolved. This book certainly comes to an end, but there is that hint of more. The excerpt also reveals that the rejected man is the hero of the next book, which I like, and I’m looking forward to a continuation of his story.
A Hint of Wicked is a great read for any fan of historical romance, but be warned that it isn’t entirely obvious where the book is going until the last third!
Thank you to Keira at Love Romance Passion for sending me her copy!
 Brunin FitzWarin, ten years old, feels like an embarrassment to his family. His grandmother is domineering, his father is never satisfied, and his mother cries often. At a fair, he runs into two older boys, enemies of his father, who beat him mercilessly. As a result, Brunin is sent to be squired at the castle of his father’s best friend, Joscelin de Dinan of Ludlow. There he meets Joscelin’s daughter Hawise, who soon befriends him and helps him live a little outside the shadow of his family. As Brunin grows up, he must find confidence in himself, love with Hawise, and help Henry II to take the English throne.
Elizabeth Chadwick is a fantastic author and I don’t know why I don’t read more of her books. This is another one of my oldest TBR reads and it’s a shame that I let it sit so long. I was immediately drawn into the 12th century to live with these characters in their world. Those characters are truly wonderful. I loved Hawise and both her tomboyish ways as a child and her path towards maturity as a responsible, loving woman. Brunin was a more challenging character; in many ways he has to fight his way to favor both in the book and for the reader. Towards the middle, it becomes easier to feel for him. The timescale of the book over a long period of years suited the characters’ development particularly well, too; it takes us through enough of their lives that we can really get to know them and become interested in the outcome of their stories.
Chadwick has also evoked the period in history brilliantly. The battles are exciting, the behavior of the characters is right in line, and the political drama is played out on a personal scale. Her language is pitch perfect. She uses modern English without any colloqualisms (not any that I spotted) but with medieval words for clothes and objects which we would no longer recognize. All of it is very well done and makes it easy to sink into the world while not forgetting that this is meant to be set 900 or so years ago.
There is quite obviously romance in this book, but it’s one facet among many and feels very natural. The characters deal with family issues, loyalty, illness, unfair and arbitrary laws, and even aging. The outcome of the novel is never assured; the plot moves fairly quickly and the reader is not sure whether there will be a happy ending or not. There is suspense going on at times as well; I know I found myself racing through the pages to make sure that certain characters lived.
There is something here for everyone. Despite its length, it was also a quick read; it’s very easy to get swept away in this historical saga. I’d highly recommend it and I’m really looking forward to my next read by Elizabeth Chadwick.
Amazon UK
 When Roland Mitchell comes across a letter from Randolph Henry Ash to Christabel La Motte in the course of regular research, he is so excited that he takes the letter home with him. Randolph Henry Ash, a nineteenth-century poet, is the subject of Roland’s life work so far, and this new discovery could reveal untold new information about his character. Teaming up with Maud Bailey, who is one of Christabel’s descendants and knows all there is to know about her, they seek to discover the true nature of their relationship, what happened, and why, before the other scholars can do so. Interspersed with their research are poems, letters, and journal entries by the historical characters, shedding light on their minds and hearts as Roland and Maud’s own search leads to similar questions in their lives.
If this book hadn’t been published when I was four years old, I would have sworn that Byatt wrote it with me in mind. It is so perfectly attuned to everything that I love that it’s almost ridiculous. All of my actual academic work has been biographical, and as a result I can understand completely their compulsion to know first, to know best, to possess their subject as no one else can or will. I adore Victorian literature. If it was written in the nineteenth century by a British person, I probably love it, and I can’t tell you why, but it’s true. As a result, there is just no way I couldn’t love this book, and I’m beyond glad that I finally got around to reading it after it sat on my shelf for more than a year.
Perhaps what I loved most about it was the dual set of discoveries that goes on throughout the course of the novel. As Maud and Roland begin to unearth the truth of the relationship between Ash and La Motte, their own lives become clearer to them. As a result, we have a fantastic intertwining of stunning and moving character development in two different centuries, with emotions on both halves of the story that feel real. At times, the story is heartbreaking. The ending, where all this goes, is stunning; the book just gets better and better as the reader goes on. I really can’t express how it took my breath away. All I can say is that it was one of those books that makes all the others worth reading just to get to this one.
If I had any problem with Possession, it probably would have been the poetry. I’m not a huge fan of poetry, so I did expect it to slow me down. Somehow, though, it worked here. Maybe it’s because I was purposely reading slower and could absorb the meaning more, but I loved how it completely fleshed out the way these characters were feeling without explicitly saying anything. Reading the literature that they wrote in addition to their thoughts made Ash and La Motte even more real to me (and that’s saying something considering they’re fictional). It added a whole new layer of depth. If I had been speeding through the book, I would have missed it. Byatt has serious talent.
If you love literature, history, biography, poetry, any of these things, this is not a book to be missed. There is a reason it won the Booker prize and I’m thrilled I finally found another winner that matches my adoration of The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. Possession has firmly earned itself a spot on my favorites list and I look forward to rereadings of it in the future.
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