Queen of the Dead by Stacy Kade

***I'm playing catch-up in a major way these days, so these reviews will be shorter than normal. Don't hold it against me. I am still only reviewing books I enjoyed - so the length of the review does not reflect my enjoyment level, just my memory and abhorrence for spoilers.)

This is book two in the Ghost and The Goth series and I loved it. These two have great (if reluctant) chemistry and there is plenty of it in this book. Without giving away too much, let's just say that another girl is thrown into the mix and she holds information into Will's past and abilities. There is much peril, suspense, some hauntings, some exorcisms, and some good old-fashioned banter. The third book is out May 1st, if you're a fan of Alona and Will (or you're looking for some good beach reading) pick up this one and then that one (but start with The Ghost and the Goth if you're new to the series.)

Dangerous to Know by Tasha Alexander

This is the fourth book in this series, but only the second that I have read. The previous one, Tears of Pearl, I read and enjoyed so much that when I saw this on the shelf at the library I snatched it up and dragged my son (and all our stuff) back to the checkout so I could take it home and read it. It took me a matter of hours to devour it (spread in 20-30 minute increments over a few days - I have a toddler) and I'm considering doing something I almost never do: reading the series out of order. (The other series that I've discovered in the middle and then gone back to the start being The Home Repair is Homicide series - mostly if I discover it's a series I either just pick it up in the middle or hold off on the latest installment until I've caught up.) 

One of the blurbs on the back states that Alexander is perfect for fans of Laurie R. King and I agree - she's following the same vein: real people interspersed with her creations, a capable female protagonist who was very "modern" for the times she's living in...but by my math King is writing a full 40-50 years after Lady Emily's adventures. Still, the heroines are intelligent and scrappy (sorry, they are) and constantly proving people wrong by being stronger than their gender suggests. 

This installment takes place in France, opens with a dead body, and follows a twisty tale of madness, misconception  and a WASPy (were there WASPS in Victorian France?) ability to not acknowledge unpleasantness. I had an inkling of where the story was headed and got there just ahead of our heroine, but I won't hold that against Alexander. I'm well read in these Novels of Suspense. 

There are two things I particularly like about the series:

1) her use of real people lend credence to the possibility of these stories actually happening. Monet makes an appearance in this one, for example. She also has a firm grasp on the dress and social niceties that existed at the time. Every now and again, you can almost hear the crinolines rustling through the paragraphs.

2) her subtlety in the romantic scene department. I enjoy a good romp, but after watching people make out at the lunch table in high school (I wish I were kidding) and then a glut of Sex and the City, I have to admit that witnessing serious snogging - even if it's just being described to me - is a huge turnoff. There is obvious romance and intimacy and a healthy relationship happening between Lady Emily and her Husband, but it is alluded to and even then it is mostly for the purposes of illustrating other more pressing plot points. It's well-done, at any rate.

So if historical romantic suspenseful murder mysteries are your thing - pick these up. But maybe start at the beginning so you don't find yourself in my quandary. 

Oh, but maybe I won't go back just yet - there's a new one out at the end of Oct...or maybe I should read the first two *very* quickly so I can have all the backstory I need...decisions, decisions...

Enlightenment For Idiots by Anne Cushman

This one would have been a perfect beach read. If you live in a part of the world where the weather is behaving in a seasonally appropriate manner, then this is a nice book to read whilst curled on the couch in front of a fire with a steaming mug of (chai) tea...and a cat on your feet. Cats are the ultimate feet-warmers.

Enlightenment for Idiots is Cushman's debut novel. She is a regular contributor to Yoga Journal so I was already vaguely familiar with her voice and not at all surprised at the hobby and career path of the heroine. Amanda is working on her yoga teaching credentials while writing a series of "... for Idiots" books. While in the past they have been travel-oriented, eg: Napa For Idiots, her editor Maxine has a fabulous idea: send Amanda to India to become enlightened.

I have to admit that there is a bit of a cliche trap: Amanda is in the off-again cycle of a tempestuous relationship with a man she can't help loving. Her bills are piling up and she's staring at 30. She has mad-cap roommates, a best friend who is fully together, and a mother who has failed her. If the book had been more food oriented it would have been white noise and gotten lost in the crowd. Also, the fact that Amanda is so consciously desperate for enlightenment saves us all from having to pretend that she's just there to take in the sights and eat some yummy food.

There's a bit of food, but only as it relates to yogi chores at ashrams and the fact that people have to eat to live and she's in India where eating can be an adventure. More interestingly are the people she meets on the way: A sadhu who refers to himself in the 1st person plural is my favorite and I am satisfied with the way their relationship worked out. Various gurus and fellow enlightenment-seekers pepper Amanda's journey and provide a yardstick against which Amanda (and the readers) measures her life.

All of the advice given to Amanda is sound, and can be removed from its context and applied to your own life - a nice bonus for a Dessert Novel. You may (or may not) be enlightened when you close the book, but if you don't pause and reflect as you read asana* descriptions and quotations from the great Wise Men then you're not really paying attention.

While in danger of being trite at times, Enlightenment for Idiots avoids being a cliche, and lands firmly in enjoyable, heartwarming, and inspiring. If nothing else, it has rekindled my desire to visit India. Enjoy!


*asana = yoga postures.

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips

 

 This is a beach read if I’ve ever encountered one. It’s also good for reading in the bath and while nursing, if it happens to be winter still and you’re not on the beach.

Here’s the basic premise: despite all of the other religions that have come and gone, the real one is that of the Ancient Greeks and a handful of their gods have been displaced from Olympus to a grimy old house in London, where they spend their days being bored, bickering, meddling in each other’s lives, and trying to keep the planet going. The problem is, they can’t have every Tom, Dick, and Mortal knowing about them so they’re relegated to crap jobs like walking dogs (Artemis) and hosting x-rated phone calls (Aphrodite.) They also have lots of sex. Consider yourself warned.

Of course, that would get boring quickly, so Phillips has thrown into some mortals to move the plot along. Alice and Neil find themselves inexplicably intertwined with a love-stuck Apollo (I told you the gods were bored and meddling with each other) and his entire family.

Like I said -this is a beach read so there aren’t any great epiphanies, although Phillips appears to have done her homework and what little there is to fact check is accurate. It’s a fun little romp through what might have been had the Greeks gotten it all right. (And really - who’s to say they didn’t?) I did get little kicks here and there from the lows the gods went to over each other, but Alice’s demureness started to grate after a while. The other little beef I had was that there was a lot of set up and then the thick of the plot felt rushed at the end. I could have used more epilogue, too.

There doesn’t feel like there’s room for a sequel here, but that’s ok. I’ll pick up whatever Phillips publishes next and make sure I have a nice little cocktail to drink while I read it.

Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern

[ed note: the cover of my galley copy is not nearly this cute.]

This release (available in October) says that it’s appropriate for ages 13 and up. I’m gonna bump that to 14. High School Freshmen. Because while it is engaging and funny and endearing and relatable -- there is adult language and some adult situations that these 14 and 15 year olds find themselves in. Just sayin’.

Jessie, our heroine and narrator, is looking forward to the start of the school year. She has two best friends, an older brother who is part of the Cool Punk Scene, and a nice back-stock of funny/irreverent skirts that she has spent all summer making because she is - and I quote - “A fan of funny clothing.” She makes these cute little ironic skirts while listening to audio books about doom and death (Stephen King, and a few post-apocalyptic numbers) and she is looking forward to adding pre-calculus homework and girls nights to these two activities.

Of course - if things worked out that way we’d all be bored. So, as with all good coming of age novels, Things Go Wrong. Her “best friends” turn up “punk” overnight and start to obviously use her. There is even The Biggest Girlfriend Transgression a 15 year old can commit (I don’t want to give it away because it’s a major plot point, but I’m sure you can guess.) It quickly becomes clear to Jessie that these girls are not her friends. Or, at the very least, they’re not people she wants to be friends with any more.

So Jessie starts out on what my English professors always called a “Rite of Passage” - trying to find her own identity while keeping her own humorous outlook on the world - and come to terms with the fact that her Cool Punk Brother is doing the same thing - and she starts to socialize with other groups of new people. She also - gasp - starts to see her family in a new light.

Halpern (who works as a school librarian for the very age group this book is targeted at) has the vernacular down. Will it seem dated in 10-15 years? I hope not. Or if it does, I hope it’s dated in a Judy Blume way...where you don’t really notice because the story is so darn good and you know Exactly How Jessie Feels. Because I think a lot of girls do. And will, once they read this. She’s certainly a unique character (audio books and funny skirts, anyone?) but she’s also a recognizable one. Even for us girls who are twice her age.

[ps - I think that this would even be a good read for moms...she might just be this generation's Judy Blume. So pick it up and understand your daughter that much better.]

Paradise Lost: A Private Novel, By Kate Brian

Revelation (the previous Private novel) did two things: it wrapped up a plot which was dangerously close to having been drawn out too long and it ended in such a way that when I turned the last page hoping (in vain) for more I let out an audible “Argh!” Two months later Paradise Lost is released and we discover that (spoiler alert!) our favorite Glass-Licker is not dead. Ok, that’s only slightly a spoiler since the series is written in first person and as long as there is news of the next book in the series there’s a good chance she won’t die. I might have to eat those words one of these days.

The “Paradise” in question is St. Barths, where Reed is “dragged” by Noelle, Kiran, and an apologetic Tiffany (apologetic for things which happened in previous novels.) Since we all know that you don’t say No to Noelle, Reed finds herself on the Lange jet heading to stay at the Lange beach house over Christmas vacation. All of this is an attempt to take her mind off of the recent events, namely lots of stalking, deception, being ostracized by the aforementioned Noelle, Kiran, and Tiffany, and death. (This is not Gossip Girl, despite the abundance of couture, underage drinking, and sex.) The group of girls expands to include the previously removed to public-school Taylor, who is not only alive but appears to be thriving outside of the strict confines of Easton Academy and Billings Hall.

Between the shopping, lounging on the beach, and being generally paranoid, Reed finds herself drawn into what the rest of the girls call “The Upton Game,” the goal of which is to be the first girl of the group to “hook up” with Upton Giles who is, according to Noelle, the hottest man on the planet.

Because this is Fun Vacation Reed, she decides to let the other girls have the drama of the chase and just relax. Until she sees him. Naturally, Teen Romance ensues. On its heels are Teen Jealousy, Teen BackStabbing, Teen Pranks, and Teen Paranoia...all sprinkled amidst island fun which includes everything from jet skiing to Casino Night in Couture. And don’t forget the cliff-hanger at the end. The one that sent me to computer to see when the next book is coming out. (No answer on that one.)

I’ve read this entire series, including the prequel. I find the characters believable and the plot engaging. We all knew the rich girls at school who seemed charmed, the boy who was a bit lecherous and the shy boys, the athletes, the whiny-eager-to-please puggle girl (I quoted the book on that one because it fits so well) and in their Private incarnations they could feel two-dimensional...ok I’m not going to lie: some of them do. Luckily for us, Brian has kept those in the background, only showing up to give you a feel for the Very Large Group of privileged teens romping on the island with Reed. The characters in the a-plot, certainly ten books into the series, all feel well rounded to the point that Taylor popping up on the island was like an old friend showing up unexpectedly.

Now when does that next book come out…?