It's amazing how quickly life changes and all of your grand plans go right along with it! I'm notorious for starting writing projects and then not finishing/continuing them, and being at first time mom to a beautiful 4 month old girl does not leave a lot of time for reading, and so the blogging has seriously suffered. I've gone from book covers to diaper covers; staying up until midnight reading to going to bed as early as possible to handle midnight feedings!
So like everything else in my life, Covers to Covers needs to change to stay relevant in my life. I still plan on writing book reviews now and again when I've had time to read something other than any book I can find on how to get K to sleep more than two hours at time at night, however exploring this new world of motherhood quite frankly has a lot more material to explore!
Bear with me, gentle reader, as we take off on a new adventure together.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Saturday, May 12, 2012
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Michelle Hodkin
Simon & Schuster, 2011
464 pages
Mara can't remember what happened. Last thing she knew, she was competing for her best friend's attention, now three people are dead and she is the sole survivor. When the pain becomes too much to bear, Mara's family moves south for a fresh start - but Mara is still haunted. What happened at the asylum? Why do people around her keep dying? Is she going crazy? And why is the most unattainable guy at school suddenly interested in everything about her?
Good lord, this book knocked my socks off! I honestly can't remember why I picked it up, but I thought I was settling in for an angsty teen novel with a little bit of psychological thriller thrown in for good measure. I was wrong. It's amazing! While the book does indeed resemble a psychological mystery at first, by the end of the book I couldn't turn the pages fast enough and my thriller turned into a paranormal series opener that promises to garner a lot of attention from teen and adult readers alike! Enough said. I won't spoil it for you. Just read it.
Book Count: 35
Dark Descendant
Jenna Black
Pocket Books, 2011
336 pages
Private Eye Nikki Glass has always had a knack for finding things - people or wallets, her hunches often turn out to be right on the money. Not surprising, as she's a descendant of Artemis, Greek goddess of the hunt. Now exposed to the mystical side of the world where descendants of the old gods from every culture (Norse, India, you name it), Nikki finds that the the bad guys are really, really bad, and the good guys aren't so fabulous either. Both sides are vying for Nikki's allegiance, but her talents are more coveted than her life, and solving the puzzle of why the two groups hate each other will expose Nikki to danger far greater than she has ever known. Even if she is immortal, sort of.
I picked up this novel simply because I enjoyed Black's teen fantasy Faeriewalker series, and found that Dark Descendant dealt with an only slightly more complicated premise and slightly older characters. While I found the concept of decendants from all of the various mythological gods and goddesses interesting, it seemed that this book was simply trying to be an adult version of the Percy Jackson kids books. Not that it was bad, it was just a bit on the simple side for an adult Urban Fantasy novel. 'bin there, done that, as it were. It's a shame though, as Black is a good writer and her teen novels are well imagined and suited for the target audience. Let's hope that the inevitable sequels to Dark Descendants show a little more of Black's creative storytelling talent.
Book Count: 34
I am Half-Sick of Shadows
Alan Bradley
Doubleday, 2011
288 pages
Oh the deliciousness of a new Flavia de Luce mystery! In this four installment of Bradley's series, it is Christmas time and our 11 year old chemist and detective in training is brewing a concoction to prove once and for all the St. Nicholas does indeed exist, no matter how often her sisters claim the contrary. Flavia's experiment is soon interrupted as a film crew arrives at Buckshaw - her father has rented their home to attempt to find an income for the family. Flavia is immediately drawn to the leading lady in this production - much to the chagrin of her older sisters - and is thrilled at the prospect of Buckshaw hosting a small production on Christmas Eve for the townsfolk. But murder is afoot after the curtain comes down, and the killer is snowed-in with the rest of the villagers! Can Flavia help the detectives solve the murder before she herself becomes the next victim?
Set in 1950s England, Bradley's books are absolutely magnificent - the portrayal of post-WWII England through the eyes of an 11 year old child is mesmerizing and the mysteries as Holmesian as one could wish for. While each book contains one complete mystery, Bradley continues to give us pieces of insight into Flavia's family - how her Father and Dogger are reliant upon each other because of the war, the mystery behind Flavia's mother's death, and why her older sisters seem to hate her with such intensity. New readers to this series should start with book one The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie as Flavia's adventures are too wonderful to miss!
Book Count: 33
Death by Killer Mop Doll
Death By Killer Mop
Doll
Lois
Winston
Llewellyn Worldwide,
2012
312
pages
Anastasia Pollack is having a rough, well, life. Raising two
teenage sons alone would be enough without the constant pressure of having both
her mother and
her mother-in-law live with her - plus a Shakespeare-spouting parrot, and a
militant dog. The mothers hate each other, Anastasia's dead husband has left
them massively in debt, and her poor-paying job has now piled on a tv show spot
with no extra pay. Not to mention the dead body on set - impaled by one on
Anastasia's Mop Dolls! No stranger to murders (see her first mystery in Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun),
Anastasia's snooping soon lands her into even more trouble, and in the
crosshairs of the killer!
Anastasia is a typical North American mom – just trying to hang in
there like the rest of us. With a little bit of romance, a dose of who-done-it
and a giant pile of hilarity, Winston’s mystery novels are fun and entertaining
– perfect for a girl’s night off or lying on a beach! Fans of Janet Evanovich's
Stephanie Plum series will be sure to enjoy the exploits of Anastasia
Pollack!
Book Count: 32
The House on Durrow Street
The House on Durrow Street
Galen Beckett
Random House, 2010
704 pages
Ivy’s world is getting more complicated. Her father has been
admitted to an insane asylum, her husband is away much of the time in his work
for the king, and the red planet is drawing closer. The slew of other
characters introduced in The Magicians
and Mrs. Quent also find themselves in awkward positions – thrust into
powerful positions they do not need, tempted by magic they do not understand,
and deeply involved in political intrigue that is becoming more and more about
the darkness descending on Altania, while less and less about the persons
running the country. Ivy and her compatriots must discover the secrets of the
red planet and how they are tied to the house on Durrow street that Ivy was
born in. For the trees are awakening throughout the country. And they are
angry.
I have heard a number of readers say that they gave up on this book after
a hundred pages or so– the magic seemed missing. Alas, dear reader! Hold on for
a few more pages (there are 704 of them, after all)! Once this book gets going,
the pace is relentless to the end and most assuredly filled with magic, intrigue
and galactic consequences. Nothing Beckett writes is without purpose – it all
comes crashing down on his characters whether they are ready for their places
in the battle for their world or not. Part Victorian society, part political
thriller, all sadly reflective of some of this planet’s greatest tragedies, The House on Durrow Street is not to be
set aside if you enjoyed the first novel in this fantastical series.
Book Count: 31
The Magicians and Mrs. Quent
The Magicians and Mrs.
Quent
Galen
Beckett
Random House,
2009
512
pages
What would happen to the characters in Jane Austen's novels if they
had the use of magic? What if the use of magic was a determiner of the social
structure of the world? Galen Beckett's novel The
Magicians and Mrs. Quent explores these ideas and adds a healthy
dose of killer trees, political intrigue and end-of-the-world consequences.
First in a series, this book is a page turner filled with characters whose
choices often break your heart. If you enjoy Pride
and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights as well as magical fantasy, you are
sure to enjoy this story.
In truth, I read this book for the first time shortly after it was
published. Since then, Beckett has published two more novels in the series and I
simply did not remember enough of the first book to continue on without
re-reading this novel! Beckett is a very
skilled author, and I have become fond of the world he has created – thankfully
there are two more books to go! A note to readers: Beckett is actually a
pseudonym for the author Mark Anthony, whose Last Rune fantasy series I also greatly
enjoyed reading.
Book Count: 30
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