Book Review

The Mystery Woman (Ladies of Lantern Street #2) By: Amanda Quick

Mystery Woman

The Mystery Woman (Ladies of Lantern Street #2) By: Amanda Quick

Plot:

Beatrice Lockwood, one of the intrepid ladies of Lantern Street, is in the middle of a case when her past comes back to haunt her.  Joshua North, a former spy for the Crown, has come out of a self-imposed retirement after a disastrous case that left him scarred and forced to use a cane.  He is hunting the villain who is blackmailing his sister.

The trail leads him to Beatrice who is his chief suspect.  But when he realizes that she is not the blackmailer they set out to find the real extortionist.  Passion flares between them as they dodge a professional assassin.  Meanwhile a mysterious scientist intent on resurrecting his dead lover using an ancient Egyptian formula for preserving the bodies of the dead is also hunting Beatrice. He is keeping his dead love perfectly preserved in a special, crystal-topped sarcophagus filled with the special fluid.   But he needs Beatrice’s paranormal talent to activate the reviving properties of the preservative in the coffin.  Time is running out for everyone involved.

The two cases collide at a mysterious country-house filled with artifacts from ancient Egyptian tombs.  The drama concludes in the mad scientist’s laboratory where Joshua discovers that the past he thought was dead is still very much alive — sort of.

Review:

I love Amanda Quick, Jayne Castle, whatever she wants to call herself. Under her Quick name her books are more historical but they still have the paranormal bent which is great. I’m not a huge historical romance reader but the addition of psychic powers makes it so much more fun.

Joshua was, possibly, the first male lead I’ve read who openly refuses to believe in psychic abilities. He’s polite to Beatrice and never really calls her a liar or fraud, but he says that her observations were made because of logic. It’s cute and never really gets annoying and was actually kind of refreshing.

Beatrice was your normal strong female who has psychic powers and lives in the Victorian age. Nothing really amazing about her, I liked her, but nothing really stood out. I did feel bad for her sexual encounters, though, Joshua could have worked a bit harder in that area, if you know what I mean.

4/5

 

Clariel (Abhorsen #4) By: Garth Nix
Not the cover I had but super cool

Not the cover I had but super cool

Clariel (Abhorsen #4) By: Garth Nix

Plot:

Sixteen-year-old Clariel is not adjusting well to her new life in the city of Belisaere, the capital of the Old Kingdom. She misses roaming freely within the forests of Estwael, and she feels trapped within the stone city walls. And in Belisaere she is forced to follow the plans, plots and demands of everyone, from her parents to her maid, to the sinister Guildmaster Kilp. Clariel can see her freedom slipping away. It seems too that the city itself is descending into chaos, as the ancient rules binding Abhorsen, King and Clayr appear to be disintegrating.

With the discovery of a dangerous Free Magic creature loose in the city, Clariel is given the chance both to prove her worth and make her escape. But events spin rapidly out of control. Clariel finds herself more trapped than ever, until help comes from an unlikely source. But the help comes at a terrible cost. Clariel must question the motivations and secret hearts of everyone around her – and it is herself she must question most of all.

Review:

It’s been years since I read the original Abhorsen books and I think that turned out to be a good thing. I’m normally not a fan of prequels but because it’s been so long since I was in this world it didn’t feel like a prequel. I barely remember anything from the first books and reading this one just made me want to go back and re-read them.

The book was a great cautionary tale of what happens when people shirk their duties and don’t teach children important things. The whole situation that Clariel found herself in would never have happened if so many people had done their jobs. The king shouldn’t have just given up on life. The Abhorsen should have grown a pair. Her parents should have actually taught her about her history and why certain things were done. Total disregard for the importance of their duties.

I really couldn’t help but feel sorry for Clariel. She just wanted to live in her woods and no one would let her. The ending is bittersweet and I won’t ruin it here, it goes perfectly with the endings of the previous books, though.

I’ve got a whole pile of books checked out from the library and now I’m going to have to resist re-reading the first three books in the series. I’m really looking forward to Nix’s next book and hope we don’t have to wait as long for it.

5/5

 

The Zodiac Paradox (Fringe #1) By: Christa Faust

fringe-the-zodiac-paradox

The Zodiac Paradox (Fringe #1) By: Christa Faust

Plot:

In 1971 university students Walter Bishop and William Bell use an exotic chemical compound to link their subconscious minds. Unexpectedly, they open a rip in space through which comes a menace unlike any our world has ever seen – the Zodiac Killer. His singular goal is death, and it falls to Bishop, Bell, and Nina Sharp to stop him.

Review:

A couple months ago I re-watched Fringe and immediately after doing that I wanted MORE! So I searched and found this series. As anyone that has read book adaptations of non-book worlds knows they can be hit or miss. I’ve loved some Star Trek books and hated others, the same with the Fable video game books. However, I really wanted more in the world and bought the first one, without reading the blurb, not sure why I did that.

I should have been clued in by the title but I was still surprised that the book was about the Zodiac Killer. I’ve read some books on serial killers that of course mention the Zodiac but it’s been a few years so I couldn’t tell you if the facts were right. Honestly, I don’t think it matters.

The story was interesting and revolved around Walter, Bell, and Nina. It was nice to see them younger and see the beginning of… everything really. You saw Bell and Nina get it on for the first time and their more than romantic bond begin. You also saw the beginning of Cortexiphan.

I was unsure of the depiction of Walter. In most of the flashbacks that I remember in the TV show he seemed very focused on Science, but not as absent minded or crazy as he seemed in this book. I thought the crazy didn’t happen until they took the part out of his brain. He was the moral center of this book, but was easily overruled by Bell and Nina, which I don’t really see becoming the character that is in such control in the TV show before the brain slice.

I liked seeing Walter again but I’d really like to read more about the other characters. This was definitely a prequel to the TV show and I’m never too fond of those, however, it was nice to see the origins in this case.

4/5

The Master Magician (The Paper Magician Trilogy #3) By: Charlie N. Holmberg

The Master Magician

The Master Magician (The Paper Magician Trilogy #3) By: Charlie N. Holmberg

Plot:

Throughout her studies, Ceony Twill has harbored a secret, one she’s kept from even her mentor, Emery Thane. She’s discovered how to practice forms of magic other than her own — an ability long thought impossible.

While all seems set for Ceony to complete her apprenticeship and pass her upcoming final magician’s exam, life quickly becomes complicated. To avoid favoritism, Emery sends her to another paper magician for testing, a Folder who despises Emery and cares even less for his apprentice. To make matters worse, a murderous criminal from Ceony’s past escapes imprisonment. Now she must track the power-hungry convict across England before he can take his revenge. With her life and loved ones hanging in the balance, Ceony must face a criminal who wields the one magic that she does not, and it may prove more powerful than all her skills combined.

Review:

Another great cover, sadly I was disappointed with this conclusion. Emboldened by her success in the previous books at avoiding being killed my stronger more experienced magicians, when her enemy escapes, she searches for him. Since everyone, except for herself, is incompetent she finds him not once but twice.

I realized while writing this review that I don’t believe Ceony experienced any kind of character growth. My complaint with each book has been that she runs into things without thinking, and yet is supposed to be incredibly smart. In this book not only is she studying her own magic but several others and she is of course excelling, and yet she can’t stop and think for one instant that maybe the escaped homicidal maniac shouldn’t be pursued by someone that is inexperienced.

The first two books can be explained with the fact that they happened months apart, but this one is almost two years later. She’s had time to think and reflect and realize that she’s the reason that her friend died. Nothing. She’s clearly one of those books smart street, stupid people.

The conclusion ended the series on a low note in my opinion. Ceony throughout this book has finally found out that several people think that she’s a loose woman for her situation and nothing is done about that. She doesn’t come to some realization that they’re all idiots or that maybe she shouldn’t have been so obvious with her affections. It’s never brought up by Emory and whenever she’s in his presence all she really thinks about is how amazing he is.

She’s a love sick school girl and doesn’t appear to do any growing. The very ending, the resolution to the romance, left me wanting. Holmberg could have done an epilogue that went into more of the future Ceony had seen in the first book but instead it ended abruptly. This isn’t an eighties action movie, I want more than just a hanging question and end scene credits.

I know I’ve mentioned a lot of negatives and I honestly didn’t hate the book, I just thought it could have been better. The world created was very interesting and with the revelation in this series it would be very easy to go into more in the world with completely different characters. Holmberg could also write in a different time period, all that world creation shouldn’t go to waste and I would definitely read more, maybe not with these people though.

3/5

 

The Glass Magician (The Paper Magician Trilogy #2) By: Charlie N. Holmberg

Glass Magician

The Glass Magician (The Paper Magician Trilogy #2) By: Charlie N. Holmberg

Plot:

Three months after returning Magician Emery Thane’s heart to his body, Ceony Twill is well on her way to becoming a Folder. Unfortunately, not all of Ceony’s thoughts have been focused on paper magic. Though she was promised romance by a fortuity box, Ceony still hasn’t broken the teacher-student barrier with Emery, despite their growing closeness.

When a magician with a penchant for revenge believes that Ceony possesses a secret, he vows to discover it…even if it tears apart the very fabric of their magical world. After a series of attacks target Ceony and catch those she holds most dear in the crossfire, Ceony knows she must find the true limits of her powers…and keep her knowledge from falling into wayward hands.

The delightful sequel to Charlie N. Holmberg’s The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician will charm readers young and old alike.

Review:

Once again I love this cover, I wonder if that has anything to do with my enjoyment of it? Does it put me in the right mind frame to read? I don’t know, I might think about that one day.

Lovely world, Ceony still kind of confuses me. She has a photographic memory, basically, and is supposed to be very smart, but as soon as Emery is threatened she throws caution to the wind. She even puts others in danger because of that and doesn’t realize it until it’s too late. It’s kind of annoying, but it’s annoying character wise. I think it’s still within the bounds of her character.

Not much movement on the romance plot which caused me to buy the next book way too late and had to force myself to stop reading. Kind of sad that it’s the last book in the series and hope I get a lot of closure.

4/5