2009: Recap of My Reading Year Part I

This time last year, I posted an epic series of posts about my reading year (okay, five – that counts as epic for me).  This time around, not that many, I swear.

Looking back at the first half of 2009:

 

January

I started the year off with a bang, falling in love with Juliet Marillier’s “Heir to Sevenwaters” (warning: very spoiler-y post) and officially becoming a Marillier fangirl.  I then somehow started on LM Montgomery’s short stories and really, couldn’t stop – I pretty much spent the latter half of January immersed in LM Montgomery’s turn-of-the-century Prince Edward Island.

Eleven books read in total, counting the six LM Montgomery short story collections – I did say I was addicted, didn’t I?

 

February

Standout book of the month was Patricia Briggs’ “Bone Crossed” (urban fantasy) – did you even have to ask?  She has a gift for storytelling and I can’t get enough of her Mercy Thompson books.

And it was obviously quality, not quantity, that counted in February, because while I only read five books (seriously, what was I doing?), I also read and loved Lois McMaster Bujold’s “Horizon” (fantasy), which was a note-perfect ending to her Sharing Knife series, and Josh Lanyon & Laura Baumbach’s “Mexican Heat” (romantic suspense m/m), which I thought delivered both romance and suspense in spades.

 

March

Not a massively exciting month reading-wise, with seven books read over the course of the month.  I mostly read the latest books in various ongoing series, including Deanna Raybourn’s “Silent in the Moor” (historical mystery, with a wonderfully Gothic atmosphere) and Kelley Armstrong’s “Made to be Broken” (romantic suspense, and a solid read, as per my expectations).

But swept away in a wave of nostalgia after reading LM Montgomery back in January, I started re-reading Elinor M Brent-Dyer’s Chalet School books, and gosh, this brought back so many memories – I adored them as a kid and wanted to go to boarding school so badly.  I loved doing these re-reads, and even invested in some new-to-me Chalet School books – and ouch, these are expensive nowadays.

 

April

Now April was an excellent month for reading. 

Ilona Andrews’ “Magic Strikes” (urban fantasy) wowed me – from a rather so-so first book, the Kate Daniels series has grown into one of the best UF series out there, IMO.  I also loved Sarah Monette’s “Corambis” (fantasy), an incredibly satisfying finale to her Doctrine of Labyrinths series.

And then there was Karen Chance’s “Curse the Dawn” and Jim Butcher’s “Turn Coat”, both immensely enjoyable installments in the Cassie Palmer and Dresden Files urban fantasy series respectively. 

I read nine books this month, very much dominated by the fantasy genre, but also including two Agatha Christie mystery short story collections, which had a nice mixture of new-to-me stories and old favourites.

 

May

Ah, May.  I read seven books in total, but there were two standouts for me. 

Diana Peterfreund’s “Tap & Gown” brought her Secret Society Girl series to a close, and did so in the most perfect manner possible. 

And I finally got my hands on Eva Ibbotson’s “Magic Flutes”, thanks to Young Picador re-releasing her backlist in the UK.  Her historical romances are pure joy to read – some of her turns of phrase are almost magical, and I am in love with her ever-so-slightly exotic continental European settings.   And of course, the enchanting characters.

 

 

June

Well.  I did a minor Josh Lanyon glom, reading three of his novellas (“Lovers and Other Strangers”, “Someone Killed His Editor”, and “Don’t Look Back”) in quick succession, all which had his trademark wry humour and wonderful characterisation.

And read two more books, neither of which I fell in love with, and then I sort of went into a reading slump.

 

 

So that was the first half of my reading year: 44 books read in total, with some excellent ones in there, but ending on a bit of a downer.  However, things improved substantially in the next month…

To be continued…

Books for August

Books I am definitely getting this month:

Patricia Briggs’ “Hunting Ground” (urban fantasy):  Second in the Anna and Charles series. 

Mated to werewolf Charles Cornick, the son—and enforcer—of the leader of the North American werewolves, Anna Latham now knows how dangerous being a werewolf is, especially when a werewolf opposes Charles and his father is struck down. Charles’s reputation makes him the prime suspect, and the penalty for the crime is execution. Now Anna and Charles must combine their talents to hunt down the real killer—or Charles will take the fall.

I get the impression that Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series is more popular, but I think that the first A&C book (“Cry Wolf”) was slightly hampered as Anna and Charles’ story actually starts in the novella “Alpha and Omega” (in the “On the Prowl” anthology), and those who picked up “Cry Wolf” without having read A&O may have felt a bit lost at first.  I think that’s a bit of a shame, but I’m not sure what either the publisher or the author could have done, apart from possibly including A&O as a freebie in the first novel?

Anyway, I love Ms Briggs’ writing and she is most definitely an autobuy for me.  The other release she has coming out this month is the graphic novel “Homecoming” (above), which is a prequel to the Mercy books (and is a collection of the four graphic novels previously released).  And finally, while on the topic, here’s the UK cover for “Cry Wolf” (left), which I’ve just seen.

Out August 25 (excerpt here)

 

 

Diana Peterfreund’s “Rampant” (YA fantasy):  First in a new series.  I’m excited about this one.  And that was before the (really good) reviews started appearing.

The sparkly, innocent creatures of lore are a myth. Real unicorns are venomous, man-eating monsters with huge fangs and razor-sharp horns. And they can only be killed by virgin descendants of Alexander the Great.

Fortunately, unicorns have been extinct for a hundred and fifty years.

Or not.

Astrid Llewelyn has always scoffed at her eccentric mother’s stories about killer unicorns. But when one of the monsters attacks her boyfriend in the woods – thereby ruining any chance of him taking her to prom – Astrid learns that unicorns are real and dangerous, and she has a family legacy to uphold. Her mother packs her off to Rome to train as a unicorn hunter at the ancient cloisters the hunters have used for centuries.

However, at the cloisters, all is not what is seems. Outside, the unicorns wait to attack. And within, Astrid faces other, unexpected threats: from crumbling, bone-covered walls that vibrate with a terrible power to the hidden agendas of her fellow hunters to – perhaps most dangerously of all – her growing attraction to a handsome art student… and a relationship that could jeopardize everything.

Out August 25 (excerpt here)

 

Jayne Castle’s “Obsidian Prey” (futuristic romance):  Sixth in the Harmony series.

I am such a sucker for Jayne Castle’s futuristics.  They’re my (not so) secret vice.  Even though (or perhaps because) the plot and h/h are totally predictable, they’re total comfort reads.  Even the Arcane Society* making an appearance in this one doesn’t upset me because there were already psychic powers from the start.

*Why, oh why, are paranormal storylines appearing in her previously-straight contemporaries (Jayne Ann Krentz) and historicals (Amanda Quick)?

Two hundred years after the closing of the energy Curtain that allowed interplanetary travel – cutting off all contact to Earth – the planet Harmony is thriving. Thanks to an abundant supply of amber, which powers not only electrical machines for everyday use but also psychic abilities in the colonists, Harmony has created a stable, progressive community. But when that stability is threatened, resolving an ancient family feud and a fresh lover’s quarrel might be the planet’s only hope.

Three months ago, Lyra Dore suffered a heartbreak and a hostile takeover – both at the hands of the same man. A descendant of her ancestors’ fierce rival. Cruz Sweetwater charmed his way into Lyra’s heart and gained access to her pet project, an amethyst ruin. Then he took over the project and took off. When Cruz walks back into her life and requests a private meeting, Lyra convinces herself he’s there to crawl and beg forgiveness. Wrong again – he just needs her help. With the project he stole from her.

Five innocent men are trapped inside a chamber in the amethyst ruin, and Lyra is the only one who can reopen the door. Reluctantly she agrees to help. Then Cruz wants her to apply her talents to the rest of the ruin – because no one else can work it. Lyra and Cruz are both harboring psychic secrets. Unknown – and dangerous – powers pulse within the amethyst ruin, and the closer Lyra gets to them, the more at risk she becomes. And now she must decide whether to trust her guts or her heart.

Out August 25 (no excerpt, but some book info here)

 

Richelle Mead’s “Blood Promise” (YA urban fantasy):  Fourth in the Vampire Academy series. 

The previous book “Shadow Kiss” ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, to put it mildly.  Which pretty much means I will be getting this book to see how Ms Mead resolves things, although seeing that there are two more books in this series, I probably shouldn’t be expecting everything to be neatly tied up in this one.

Note the blurb has SPOILERS for the previous book.

Rose Hathaway’s life will never be the same.

The recent attack on St. Vladimir’s Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose’s neck, a mark that says she’s killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters . . . Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life’s vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She’ll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?

Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir’s and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

Out August 25 (excerpt here)

 

As for other August releases:

I’ve already bought (and read) Sherwood Smith’s “Treason’s Shore” (fantasy), which brings her Inda quartet to an end.  I’m still gathering my thoughts on this book, but Ms Smith has also posted an epilogue of sorts on her website, which explains exactly what happens to the main characters after the end of the book.  With Ms Smith’s books, I always get the impression she is retelling a story she knows (as opposed to coming up with one, if that makes sense), and getting such a detailed epilogue just adds to that impression.

I’ll probably get Moira J Moore’s “Heroes at Risk” (fantasy, fourth in the Heroes series, out August 25), but I have to say Ms Moore probably has the worst luck in covers.  I thought the cover of the third book was a turn for the better (even though it was completely misleading), but I am left slightly speechless at this one.  It doesn’t even have the saving grace of being similar to any of the previous ones in the series.

And finally, out August 27 is “Love Bites”, a follow up anthology to last year’s “The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance”, and also edited by Trisha Telep. 

I’ve noticed most of these have August 25 release dates – which means I’ve the next couple of weeks to tackle some of my TBR pile books!

Diana Peterfreund’s “Tap & Gown”

You know, I came thisclose to ignoring the first book in Diana Peterfreund’s “Secret Society Girl” series.  I can safely say if it wasn’t for the internet, I would never have given SSG a second glance.  However, thanks to a rather serendipitous series of events, I read the SSG excerpt and there was no looking back.

I grabbed the first two books (“Secret Society Girl” and “Under the Rose” respectively), before spending last June counting down the days to the release of the third book “Rites of Spring (Break)” (and yes, totally worth it).  And then I had to wait an entire year (okay, I exaggerate – eleven months?) for the fourth and final book “Tap & Gown” to be released.

Full disclosure:  The author realised I hadn’t received an ARC (I wouldn’t normally recommend wailing about how jealous you are that other people had gotten hands on advanced copies, but that unwittingly worked for me) and actually took the trouble to ask if I wanted one (err hello!). 

Anyway, the blurb:

For Amy the countdown to graduation has begun, and suddenly the perfect ending to a perfectly iconoclastic Eli career is slipping from her grasp.  Her new boyfriend’s been made an offer he just can’t refuse.  Her fellowship applications haven’t even been filed.  And the student she’s chosen to take her place in Rose & Grave – the country’s more powerful and notorious secret society – seems to come complete with a secret life already intact.

Lunging toward the finish line, Amy finds trouble around every corner, from society intrigues and unlikely stalkers to former flames and mandatory science credits.  Surely it couldn’t get worse…until Initiation Night explodes into a terrifying scene and into a last test of wits for a young woman just trying to make it out of the Ivy League in one piece.

For those who haven’t yet read the books, Amy Haskel has spent her final year at Eli University getting embroiled in the doings of the super-secret society Rose & Grave (although bearing in mind Amy and some of her fellow Diggers’ slightly irreverent approach towards recruitment in this book, I have to say I’m not entirely sure how secret it is anymore).

So, it’s her final semester at university, Amy’s just committed herself to the most unlikely relationship ever, she has to finish her thesis and get enough credits to graduate, she has to figure what she wants to do next, and yes, there’s the little matter of choosing her replacement in Rose & Grave.

This book very much reminded me of my final year at university, this sense of “so, what happens next”.  You spend the last four years of your life working towards graduation, and suddenly it’s upon you, and it feels like a major crossroads in your life.  Decisions you make now could affect the rest of your life.  There’s so much unknown ahead of you.  You’re saying goodbye to people who have been constants in your life for a good while.  And in Amy’s case, it’s made even more complicated by the fact she has to tap the next class of Rose & Grave.

Ah, how much did I love the whole tapping process!  As in previous books, I was completely engrossed in the rituals and traditions of Rose & Grave.  This time around, we didn’t spend that much time in the tomb, but the Tap Night events more than made up for it. 

One of the main reasons that this series just works for me is Amy herself.  She’s real.  She’s no Mary Sue, she’s not perfect, she makes mistakes – but she learns from them.  And you root for her.  There was this point in the book, and I’m paraphrasing slightly here, when she’s reminded of herself at the beginning of the year and thinks “who was that girl, Amy?”.  That probably summed up how much she has grown over the course of four books.  

And Pajamie.  I didn’t think I could crush on him more.  But T&G showed I can.

On a more serious note, T&G doesn’t shy away from tackling real issues either.  In previous books, the external conflicts are somewhat OTT, but not so in this one.  It fits in with the “growing-up” feel of this book, and rather neatly brings resolution to events in the previous book.

My quibbles.  Err quibble.  Singular.  It took a while for me to remember who was who, and some of the secondary R&G members never really get fleshed out. Then again, let’s face it – new readers are probably not going to start with the fourth book.

Looking back at the series as a whole, “Rites of Spring (Break)” remains my favourite (probably because I’m a total sucker for romance), but T&G definitely comes a very close second. 

One small part of me never wants to see this series end.  I mean, there’s so much potential story left in this universe.  I could do with knowing how the class of D178 get on (and gosh, did they make a strong start) or what happens to Jenny’s startup.  But then again, they would be different stories, they would be other people’s stories, and I have to say, as the final book in the SSG series, “Tap & Gown” is an incredibly satisfying finish to Amy and D177′s Rose & Grave days.

Books for May

So after the fantastic month that was April (no, I haven’t posted my thoughts on any of the April releases in detail, and yes, I still have the Ann Aguirre and Jo Beverley left to read), here are the May new releases I’m anticipating:

 

First up, Diana Peterfreund’s “Tap & Gown”, the fourth and final book in her Secret Society Girl series.  It’s no secret that I adore these incredibly addictive books, and while part of me gets slightly teary-eyed at the thought of waving goodbye to Amy and the rest of her fellow Diggers, I cannot wait to find out what happens in Amy’s final year.

Re-reading the excerpt for this one has made me so ridiculously excited about “Tap & Gown” now.  Ack.  I’m going to take a deep breath and try to calm down. 

 

Excerpt here (out May 19)

 

I posted a bit about reading Catherine Asaro’s “Diamond Star” earlier, and yes, that’s a May release too.  Okay, that is so a typical Baen cover, but you know what?  Baen has such a great user-friendly digital publishing strategy ($6 ebooks for hardcover releases, no DRM, multiple formats), plus they provide lengthy excerpts (the first eight chapters for “Diamond Star” is online) and they have a large Free Library to try out new-to-you authors… I’m just going to ignore the covers. 

Anyway, I’m a big fan of Ms Asaro’s Skolian Empire books and getting this one was a no-brainer for me.  From her website:

…Del, the renegade prince who would rather be a rock singer than sit on the throne. The royal family wants him to stop, his friends want to use him, his label wants to own him, and his enemies want to kill him. Del just wants to sing—without starting an interstellar war.

Also, Ms Asaro collaborated with the band Point Valid to create a soundtrack accompanying the book, and some of the songs are available on the Diamond Star MySpace website (warning: music plays when you enter the site!).  It’s pretty cool as the lyrics are included in the text and I’m loving the fact I can listen to the actual music.

Excerpt here (out May 5, ebook available now)

 

Charlaine Harris’ latest Sookie Stackhouse, “Dead and Gone”, is also out in May.  This is the ninth book in the Sookie series, and while I’ve wondered whether the series is running out of momentum, that’s not going to stop me from getting this one.

And okay, my jaw just dropped when Amazon UK came up with the cover on the right – please do not say that is the UK cover for “Dead and Gone”?  That is just so wrong – it doesn’t capture the dark but offbeat feel of the series at all!

Excerpt here (out May 5)

 

Another book that has taken what feels like forever to be released is Eloisa James’ “This Duchess of Mine”.  I am an unashamed Eloisa James fangirl, and have been completely absorbed by her Georgian historical romance series. 

This, of course, is Jemma and Elijah’s book – finally.  I know Ms James’ habit of including an unresolved secondary romance is not everyone’s favourite, but the way she has woven the overarching storyline focusing on the Jemma-Elijah-Villiers conflict throughout the past four books has totally worked for me.  I am so invested in Jemma and Elijah getting their HEA (look, it’s a romance and therefore they will have one).

Excerpt here (out May 26)

 

And that’s not all the new releases I want.  Also due out is:

Jacqueline Carey’s “Santa Olivia”, which is something completely different from her Kushiel books.  The blurb says it is Ms Carey’s “… take on comic book superheroes and the classic werewolf myth”.  Okay, I’m not a massive fan of the former (though I expect Thea and Ana to be all over this?), but I love her writing and I will definitely be giving this a go.  Excerpt here (out May 29).

Richelle Mead’s “Succubus Heat”, fourth in her Georgina Kincaid series.  I’ve enjoyed the previous three in this UF series and the last one ended on a bit of a pivotal note, IIRC.  It’s the UK version of the cover below, btw.  Excerpt here (out May 26).

A maybe is Kim Harrison’s “Once Dead, Twice Shy” – when I read the short story setting up this novel in the anthology “Prom Nights from Hell”, I actually thought it felt like a first chapter of a novel.  Well, there you go.  My “maybe” is because it’s a hardcover.  Some further poking around Amazon UK indicates a possible paperback July release for the UK.  Excerpt here (out May 26).

And speaking of “Prom Nights from Hell”, a follow-up anthology is out this month, “Vacations from Hell” featuring contributions from Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Claudia Gray, Maureen Johnson, and Sarah Mlynowski (out May 26).

 

Around the Web

Diana Gabaldon’s posted an excerpt from “An Echo in the Bone”, which, fingers and everything else crossed, will be released in the fall of 2009.  I really really want.  Another recent post of hers touched upon scene-building – a peek into how she writes, which is fascinating indeed.

And while we’re on the subject of author blogging, Diana Peterfreund wrote about the author’s contract with the reader a while ago, specifically series conclusion.  Which was, oh, a bit of a hot topic sometime back    I think she makes a lot of sense, and this bodes well for the conclusion of the Secret Society series.  The fourth and final book is titled “Tap and Gown”, btw, and comes out next summer.  I love the title (heck, I love everything about this series) and can’t wait to read it.

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Btw, I’m trialling Google’s Chrome beta browser, and wow – it’s fast.  I normally use Internet Explorer (even though I’ve Firefox on my machine as well, which is supposed to beat IE hands down) but am reluctant to go back to it after just two days of using Chrome.  And seriously, before I downloaded Chrome, I would never have said that speed was a deciding factor at all.

I’ve read about the privacy concerns, but to be perfectly honest, I don’t really care what info Google holds about me.  I figure I use Google as my main search engine so often anyway that they probably know all there is to know about my online habits!

The bits I’m not so happy with:

(1) I would love to be able to change text size.  In IE, you just click the magnifying glass at the bottom right of the screen, but it’s not possible in Chrome.  I may actually have to go back to IE for websites with small text.

(2) I don’t like tabs, and I wish there was a way of having new windows open by default instead of tabs.  Oh, and I don’t like how the new window opens almost directly on top of the original one when you right-click and select new window.  More offsetting please.  Err yes, I’m picky.

But so far, so good, and it is only a very early beta.  Here’s hoping they release more features soon!

Review – Diana Peterfreund’s “Rites of Spring (Break)”

The very fact I’m finding time to post this in the midst of Wimbledon mania is an indication of how much I adored this book. 

A bit of background: I stumbled across the first book “Secret Society Girl” about a month ago and promptly fell in love with Diana Peterfreund‘s Rose & Grave series.  I immediately snapped up the second book (“Under the Rose”) and squeeeee’d with joy when I realised the third book was being released in a month’s time.

“Rites of Spring (Break)” (clever title, btw) came out on the 24th of June, and thanks to the magic that is ebook technology, I had it on the very day it was released.  And just to re-emphasise how much I was looking forward to it – I had to get up at half-six the next morning, but I still started it that very night.  And couldn’t put it down.  I ended up getting about four hours of sleep that night… and you know what?  It was completely worth it.

My post on the first book provides more background info on the series (or have a look at Ms Peterfreund’s website).  Amy Haskell’s a member of the Rose & Grave secret society at Eli, a (fictional) Ivy League university.  RoSB starts off with Amy in her senior year and looking forward to a peaceful final year after the rather hair-raising adventures of previous terms.  However, a prank on rival secret society Dragon’s Head goes ever-so-slightly wrong, and Amy finds herself the target of an increasingly personal vendetta.  Plot-wise, this is almost a book of two halves, the first half set in the environs of Eli University and dealing with the aftermath of the Dragon’s Head prank, before moving to a different setting as the Diggers (i.e. Rose & Grave members) head off to their private island to enjoy spring break in Florida. 

Okay, rather than doing a “proper” review, I’m going to list some points below because I can’t seem to organise my thoughts (hugely distracted by the tennis in the background!):

• While reading the second book, at times I struggled with the question of why on earth would anyone remotely sane *want* to join a secret society.  I’m glad to say that it made complete sense in this book – and without Ms Peterfreund having to batter me senseless with the reasons.  The camaraderie and friendship between a very diverse group of people tied together through R&G came through very strongly in RoSB. 
   
• As per usual with this series, I loved Amy’s voice and her slightly snarky sense of humour.  And there was excellent dialogue – there were some exchanges I just had to re-read over and over again. 
   
• By the third book of a series, there is bound to be a large cast of characters, and while you probably can’t please everyone in terms of page-time (or is that space?), I thought it was well-balanced.  I loved seeing old characters (yes, Malcom makes an appearance), and the major secondary characters were spot-on.
   
• One random observation that struck me halfway through this book – Ms Peterfreund is not big on physical descriptions of the characters.  I mean, I know Poe has silvery-grey eyes, but for instance, I have no clue how Amy herself looks like.  Or Josh.  It’s more impressions than physical descriptions.  And I do like that.
   
• The reveal in the first half of the book really surprised me, but for the second half, I pretty much figured out the villain straightaway.  But I didn’t really care, because for me, the romance was the main focus of the second half.  I’ve been waiting for this since Book 1 and the wait was completely worth it.
   
• I love Amy as a heroine – she isn’t perfect, she’s human, she makes mistakes, she’s not holier-than-thou…  Some bits were painful to read, but really rang true.
     
• And last, but definitely not least… I L-O-V-E-D the romance.  Ah, let’s face it – I’m a romance fan, and this was just perfect.  This is where I slip into spoiler territory, so skip the following bit if you haven’t read the book yet:
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  The first half of the book had me a bit worried.  Surely I didn’t misread the hints in the previous books.  Looking back at it, I can see how the first half wrapped up various loose ends relationship-wise.  And in a way, it made the second half even better.  Amy’s realisation that a certain person had a major thing for her, and the hilarious conversation she had with Malcolm, and the not-date that was a date… aaahhhhh.  Perfect. 
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Okay, fangirl gushing over.  This is one of my favourite books of the year.  An A for me and I cannot believe I now have to wait an entire year before the next (and final) book in this series comes out. 

(Oh, and a big thank you to the publisher for including the first chapter of the next book at the back.  I loved it.)

Books for June

I’m v excited about some new releases due out this month.

First up is Jacqueline Carey‘s “Kushiel’s Mercy” (dark fantasy):  This completes the Imriel trilogy (previous books are “Kushiel’s Scion” and “Kushiel’s Justice”).  I admit I had doubts about Imriel as the protagonist for this trilogy, but they quickly faded as soon as I read the first book.  I can’t wait to see how she finishes off his story.

Excerpt here – warning: contains big spoiler for second book if you haven’t yet read it (out June 12)

 

Then there’s Diana Peterfreund‘s “Rites of Spring (Break)” (YA):  I read the first book in this series, “Secret Society Girl”, a couple of weeks back and immediately had a bit of a fan-girl squee about it.  I more or less zoomed through the second book (“Under the Rose”), and while I didn’t rate it as highly as the former (minor gripes – firstly, the novelty has worn off slightly, and secondly, I think there was more telling than showing), I still love the world Ms Peterfreund has created.  I can’t wait to read the third.  And surely she’s not teasing about the possible romance?

Excerpt here (out June 24)

 

Next is Lynn Flewelling‘s “Shadows Return” (fantasy):  I didn’t expect she would ever return to her her Nightrunners world, but am happy to be proven wrong!  This is the fourth book in the series (and her website says a fifth is scheduled for next year – yay!).  Okay, bear with me because it’s been a while since I’ve read them and my memory’s a bit sketchy, but these books basically revolve around the adventures of noble-cum-spy Seregil and his former-apprentice-now-lover Alec.  Think “saving the kingdom”-type fantasy.  Ms Flewelling writes a good story.

Various excerpts on Ms Flewelling’s Livejournal (out June 24)

 

Brandon Sanderson‘s “Mistborn: The Well of Ascension” (fantasy):  I am trying to rein in my spending (honest!), so I’ve been waiting for the paperback release of this book.  It’s the second in the Mistborn trilogy, which is a fantasy with an interesting almost-scientific magic system.  I did like the first book, and I’m impressed that I refrained from buying the hardcover.   I probably shouldn’t pat myself on the back yet though, because the third book “Mistborn: The Final Empire” is also out this month… (edited to correct: M:TFE is a re-release of the first book, the third book is out in October, which will help my wallet – thanks La Plume for the info!).

Excerpts and other bonus information here

 

And then there’s Janet Evanovich‘s “Fearless Fourteen” (mystery):  No, I haven’t yet managed to wean myself off Stephanie Plum (though I haven’t bought the St Patrick’s Day novella – it’s a step in the right direction, isn’t it?).  Despite the fact the Stephanie-Morelli-Ranger love triangle never goes anywhere (I’m a Morelli girl myself), I’m still a Plum addict.  It’s the offbeat humour that pulls me in – I almost always have at least one laugh-out-loud moment when reading Stephanie Plum.  I say ”almost” because I thought the last book was actually a bit of a letdown.  So while I definitely am getting FF, it had better be good.

Excerpt here (out June 17)

 

Umm… and a maybe for Tanya Huff‘s “Heart of Valor” (military SF) – that’s Book 3 in the Confederation series.  But – and I know this sounds terrible – I can’t remember if I’ve already read it.  Arrrghhh.  I need to go and read a few pages in the bookstore.

Review – Diana Peterfreund’s “Secret Society Girl”

I’ve just finished a book that I really really loved *happy dance*  And to make it even better, it was completely out of the blue…

I received the Bantam Dell June Sneak Peeks newsletter yesterday, and quickly scanned it to see if any authors I knew had books coming up.  There weren’t any books that I was interested in, but right at the bottom was a title that caught my attention – “Secret Society Girl” by Diana Peterfreund.  I read the short blurb…

Crackling with wit, here is the smart, sexy introduction to the adventures of Amy Haskel, a perfectly normal Ivy League coed who just happens to be a member of one of the most notorious secret societies in the world.

… and thought “Nah, not really my thing” and hit Delete.  Then I started reading blog posts on Bloglines and found this post reviewing the very same book – with the sentence “This book almost got me hit by a car”.  Thought “Hang on a sec”, went back to the email in my the Deleted Items folder, and clicked on the “Read Chapter One” link.  Five minutes later, I was at Fictionwise downloading the book.

Amy Haskell is a undergrad (okay, I will get tripped up on the differences between the British and American university systems, but am giving this a go) – she’s a junior at Eli University, a (fictional) Ivy League university.  This is the time of year when juniors get “tapped” to join secret societies, and being the editor of the campus Lit Mag, Amy expects to be invited to join the not-so-secret Quill & Ink society.  But for some reason, her society interview doesn’t go as planned – err… could it be because she’s actually been tapped by the ultra-prestigious Rose & Grave society instead?

Back cover blurb here:

Elite Eli University junior Amy Haskel never expected to be tapped into Rose & Grave, the country’s most powerful—and notorious—secret society. She isn’t rich, politically connected, or…well, male.

So when Amy receives the distinctive black-lined invitation with the Rose & Grave seal, she’s blown away. Could they really mean her?

Whisked off into an initiation rite that’s a blend of Harry Potter and Alfred Hitchcock, Amy awakens the next day to a new reality and a whole new set of “friends”—from the gorgeous son of a conservative governor to an Afrocentric lesbian activist whose society name is Thorndike. And that’s when Amy starts to discover the truth about getting what you wish for. Because Rose & Grave is quickly taking her away from her familiar world of classes and keggers, fueling a feud, and undermining a very promising friendship with benefits. And that’s before Amy finds out that her first duty as a member of Rose & Grave is to take on a conspiracy of money and power that could, quite possibly, ruin her whole life.

I will admit I probably wouldn’t have bought the book based on the blurb (no, not even the HP reference) – it was the first chapter that made me want more.

Ms Peterfreund has written a book that is just so compulsively readable.  For a book with zero paranormal elements, I thought it was incredibly imaginative.  She hints in this interview that a lot of the rituals and activities are inspired by real-life secret societies.  Amy’s Eli University is a collegiate university, with all its attendant traditions, which is why this book almost feels like a peek into an alternate world (and also, I imagine, why Harry Potter was referenced in the blurb).

This book had a YA feel – as Amy is a junior, I’m assuming she is 19 or 20?  It’s first-person narration, and Amy’s voice feels authentic.  She’s funny, slightly snarky, and honest.  She’s an appealing heroine.  The secondary characters are less well-rounded, but that is probably partly due to the fact we are seeing them from Amy’s perspective.

I scribbled down two words as a reminder for when writing this post - “messy” and “lust”.  LOL.  Well, messy, because life and relationships aren’t always neat and tidy, and this book reflects that.  Lust – because Amy’s a normal red-blooded woman.  Err… not a slut by any means, but she obviously notices the cute guys around campus!  Which adds to the teenage feel of this book.

This is not a romance, btw (though I admit that I have hopes for the follow-on books).  This is more a coming-of-age story and about finding your place in the world.  And yes, the good guys win at the end. 

It’s not a deep book (and doesn’t pretend to be), but it’s been a while since I’ve been so drawn into a fictional world.  Heck, I found myself thinking about the Rose & Grave at odd times throughout the day, and I’ve just bought the second book, “Under the Rose”.  I have to say that “Secret Society Girl” is an A read for me and I’m excited to have found a new-to-me author.

Oh, and to wrap up, this is also exactly why I have mixed feelings about ebooks.  On the one hand, I read the blurb, loved it, and had the book five minutes later.  On the other hand, I can’t pass this book on to my sis and friends, and say ”Read this!”.  Which is what I really want to do.