Romancing the Inventor

Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one is for everyone who loved the character of Genevieve Lefoux in the Parasol Protectorate (or Vieve in the Finishing School series) and wanted to see her find love.

A character-driven novella wherein Imogene Hale takes a job as a parlourmaid for Countess Nadasdy's vampire hive in an effort to help feed her mother and siblings whilst simultaneously avoiding matrimony. Imogene never imagined she'd meet the love of her life: the eccentric inventor busily creating things in the hive's potting shed. The course of true love never did run smooth, though, and this love must navigate hurdles both external and internal--from a vindictive footman and vicious vampires to Genevieve's disastrous relationship history.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary, setting secondary. Plenty of sexual tension, but only a couple of not-explicit lesbian sex scenes. Some physical abuse from the footman and vampire queen. Alexia and the Woolsey pack make several delightful appearances, and the wicker chicken has a cameo. A couple of mild historical swear words. It's best to have read at least the Parasol Protectorate series first to understand the nuances of the setting and characters.

View all my reviews

Summoned to Thirteenth Grave

Summoned to Thirteenth Grave by Darynda Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After a hundred years, give or take, in featureless dimension with only wraiths for company, Charley is back on planet Earth! In the Sahara Desert, to be exact. But not for long, because the hell dimension she and Reyes accidentally opened in their apartment is spreading. Rapidly. And demons are infecting dozens of innocent humans, sometimes with fatal consequences. Time to gather her pals, both human and supernatural, and figure out a way to close the Shade dimension back up again before it swallows the planet and all of the coffee in the universe. Which would be a catastrophe of decaffeinated proportions.

The last book in the series! Thankfully, Ms. Jones leaves the door wide open for a spin-off series...most likely featuring Beep. Whew!

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways are strong. It's also got a language doorway (humor) for those who enjoy Charley's wise-cracking dialogue and have a high tolerance for profanity, including the "c" word that I personally loathe and wish had been omitted. There are descriptions of violence as demons (and a lion) rip people and ghosts to bits, and there are some steamy sex scenes.

Many many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eGalley copy in exchange for my honest review.

View all my reviews

Prudence

Prudence by Gail Carriger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Alexia and Conall Maccon's daughter Prudence is (mostly) grown up now. So what better way to demonstrate her independence than to be tasked by her adoptive father to travel by dirigible to India to set up a new tea business that circumvents the East India Company? The need for secrecy regarding the tea causes no little confusion when the trip takes a decidedly more political...and supernatural...turn. Suddenly Rue and her friends are in the middle of a pitched battle, trying to prevent a war.

Although I enjoyed this first book in the Custard Protocol series, it didn't quite grab me the way the Parasol Protectorate did. I connected more with Alexia than I did with Rue, perhaps in part due to Rue's tendency toward heedlessness. The other characters never fully gelled for me either. Still, I liked the book well enough to read the next one in the series and thought the story picked up at the end. (The plot prior to that was pretty thin.)

Other reviewers have mentioned issues with cultural insensitivity, and I have to agree with them, for the most part. I do think that authors get a great deal of creative license when it comes to creating alternate universes, such as a Victorian England & India with vampires, werewolves, Rakshasas, weremonkeys, and even a werecat. However, I wish Ms. Carriger had written larger roles for Indian characters and not included the part where a dirty, nearly-naked Rue was mistaken for a goddess, for example.

View all my reviews

Secondhand Spirits

Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After leading a globe-trotting, itinerant life for years, Lily Ivory has finally settled down to run a vintage clothing store in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. She's making friends and enjoying the quirkiness of the area that helps camouflage her own powerful talent for witchcraft. Then one day, a child is kidnapped and a client dies under mysterious supernatural circumstances. Despite her reluctance to get involved and reveal her talents, Lily can't let the evil go unchecked, and she dives head first into a paranormal battle to save the little girl from La Llorona.

The first book in this cozy mystery series felt more like an urban fantasy where the main character happens to solve a suspicious death and save an abducted child. I liked it once I got used to the idea that it wouldn't be as lighthearted as either of Heather Blake's magical cozy mystery series--this series has a more "realistic" depiction of witchcraft, with detailed recipes for brews, spells, charms, etc.

The budding romance angle was appealing to me--I like Max and think the relationship could work if he softens his stance on the (non)existence of magic. I do not like the character Aidan, the male witch. He seriously creeps me out, not the least of which due to his unnatural charisma. I hope future volumes of this series reveal more of his secrets--I feel sure he's got nefarious ulterior motives.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary. There are a few mild swear words and a couple of creepy-atmosphere scenes, but no sex or graphic violence. It is a cozy mystery, but it feels a little darker (or perhaps more serious?) than other cozies, even other cozies featuring some type of magic or witchcraft. Fans of the TV show "Charmed" would most likely enjoy this series.

View all my reviews

Rebel Mechanics

Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's 1888. The American Revolution never got off the ground, so the British still rule the colonies. Specifically magisters do--British nobility with magical abilities. A new revolution is brewing, however, this time fueled by young inventors called Rebel Mechanics who believe that non-magical machines are the key to overthrowing British oppression and achieving freedom.

Verity Newton's mother has died after a long illness, so Verity travels from New Haven to New York City in search of a governess position in a wealthy household. The teenager manages to land one on her first day, due in part to transportation assistance from the Rebel Mechanics, who waste no time in recruiting her as a spy for The Cause. Her position as a governess to the governor's grandchildren allows her access to intelligence from the highest ranks of society. Eye-opening experiences convince her of the importance of passing on information to the rebels even as she keeps her own secrets and discovers that not all magisters are alike.

Love love love this book!! I'm so glad the second one has just come out so I don't have to wait to dive back into this reality. I just wish the next book were available on audio already because this one was great fun to listen to. Well-written characters, a story that made me thankful for a long commute, and fantastic world-building.

For readers' advisors: story, character, and setting doorways are all strong. It's marketed as teen fiction, but it works for adults, too, especially fans of steampunk, alternative history, and urban fantasy. Since it's aimed at a YA audience, there is some kissing but no sex, bad language, or graphic violence. It would likely also appeal to fans of Patricia C Wrede's Frontier Magic series.

View all my reviews

No Quest for the Wicked

No Quest For The Wicked by Shanna Swendson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Katie Chandler is Bored. Bored bored bored. Now that MSI is pretty much the only game in town as far as magic goes, there isn't much for the marketing department to do. That is, until her boyfriend discovers that the language has changed on the ancient document he's translating, indicating that the Eye of the Moon--an incredibly powerful and dangerous gem lost for centuries--is now on the move and may be in New York City. The last time anyone used it, war broke out, so tracking it down is imperative, and only magical immunes like Katie and Owen can be trusted to locate and recover it. Unfortunately, they soon learn that the Eye, which gives the holder power over others, has been fused with an Elven knot, which bestows invulnerability. Katie and Owen are not the only ones determined to find the Eye, and soon there is a knock-down, drag-out race raging across the city between an ever-increasing number of factions, all with their own agendas.

Whew! Talk about fast-paced! Book #6 in the Enchanted, Inc. series is a whirlwind of a novel--fun and funny. The addition of Katie's grandma and former boss to the mix was highly entertaining. I also appreciated the character development as Owen learns to cope with his new non-magical reality.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways. No sex, violence (not really), or bad language that I can recall. Setting is contemporary New York City.

View all my reviews

Much Ado About Magic

Much Ado About Magic by Shanna Swendson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book #5 in the Enchanted, Inc., series begins with Katie Chandler returning to New York City just in time to become embroiled in a propaganda war between her employer, MSI, and their rival, Spellworks. A series of dark spells has the magical community flocking to Spellworks for protection amulets and bracelets, never realizing the whole thing is part of a more sinister plot. Katie's boyfriend, Owen, is working feverishly to reverse-engineer the spells and find a way to neutralize them before they get even more out of control, but it soon becomes evident that a key part of the competition's strategy involves discrediting and falsely accusing Owen of creating the mess in the first place. Even Katie's boss, Merlin (yes, that Merlin), is powerless to stem the tide of rumor and suspicion. It's up to Katie to sort out fact from fiction in time to prevent a corporate takeover with deadly consequences.

I was so excited when I stumbled across a WorldCat listing for one of the later books in this series and realized that although my library couldn't purchase print copies of volumes 5, 6, or 7, we could get the ebooks through OverDrive. Hooray! I love this quirky, humorous series, and I was bummed when I had to stop reading at #4. But now my library has digital access to all seven books in the series, so I can find out what happens in the continuing saga of the battle for control of the biggest companies in the magical community.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, character is secondary. There is no sex or real violence, and I can't recall any instances of swearing.

View all my reviews

Damsel Under Stress

Damsel Under Stress by Shanna Swendson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


4.5 stars, really.

Book 3 in the series picks up the day after book 2 ended. I am so glad I didn't read these as they came out because I would not have wanted to wait to read the next one. Damsel Under Stress is just as funny and quirky a cozy-romantic-magical-realism-mystery as the first two. This time Katie has picked up a fairy godmother whose dating help is...not so helpful, and her roommates are starting to suspect Katie is keeping secrets from them. On the bright side, Owen invites her to spend Christmas with his foster parents, and repeated attacks on Katie and/or Owen certainly do keep things interesting! Can they uncover the extent of the conspiracy in time to keep the existence of magic from being revealed to the world? And will they EVER succeed in having a "normal" date?

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways are primary. Setting (New York City) is less important in book 3 than in the first two.


View all my reviews

Once Upon Stilettos

Once Upon Stilettos by Shanna Swendson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


4.5 stars, really

I read the first book in this series, Enchanted, Inc., a couple of years ago, immediately put the rest of the series on my to-read list, and then forgot about them until last week. I'm so glad I ran across them in my list because they are such fun! It's hard to categorize this series because it's got mystery without any murder, romance without sex (at least so far), magic that hovers between "magical realism" and "fantasy," and humor without overt slapstick, etc. They are just FUN. And hard to put down. This one kept me up until after midnight on a work night.

Katie Chandler is a nonmagical person living in New York City, working for a magical company as a Verifier...because she is immune to magic and can see through illusions, survive magical fireballs, and so on. Her boss is Merlin (yep, that one), and she has a major crush on a wizard coworker but is dating a lawyer who is also an Immune. Strange things are an everyday occurrence for Katie, but things get even stranger when she's tasked with finding the corporate spy while dealing with her parents' visit, a sudden loss of magical immunity, and a just-as-sudden spike in popularity amongst the opposite sex.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways, as well as setting (weird things are the norm in Times Square, right?)



View all my reviews