Lily Bard Mysteries

You may have noticed that I'm a pretty major fan of Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse books.  To tide myself over between Sookies, I've been reading Harris's other books.  She has three other series besides Sookie: The Harper Connelly series (read it) , The Aurora Teagarden series (haven't read it yet) and the Lily Bard "Shakespeare" mysteries.

After surviving a horrific attack, Lily Bard decides to completely remake her life, eventually settling in the town of Shakespeare, Arkansas.  She makes her way by working as a cleaning lady, and she ends up discovering a lot of, well, dirt. Both kinds.  Lily finds herself embroiled in one mystery after another, most often as a bystander, but sometimes as a suspect.

My number one favorite thing about this series is Lily herself.  Despite having a flower name, she is one tough chick.  Plagued by both physical and emotional scars from her attack, Lily is struggling to make a life for herself, one that is actually worth surviving for.  She might not be the most personable character- she's far too introverted for that- but she's one I was rooting for on each and every page.

While Harris is best known for her vamps and fairies, it's worth noting that the Lily Bard mysteries are completely paranormal-free.  And the writing holds up well without the smoke and mirrors!  The pacing is good, the characters are unique and relatable, and the mysteries are nice and juicy.  The tone is definitely on the dark side, but without being depressing. Mystery fans seeking their next read need look no further.  Also a great place to start if you want to check out Charlaine Harris but you're not a fan of paranormal.  Highly recommended!

Correct reading order:

1. Shakespeare's Landlord

2. Shakespeare's Champion
3. Shakespeare's Christmas
4. Shakespeare's Trollop
5. Shakespeare's Counselor

As a bonus (if you're me and you like closure) this series is complete.  Harris states that she will not be writing any more books about Lily, because she just doesn't see any more stories in her head about Lily.

Teaser Tuesday: Shakespeare's Trollop

Today's teaser is from Shakespeare's Trollop by Charlaine Harris:

I wondered if Calla was glad of Deedra's death.  Now there was one less person to come by, one less painted woman to titillate the old man and rob Calla of her possible inheritance.

I wonder, too.  Pop back here Wednesday for my thoughts on the Lily Bard series.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted each week by Should Be Reading.  Thanks a bunch!

Review: Bitten

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Series: Otherworld #1

Summary: Elena is doing everything possible to have a normal life.  She had a great condo in Toronto, an architect boyfriend with a stable family, and a successful career as a journalist.  That picture gets a lot less normal when you factor in that Elena is a werewolf and she periodically needs to hide from her boyfriend so she can take a run in the woods.  But she's trying, OK?  Elena's play for normalcy takes another hit when her pack leader calls her home to deal with a threat to the pack.  Suddenly, Elena's all wrapped up in everything she's been running away from and she's not sure she'll be able to (or want to) escape again.

My thoughts: Since I'm stuck waiting for the next book in Armstrong's YA series to come out, I decided to take her adult fiction for a spin.  My feelings are mixed.

On the positive side, I really liked Elena as a main character.  She's a tough chick from a rough past who's doing her best to be a good person and live a normal life.  I can respect that.  I liked her outlook on life and was oddly charmed by her suspicious nature.  Her life as the only female werewolf in existence isn't an easy one, so I though that the cynicism suited her.  I also enjoyed the various characters of the Pack, and the interactions between them.  One of the facets of werewolf stories that I really enjoy is the intermingling of the human and the animal in different kinds of relationships, and this book does a great job with that.

Things I didn't like:  the exposition went on FOREVER.  There's a ton of cumbersome flashback scenes through the whole book.  It really slowed the otherwise great story.  I also had trouble getting into the Elena-Clay dynamic.  I couldn't figure out why she was attracted to him because he seemed to be such a complete jerk.  It's hard for me to buy into a romance that doesn't have even a shred of tenderness. 

I think the series has promise, so I'm going to read the next book.  Overall, though, I was a little disappointed.

Final word: (3) Decent.  Good heroine, good story.  A little slower-paced than I prefer, and the romance left me wanting a little more.

Content: This book contains graphic sexual content and violence which make it adults-only material, in my opinion.

Tags: werewolves, adults only, urban fantasy, paranormal, canadian author

I Heart Banned Books

It's Banned Books Week!  Every year, people try to remove great books like Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson from libraries across the country.  Show your support for the freedom to read by visiting the ALA store or with one or more of these fantastic Etsy finds:

Banned Books Necklace by polarity

I READ BANNED BOOKS pins by KateBlack

Reading Journal by ivylanedesigns

Review: Plain Kate

Author: Erin Bow (2010)

Summary: (Goodreads) Plain Kate lives in a world of superstitions and curses, where a song can heal a wound and a shadow can work deep magic. As the wood-carver's daughter, Kate held a carving knife before a spoon, and her wooden talismans are so fine that some even call her “witch-blade”: a dangerous nickname in a country where witches are hunted and burned in the square.

For Kate and her village have fallen on hard times. Kate’s father has died, leaving her alone in the world. And a mysterious fog now covers the countryside, ruining crops and spreading fear of hunger and sickness. The townspeople are looking for someone to blame, and their eyes have fallen on Kate.

Enter Linay, a stranger with a proposition: In exchange for her shadow, he’ll give Kate the means to escape the angry town, and what’s more, he’ll grant her heart’s wish. It’s a chance for her to start over, to find a home, a family, a place to belong. But Kate soon realizes she can't live shadowless forever -- and that Linay's designs are darker than she ever dreamed.

My thoughts:   This book started off a little slowly for me.  Then the cat started talking and everything was golden from there on in.  I was completely enraptured by this story.  I laughed, I cried, I even found myself holding my breath at times. 

Erin Bow has drawn from the threads of Russian folklore to weave a rich and beautiful story world.  Katerina Svetlana (nicknamed "Plain Kate") lives in a land full of superstitious peasants, dark magics and mysterious gypsies.  And also the aforementioned talking cat.  Did I mention that I loved the cat?  The writing is perfect.  Each and every setting has a detail that makes it memorable, without the prose being so wordy as to leave you bored. 

When Kate is accused of being a witch and forced to leave her hometown, she makes a bargain with the magician Linay.  Her shadow for aid on her journey.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, but as Kate begins to understand the implications, she realizes that she may have unleashed a terrible curse on the entire country.  What follows is a powerful story that should capture even the most jaded reader.  The stories are different, but the feeling is akin to a less-traumatic Tender Morsels. 
Final word: (5/5) Definitely not plain.  Kate is spectacular!

Interview: Erin Bow (and a giveaway)

Today I'm playing host to author Erin Bow.  She's a Canadian, a mother, and a poet, among other things.  Erin's debut YA novel, Plain Kate, released this month.  My review will be posting tomorrow, but first, let's get to know the author!

NotNessie: Let's play Three Truths and a Lie. Tell me four facts about yourself, one of which is fictional, and we'll try to guess which is which. (Readers, you'll find the answer at the bottom of this post.)
Erin Bow:
1. My writing office is in the spare room of a pole dancing studio. It's painted bordello red with black trim.
2. I can describe a jaw-dropping variety of sexual acts in Latin.
3. I name my cats after the muses. I've had five over my life, so the current feline is stuck with "Polyhymnia."
4. I can rattle off the the names, charges, and iso-spins of all six quarks.

NN: I'm always interested to know how authors spend their time when they aren't writing. What does a typical day in your life look like?

EB: My husband James Bow is also a YA writer, and we have two little girls, Eleanor, who's two, and Vivian, who's four and a half. We get up early -- which would not be my preference, but a four-year-old is a good alarm clock -- and bustle around a little, getting Vivi to school and Nora ready for the day. Then I take my bike and ride 3 clicks downtown to my writing office, where I work until the end of the school day. My office is so marvellous! It's the best thing I ever did for my writer-self.

I like coming home at 3:00 or 4:00, because I love to cook, and it's hard to do a decent job of cooking when you get home at 5:00 and kids want to be fed at 5:30. So I cook. I stick James with the clean up and take the kids outside for a few hours. We muck about in the garden or decorate the street with chalk or go to the condo playground, where Nora likes to dig sand and Vivi likes to assemble a small team of other children and lead them on a mission. We go inside and shuffle kids and books and baths and beds. After bedtime the grownups sometimes watch a video, but more usually try to catch up on blogs and social media.

It's a ridiculously dull and domestic little life. I never pictured myself having one of those, but it suits me.

NN: It's curious how often life works out that way =o)

When writing PLAIN KATE, did you begin with a story, a character, or something else entirely? What was the spark that started the fire?

EB: I think most writers have something that's "given" -- the part of the book they don't have to work for. For me, it's a character and a set-up. From the instant I started PLAIN KATE, I had knew Kate was an orphaned wood carver who would sell her shadow and whose cat would talk. Who she sold the shadow to, and why, and what she and the cat did after -- the whole rest of the book -- I fumbled and scribbled and slowly tried to figure out. But Kate herself and these essential facts about her just stepped into my head, real as real, a gift from wherever these gifts come from.

NN: What do you hope readers will take away with them after finishing your book?

EB: I hope to provoke the ending sigh. You know the ending sigh? The one where you close the cover and sigh and think: Oh, I just read a book.

NN: How does your mindset change when writing for young adults rather than adults?

EB: I don't think it does change. The thing is -- and don't tell my publisher -- I don't really write for young adults. I write for myself. I write the book I want to read.

As it happens, I like to read YA, and I like to read fantasy. There aren't enough books like, say, LeGuin's EARTHSEA or Beagle's THE LAST UNICORN, so I have set out to try to write more. Who ends up reading them doesn't seem like something I should worry about while writing.

NN: THE LAST UNICORN is a favorite of mine from way back.  Another book with a fabulous talking cat.

What were the best and worst bits of the writing/publishing process for you?

EB:  The worst part of writing is those days when you sit down and you'd rather surf the internet, you'd rather scrub the toilet, you'd rather chew off your own foot than write. There are times in my writing life when this inertia is tremendous. When I feel like a fraud and a failure. When every word has to get dragged onto the page, where it lies still, panting and looking at you reproachfully.

The best part is the days where you actually create something and it's whole and real. Sometimes, oddly, those are the same days where you begin by chewing off your foot.

Also good: selling the book and ditching the day job. Holding the finished book in your hand for the first time. And hearing from readers.

NN: Can you tell us a little bit about your next work in progress?

EB: Sure. It's called SORROW'S KNOT, and it's almost done. Here's the pitch:

In the world of Sorrow’s Knot, the dead do not rest easy. Every patch of shadow might be home to something hungry and nearly invisible, something deadly. The dead can only be repelled with magically knotted cords and yarns. The women who tie these knots are called binders.

Otter is the daughter of Willow, a binder of great power. She's a proud and privileged girl who takes it for granted that she will be a binder some day herself. But when Willow's power begins to turn inward and tear her apart, Otter finds herself trapped with a responsibility she's not ready for, and a power she no longer wants.

NN: What is the last book you absolutely loved and think everyone should read?

EB: I'm probably going to sound like a pedant, but I think I have to pick Animal Vegetable Miracle, a non-fiction book about ways of eating and cooking that are in harmony with what one (or one's neighbours) can actually grow.

I like nonfiction. There's nothing like it for shaking up the way you see the world. Animal Vegetable Miracle changed the way I think in the kitchen, and is informing how I treat food in my fiction. My fantasy characters are never going to be the ones eating Dwarven Waybread and Suspiciously Generic Stew.

If I were going to pick a YA, it might be HOW I LIVE NOW, by Meg Rosoff. I've bought seven copies of that to give to friends and spread the word. And that was before she blurbed me!

NN: Suspiciously Generic Stew?  LOL!  I've actually never thought about that before, but now I'm sure I'll notice it all the time.  Thank you so much for doing this interview with me, Erin!  It's been fun.
Erin's Truths and Lie

1. The Bordello Office: Truth. The sublease is cheap, and the dancers are only here at night.

2. Classic Sex: Truth. I'm working on a book of poems based on the poems of Catullus, which has expanded greatly on the vocabulary once taught to me by Sister Mary Catherine.

3. The Muse of Cats: A lie. My cat is named Augustus Asparagus, First Cat of the Empire -- Gus for short.

4. Quarks: Truth. I haven't retained much of my ridiculous education in particle physics, but this is still rattling around in the brain.

Thirsty for more?  Check out Erin's website.  Erin will also be appearing at the Word on the Street festival in Kitchener, ON.  It's this weekend, Sept. 26.  If you live in the area, you should definitely stop by!

GIVEAWAY

Courtesy of Scholastic Canada, I have one copy of PLAIN KATE to give away to a reader who lives in Canada. To enter, leave a relevant comment on this post, and then fill out  THIS FORM. You must comment and fill out the form for your entry to count.  Contest closes at 11:59 PM on Sept. 29, 2010.  Good luck!

Teaser Tuesday: Plain Kate

Today's teaser is from Plain Kate  by Erin Bow.

Taggle was absorbed in the meat pie. "It's covered in bread," he huffed.  "What fool has covered meat with bread?" He batted the crust, then sprang back as it broke, and began licking gravy off his paw.  "Ooooo," he purred.  "Ooooo, good."

"Taggle," gulped Kate, again.

The cat looked up from his licking.  "Oh.  Well.  I could share.  There is bread you might like."

Taggle is my favorite talking cat, ever.   And isn't the book cover gorgeous?  Tune in tomorrow and the next day for more about this book!

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Should Be Reading.

SPEAK LOUDLY

If you spend any time in the book blogosphere, you'll have heard about Wesley Scroggins and his desire to ban Laurie Halse Anderson's SPEAK from school library shelves.  Anderson's SPEAK is about a teen girl named Melinda.  Melinda is raped, and she's too afraid to talk about it.  The book is about her finding the courage to speak out and move from being a victim to being a survivor. If you're like me, your normal reaction to someone attempting to ban books from schools is an eye roll and muttering under your breath about wackos and people with too much time on their hands.  It's annoying, but there are crazies everywhere.  In this case, though, I just had to speak up.

First and foremost, I am deeply disburbed by Scroggins' assertion that he wants to ban this book because it is "pornographic."  Think about that.  For this book to be porn, you'd have to find rape sexually exciting.   I'm not sure what kind of a person, other than a rapist, finds rape arousing.  I'd like to think most of us find it profoundly abhorrent.

While I haven't read SPEAK myself, I've read reviews and talked to a lot of people who have read it.  And let me tell you, this book affects people, deeply.  It helps people.  It opens minds and hearts.  Melinda's story has given countless victims the courage to speak out for themselves, to truly live and survive.  I can't believe that Mr. Scroggins in his review of the book has so completely missed the point of the story.  Even if you don't completely agree with everything portrayed in the book (because, of course, writing about teenagers in a realistic instead of idealistic way is completely unacceptable), I have to believe that if the story helps even one victim of rape to heal her wounds, it has worth and we would be wrong to keep it out of the classroom.

On book censorship in general: My parents gave me a great gift when they allowed me to choose my own reading materials.  They let me find stories that spoke to me, that affected and changed me.  Was that scary for them?  As a parent, I'm guessing it probably was.  It's hard to let go of your illusion of control over what goes into your child's mind.  But if you don't eventually hand over that control, I think you not only alienate your child, but you (at least try to) deny them the freedom to become a person in their own right.  Mr. Scroggins and others of his ilk need to take a good hard look at their own minds and prejudices before they jump in and try to control something that they really have no business with.

You can read Scroggin's opinion piece here, and Laurie Halse Anderson's response here.

I am far from being the only book blogger with an opinion about this. Here are a few more:
Book Crazy
Escape Through the Pages
Lisa and Laura Write (comment on their post and copies of SPEAK will be donated to libraries!)
Reclusive Bibliophile (many more posts linked here)

Review: Paranormalcy

Author: Kiersten White (2010)

Series: Paranormalcy #1

Summary: Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal. Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures. (from Goodreads)
My thoughts: I have been following Kiersten White's blog for a while now.  It's one of my favorites.  Her sense of humor always gives me a good chuckle.  So, naturally, her debut novel has been on my must-read list for a while. 

The witty writing style is definitely the star of the show as far as I'm concerned.  Just about every page has some little quip, comment, or description that made me smile.  I think my favorite one is the way Evie's best friend (a mermaid who has her comments translated by an uncooperative computer) swears: "Oh, bleep." 

I also love Evie's take on the paranormal world she lives in.  Vampires are desiccated corpses with a sexy glamour covering it up. Werewolves are not fun and friendly, but best suited for jobs in the security field.  Faeries are pure evil with a slick of pretty on top.  And don't even get me started on the hags.  Evie wants nothing more than to distance herself from everything supernatural and be just a normal girl.  So when she starts to realize that she might not be as entirely human as she thought she was, she's far more frightened than she's ever been of a mere vampire. Actually, I may never be able to think about vampires the same way after reading this book =o)

My only real complaint here is that the story is a little generic in some ways.  If not for White's snappy writing, this book wouldn't really stand out at all.  As it is, though, you've got a great read for fans of YA paranormals.

Final word: (3.5/5) Fun times!  Guaranteed to make you laugh and terrify you at almost the same time.

Tags: young adult, urban fantasy, vampires, werewolves, fairies

Review: Sea Glass

Author: Maria V. Snyder (2009)

Series: Glass #2

This review contains some spoilers for Storm Glass.

Summary: Opal Cowan has a new talent.  She can steal the power of other magicians, leaving them completely ordinary.  While just about everyone would like to use her as a weapon, her talent is not making her very popular with the right people.  Meanwhile, Opal is convinced that her lover Ulrick has been soul-switched with her enemy Devlen, and she is determined to switch him back.  But when everyone thinks she's crazy, and no one has any clue where the real Ulrick is, that might be even more difficult to accomplish than it sounds.

My thoughts:  My main problem with this book can be boiled down to one sentance: Opal is whiny.  She feels so freaking sorry for herself that there was no room for me to feel sorry for her. 

The other problem is that this is definitely a middle book.  While quite a bit goes on, very little really happens.  Plenty of wandering around, introduction of several ideas that area going to be important later, but not a whole lot of importance gets accomplished.

Other than that, though, it's a pretty good story.  I'm really enjoying the way Devlen's character is moving along, in particular.  Is he a good guy, or is he just pretending?  I'm not sure yet, and neither is Opal, which is keeping us both very confused.  My favorite part of this book is the bit with Janco, who I loved in the Study books.  Too bad Opal already has more love interests than she needs...

Final word: (3.5) Somewhat meandering, but otherwise enjoyable.

Tags: fantasy, young adult

Links:

Add to your Goodreads.

Purchase from Amazon.
Website for Maria V. Snyder

A Bit of Me(Me)

A Bit of Me(Me) is hosted each week by the 1stdaughter @ There's A Book.  Here's what she has to say about it:
We all leave our “footprint” on the world, in one way or another. We each, individually, do something or are someone that makes the world a little better just by being here. I created this weekly meme to get to know the blogging community I love just a bit better. To know what makes them tick, outside of books, that is.

This week's question: Who is a famous person (dead or alive) that you admire? And why?

I'm having a hard time coming up with a single answer to this question, but here are a few ideas of varying seriousness and in no particular order. Possibly the only list in the world where you will find Mother Theresa, Lady Gaga, and CS Lewis rubbing elbows.

Barack Obama, for changing himself from an politician of very little personality to a force of nature.

Stephenie Meyer, an inspiration for stay-at-home moms everywhere.

Mother Theresa, for obvious reasons.

Julia Roberts, for daring to age gracefully and naturally.  One of the few female stars aged 40+ with a face that still moves.

Lady Gaga, for sheer audacity in the fashion arena.

C S Lewis, for writing incredible books that continue to inspire people long after his death.  Til We Have Faces is one of my all time favorites.

Who do you admire?

Blogmania winners

Wow!  What a fun couple of days.  I entered lots and lots of contests and found a ton of great new blogs to follow.  Sorting through my contest entries has been less fun, but I managed to count them all up and draw three winners using random.org. The winners (and their #1 book choices) are:

malleycc (Raised by Wolves)

A Green Star Mom (A Tailor Made Bride)

kiwimum (The Assassins of Tamurin)

This is how your book selection will work. It luckily worked out that all three of you named different books as the one you're most excited to win.  So you'll each be getting your #1 pick, and I'll be emailing you in turn to get your mailing address and let you pick your other two books.  You'll be hearing from me in the next couple of days, so keep an eye on your inbox.

Welcome to all my new followers!

BLOGMANIA GIVEAWAY

Welcome to my Blogmania giveaway!  I'm super excited to be participating in such a great event.   My giveaway theme is "Adventures in Reading" and I'm offering you the chance to enjoy a few fantastic reading adventures!  The following NINE books are up for grabs

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

The Assassins of Tamurin by S.D. Tower

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake - Sarah Maclean

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman

Death's Excellent Vacation - Various Authors

A Tailor-Made Bride by Karen Witemeyer

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

CONTEST NOW CLOSED

After you enter this contest, be sure to move on to another Blogmania blog:

Teaser Tuesday: The Looking Glass Wars

Today's teaser comes from The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor:

Seething with anger, Redd strode toward the South Dining Room, paying no attention to the explosions going off the left and right of her, the palace guardsmen falling dead at the hands of her soldiers.  She stood in the ruins, face-to-face with her sister at last, and screamed her head off. 

She would kill them all.

Whoa. Crazy lady alert!

Teaser Tuesday is hosted at Should Be Reading.

Review: Heat Wave

Author: "Richard Castle" (2009)

The backstory:  If you're familiar with the TV show Castle, you know it's about a novelist, Richard Castle, who is following around a police detective as research for his new book.  This is the book!  It's a fictional author writing a fictionalized version of fictional characters. 

My thoughts:  Like the TV show, this novel is funny and full of witty one-liners.  The book is very much like the show.  Or, at least, it's like the show as Castle wishes it would be.   And all your favorite characters are there, albeit under different names.  You'll quickly recognize the intrepid reporter Jameson Rook (Rook, Castle, get it?) and of course the detectives Heat, Raley and Ochoa.  

For the non-Castle fan, I don't know if this book would cut the mustard.  I did enjoy the story itself, though the plot isn't as thick as you'd like it to be in a mystery.  But Castle fans will surely enjoy.  And you should all be Castle fans.

More fun.  If your Castle craving just can't wait, you can read full chapters of Naked Heat (book 2) right now .  So far, there are seven chapters posted.  Wonder why Castle needed to figure out how Nikki Heat can escape being duct taped to a chair?  Read on!