When Passion Rules by Johanna Lindsey
Johanna Lindsey's novel was initially confusing since the location is the fictional kingdom of Lubinia which is somewhere East of Austria but the novel is set twenty years after the Napoleonic Wars. Luckily the plot was intriguing enough to make up for the borderline fantasy location. Alana (the main female character) is brought up to think she's nothing special, although extremely well educated, only to find out she's actually the abducted princess of Lubinia instead of the assassinated in the cradle princess. She and her former assassin turned guardian travel to Lubinia from London to prove her identity and prevent a civil war, except the main male character, Christopher Becker, the captain of the palace guards imprisons her as an impostor. Drama ensues as Alana and Christopher bicker their way through assassination attempts on Alana's life while trying to prove that Alana is or isn't the missing princess. The twists in the plot make this novel a fast and entertaining read even if the location is too fanciful for me and the use of contemporary language makes random and jarring appearances and the title is cliche.
February 27, 2012
February 20, 2012
Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences: Phoenix Rising
Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
A very refreshing novel featuring Steampunk themes and incredibly poetic writing. The authors are able to seamlessly blend late nineteenth century vocabulary with modern to create a very reader friendly story with the language expected from Dickens and Austen but the brevity of modern sentence structure. Set during Queen Victoria's reign Agent Wellington Books and Agent Eliza Braun are the unlikely partners who discover the nefarious actions of the underground Phoenix Society which has steered every major political change within the British Empire since the Romans. The relationship between Books and Braun is tense and occasionally hostile since Agent Braun was reassigned from active fieldwork to the Archives under the supervision of Agent Books the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences' methodical and uptight Archivist. Although their initial investigation surrounds the gruesome deaths of factory workers that were originally investigated by Miss Braun and her former partner, whose untimely descent into madness halted the case, the connection between the Phoenix Society and the murders soon crop up. The mixture of strict Victorian expectations and fanciful technology give this novel something very unique and exciting in its structure and plot. I can't wait to find a sequel or similar novels.
A very refreshing novel featuring Steampunk themes and incredibly poetic writing. The authors are able to seamlessly blend late nineteenth century vocabulary with modern to create a very reader friendly story with the language expected from Dickens and Austen but the brevity of modern sentence structure. Set during Queen Victoria's reign Agent Wellington Books and Agent Eliza Braun are the unlikely partners who discover the nefarious actions of the underground Phoenix Society which has steered every major political change within the British Empire since the Romans. The relationship between Books and Braun is tense and occasionally hostile since Agent Braun was reassigned from active fieldwork to the Archives under the supervision of Agent Books the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences' methodical and uptight Archivist. Although their initial investigation surrounds the gruesome deaths of factory workers that were originally investigated by Miss Braun and her former partner, whose untimely descent into madness halted the case, the connection between the Phoenix Society and the murders soon crop up. The mixture of strict Victorian expectations and fanciful technology give this novel something very unique and exciting in its structure and plot. I can't wait to find a sequel or similar novels.
February 14, 2012
Sticks and Scones by Diane Mott Davidson
Sticks and Scones by Diane Mott Davidson
A modern mystery set in Colorado with a caterer, Goldy Schultz, as the narrator and main character who can't keep her nose out of other people's business. This inability to keep from asking questions leads Goldy into some life threatening situations as living room window is shot out, she stumbles over a charred body, sees her husband shot, is knocked over the head by a thief, and that's all in the first 50 pages. Although I'm having issues with books written in first person, the novel is well written and thought out, and with so many possible murderers and thieves the reader isn't sure whose done what. The main mysteries, there are about four minor ones too, are Who Stole the Queen Victoria Stamps? and Who Shot Tom? (Goldy's husband). Since the main character is a caterer there is a lot of talk surrounding cooking and the author inserts a half dozen recipes as they are spoken about by Goldy to her clients. Having the recipes (which I plan to try at some point) makes Goldy seem a bit more like a real person, since the novel follows her day to day activities and a takes place in a three day period leading up to Valentine's Day which is why this post is so appropriate.
Since today is Valentines and my review surrounds the antics of a caterer I thought I'd share the recipes I'm using today on my husband. Breakfast was Blueberry Streusel Scones and English Breakfast tea (of course), Lunch was Mushroom Tart, and Dinner will be Chicken Parmigiana, salad, and Triple-Chocolate Cheesecake.
A modern mystery set in Colorado with a caterer, Goldy Schultz, as the narrator and main character who can't keep her nose out of other people's business. This inability to keep from asking questions leads Goldy into some life threatening situations as living room window is shot out, she stumbles over a charred body, sees her husband shot, is knocked over the head by a thief, and that's all in the first 50 pages. Although I'm having issues with books written in first person, the novel is well written and thought out, and with so many possible murderers and thieves the reader isn't sure whose done what. The main mysteries, there are about four minor ones too, are Who Stole the Queen Victoria Stamps? and Who Shot Tom? (Goldy's husband). Since the main character is a caterer there is a lot of talk surrounding cooking and the author inserts a half dozen recipes as they are spoken about by Goldy to her clients. Having the recipes (which I plan to try at some point) makes Goldy seem a bit more like a real person, since the novel follows her day to day activities and a takes place in a three day period leading up to Valentine's Day which is why this post is so appropriate.
Since today is Valentines and my review surrounds the antics of a caterer I thought I'd share the recipes I'm using today on my husband. Breakfast was Blueberry Streusel Scones and English Breakfast tea (of course), Lunch was Mushroom Tart, and Dinner will be Chicken Parmigiana, salad, and Triple-Chocolate Cheesecake.
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