Chilling, no really my hands are cold...

I have been quite slow with this blog, I really need to pick up and do more.   I think I will also do some adult books here, since not that many people are reading this and I feel like of late I have been reading more adult books.  Especially the Outlander series, which I am now addicted to.  Oddly, it took a while for me to get through the first book, but after part of book 2, I have been flying through them.  Coming up for air this week and a break with some other library books, but I love Jamie and Claire, Roger and Brianna.

Oh, you want to know about the title?  Well, it is the second day of autumn here, and I am wearing a long sleeve shirt and jeans and smart wool socks, does that answer your question?  September has been odd, weather wise, but that's Cleveland for you.

In addition to reviewing Outlander, I think I will also do the Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones.  An adult mismash of genres, to be sure.  It has mystery, paranormal, romance, not to mention Reyes, who has his own category because he is so HOT.  Of course, I say I will do these things, but really, I only hope to.  Here's hoping I will finish up Enola Holmes today while my KnowItNow shift is a bit light.  Au revoir, mes amis!

The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets

As I mentioned before, these Enola Holmes books delve into the meaning of flowers.  This book in particular is all about it.  The Victorians were curious creatures, a mixture of the proper and improper, but for some reason we tend to remember the former much more than the latter.  I certainly won't get into certain improper things here, as it is not the proper place to do so, but one way they got around the proprieties was through messages.  Fans (which is the next novel) and flowers could convey secret messages by how they were arranged and what flowers were present.  Pretty cool, huh?

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The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets
by Nancy Springer

Enola is distressed to learn from the papers that Dr. Watson is missing, so she dons one of her many disguises (this time, the beautiful lady, Viola Everseau, her crowning achievement) and visits the worried Mrs. Watson in order to determine what has happened to the good doctor.  While there, she notices what is a strange bouquet among traditional arrangements: red poppies, white hawthorn, convolulus, and asparagus.  The meanings of these are sleep, bad luck, and a convoluted or twisted meaning with the asparagus, which Enola does not know the meaning of immediately.  However, it is clear that the sender does not mean to comfort the woman.

When Sherlock Holmes appears while Enola is there, she stays in character and gushes over him, then effectively makes her escape.  But who could have created such a strange bouquet?  Deciding to keep watch for further messages within flowers, Enola starts boarding across the street, makes a message to the creator of the bouquet in the classifieds of the time, and waits and watches.  It is only a day or two before another bouquet comes.  The meaning looks like something dire has happened to Dr. Watson, and Enola is once again on the case, this time trying to find the dear friend of her brother.

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Again, there is quite a bit of danger to Enola in the book, but the readers should have no trouble separating fact from fiction.  I give this nine out of ten sonic screwdrivers.

The Case of the Left-Handed Lady

So I am taking back all of the Enola Holmes books to the library, making it necessary to finish up these reviews before doing so, just so I can check little things.  Mostly, I know the series pretty well, so I could probably talk out of a certain part of my body and have no problem with the general story, but to be fair to you, I don't want to do that.  This particular title resonates with me as I am left-handed.  Sometimes my brain works in mysterious ways, which I think may be a product of everything being made for a right-handed world.  Or I am just making that up in order to have a reason for my brain.  Either way, enjoy...

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The Case of the Left-Handed Lady
by Nancy Springer

Since she is rather pleased with how she was able to find the missing young marquess, Enola decides to put her skills to work by advertising herself as a Perditorian.  That would be someone who finds missing people or things for a living.  However, she cannot be a female Perditorian, as that would not be feasible in Victorian London, so she makes herself up as a secretary to Dr. Leslie T. Ragostin, Scientific Perditorian.  As Ivy Meshle, Enola has changed her appearance to that of a Victorian shopgirl, looking nothing like her former self.

Strangely, one of her first customers is Dr. John Watson, who wants Dr. Ragostin to help her find. . . herself?  And her mother?  Oh dear.  While Dr Watson is there, Enola gleams a case that her brother is working on, a missing daughter of baron, and is also worried to learn that Sherlock appears to be in a decline (though she also fears the entire visit may be a trap).

Enola keeps up correspondence with her mother via flower cipher in the magazines, goes out at night giving to the poor in the guise of a Nun, and now begins work on the case of the missing Lady Cecily Alistair.  New disguises abound, as do close calls and meetings with her dear brothers.  Enola won't be dismayed, even after a rather terrible run-in with a garrote.

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The overall mystery is great, with questions of dual identity with the left-handed drawings of Lady Cecily (something that wouldn't have been tolerated in that time).  I don't think I figured out the mystery the first time around, not until it became obvious to Enola.  There are plenty of scary scenes, especially when Enola gets garrotted, but I think the mature readers that would be involved can handle it.  After all, there is much worse stuff on television and movies.  The writing continues to impress.

I give book Two of Six: 9 out of 10 sonic screwdrivers, again.  I love this series.

The Case of the Missing Marquess

Yes, I have been terrible once more with updates.  Can I just give the excuse that I love reading so much, I would rather do it than write?  However, if you like children's mysteries, historical fiction, and Sherlock Holmes (that would pretty much describe me to a T), then you should enjoy the Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer.  Now, Enola is an odd name, to be sure, but if you look at it backwards, you will realize it has meaning.

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The Case of the Missing Marquess
by Nancy Springer

Enola Holmes is a much younger sister to the great detective, Sherlock Holmes.  Her mother had Enola late in life, and so Enola is about to turn 14 as our story begins, while her brothers are much older gentlemen.  Enola has been raised by her somewhat liberal and suffragette mother, though perhaps raised would not be the best term.  The butler and housekeeper have acted more as parents, as her mother, descended of the Vernets, goes out daily to draw and paint watercolors of flowers out in the fields.  Enola, left to her own devices, has become somewhat of a tomboy or hoyden.  She has read every book in the library but has had no governess, can ride a bicycle, and can climb a tree pretty well.

On Enola's 14th birthday, she has a mostly normal day, but her mother is not back for tea, so the butler Lane gives her the gifts her mother left for her.  They include a book of ciphers, which Enola has never enjoyed.  But when her mother fails to return, Enola realizes something is wrong.  Her famous older brothers come at word of their mother's disappearance, full of terrible ideas for Enola of boarding school and becoming a proper young lady.

This is the last thing Enola wants, and she sets about solving the ciphers after her brothers' departures, finding hidden things about the house with the book of flower meanings that Enola also received from her mother.  

For some reason I want to relay the whole book, so I think I will stop there.  Suffice it to say, Enola sets off on her own, determined to escape her brothers and boarding school, and stumbles onto another mystery.  The book is surprisingly adept at creating a real, if tomboy, Victorian girl.  The addition of Victorian meaning of flowers (throughout the series, actually) is quite interesting.  I think anyone with a love of SH, mysteries, and children's literature would love this, though so also would bright school age readers who love delving into other time periods. (I know I did at that age.)  There is some violence in the book, but the most likely readers should not have a problem with it.  Who doesn't like a good adventure story, and if you find SH a bit prissy, keep reading the series.  You will find that his Victorian attitude is much more flexible than Mycroft's.

I give this first book in a series of six: Nine out of Ten Sonic Screwdrivers

Airplane reading

7:17 am

What is it about airplanes that make it hard to read with full comprehension?  Is it the loud droning noise in the background, the small seats, the lack of legroom?  Whatever it is, I barely ever feel like reading, or when I do read, it feels somewhat awkward. Like I can't quite transport myself to London or Fool's Gold, or wherever the book is set.  Because forever there is the drone of the plane, an unending loud noise that makes you feel like there are insects crawling on your skin.

So I sit here, back aching for some reason, listening to a relaxation track, hoping that the next hour will go by quickly.

8:26am

It was actually an hour and a half from then.  Making descents aren't always fun. Ears popping. I did get a little reading in earlier, but not that much.

 1:00pm

I'm on the second flight, tired out of my mind. I thought it was an hour later that it really is, so another 1.5 hours remain.  I don't have patience for reading again, but sleeping is not working either.

Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris

Well, I am finally getting to what I promised initially-- reviewing the complete (so far) Theodosia Throckmorton series.  And it had better not be done, Robin Lorraine LaFevers, so help me.

Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris
by R. L. LaFevers

Things have settled down somewhat for Theodosia since her last escapade.  However, her father makes her start cataloging the artifacts down in the basement, which is worrisome to Theo because of the potential curses she feels coming from these objects.  Theo begins her usual methods of checking for dark magic, but in the midst of her working, a jackal statue seems to come to life.

Following some other strange happenings, all the mummies from all the museums and the like disappear, only to begin turning up in the hallway of Theo's father's museum.  There is definitely magic afoot here, but is it the work of the Serpents of Chaos group or something else entirely?

Meanwhile, Theo's grandmother, who seems to have an admirer in an Admiral, brings new loathsome governesses to educate Theo, but our clever girl needs none of that deportment stuff.  Nor does she need to be doing lessons all day when she has to protect the British empire from all these curses!

Sticky Will, the pickpocket turned messenger for the Brotherhood is not as helpful or open as he once was, and Theo feels more alone than ever.  Her father is on the verge of arrest for stealing the mummies that appear in his locked museum every morning, and something is amiss with some of the artifacts down in the basement.  What can Theo do to prevent the arrest, stop the mummies from wandering, defeat the Serpents again, and get back her friendship with Will?


This book continues from where the last one left off after Theo and her mother get back from her unscheduled trip to Egypt.  I love how LaFevers continues to show the steps to defeat the curses.  As I said before, some might find these parts slow moving, but I think it just further envelops the reader in Theodosia's world, making it seem more real.  There is still plenty of excitement, though the first part of the book is not as full of action as the second.  The idea of mummies walking on their own might scare younger readers in the suggested range, but if they read the first book, there isn't anything much scarier than what happened within.  The book is very engaging once more, though it does suffer a little for being a second book in a series.  But not too much.

I give this 8 out of 10 sonic screwdrivers.

Meeting authors

I must say that meeting the authors of favorite books can be a great time.  I met several awesome people last year--Meg Cabot, Deborah Harkness, Laurie R. King, and several others at Bouchercon.  Cabot and King were the coolest, because I got to eat a meal with them (at separate times; together it would be an odd combination, since their writing styles are quite different).  And sitting in that big circle in the Renaissance Hotel lobby with all my FOL new friends was awesome too.

However, there are other times where you put your foot in your mouth and feel like a complete dolt, and someone like Daniel Handler totally takes advantage of that and even immortalizes your gaffe in your signing.  That's the other kind of meeting authors that isn't so great.  After a half hour or so presentation, the rest of the time of the Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen author/illustrator visit was taken by book signing.  I was basically almost the end of the line, and since I was getting both to sign The Dark, I had to wait in 2 lines.  Klassen was nice and cute, and drew a picture of a car with his John Hancock.  By the time I finished with him, it was after 10 (program started at 7).

I did get to chat with a nice girl who was right behind me in line, and we liked a lot of the same things.  I wish I had got some contact info, cause we we both into Doctor Who, Veronica Mars, Joss Whedon, and other cool stuff.  Still, I was exhausted by the time I got to Handler, the official author representative for Snicket ;).  I tried to express my enjoyment for Mr. Snicket's books but it came out rather botched.  I completely embarrassed myself in front of all the people left.  And got it immortalized in my copy of The Dark, which is rather unfortunate.  Ha!

Mr. Handler's inscription reads: To Jessica, who ought to know better.

So that is my condensed version of what happened meeting Daniel Handler.  If you want to know the whole story, well, you are just going to have to ask me.

Samantha Sutton and the Labyrinth of Lies

So, another Goodreads review since I haven't been blogging at all recently.  Much apologies to Mary Michelle and whoever else is out there.  I liked this one, but as a librarian type I wasn't sure of the intended audience.  The protagonist was younger than most people who might have developed an intense archaeology interest, and the writing style was also geared towards the earlier middle grades.

* * * * *

Samantha Sutton and the Labyrinth of Lies
by Jordan Jacobs

I really wanted to love this, because it combines so many things I adore--mystery, children's lit, archaeology, and adventure. However, I have been waffling between 3 and 4 stars because though I enjoyed the book, I feel like its audience is limited. I suppose this is a good thing, it means I am thinking like a librarian. Samantha is a character I can relate to, but I sort of felt there was some spark of personality missing from her, or that I didn't quite connect with her. And while the descriptive archaeology terms were great, I felt like it might detract some younger readers from the story. So while it is a story that I would love to love, I can't quite get there. The mystery is well formed, however, and though I had my suspicions I didn't quite get the answer before the reveal. I love the pieces of Samantha's notebook between chapters. So after looking over what I have written, a 3 star review seems to correspond. Maybe the next book in the series will have more characterization. I will probably stick with it to see what happens, but it won't be at the top of my TBR list.

* * * * *

So, I suppose it is 6 out of 10 sonic screwdrivers. 

Many apologies

Not totally sure if anyone is actually reading this.  But if you are, I wanted to apologize that I haven't been posting.  It isn't that I haven't been reading, but I fear I am being lazy about the blog.  Still, I really would like to to keep it up.  Any sort of response would help encourage me, though I do want to keep trying no matter what.

Right now I am staffing Ohio's KnowItNow 24x7, an online chat reference service for anyone in the state.  I did some training a couple weeks ago, and today is my first time.  I was talking to a librarian in Dayton who said it was quiet for a Monday, so I hope next week should bring more opportunity.  Still, it is nice to try to hone my reference skills, though the two chats I have taken both got disconnected.  Sadly, since they both seemed to be nice people.

I think part of what makes it hard to do this is that I am then admitting I have time to do it, which is depressing.  The job market for librarians is a bit shaky right now, so finding a job and getting to the interview point is even harder.  Let alone actually getting a job.

I will see about an entry later today.  Maybe for one of the numerous paranormal mystery series I have been reading of late.  Better get back to staffing the service, though there are no users on right now. Au revoir. 

God of the Hive

Anyone who knows me knows I love the Mary Russell books.  I got to meet Laurie, Miss Russell's editor at this past year's Bouchercon in Cleveland.  Quite spectacular.  So I have a Goodreads review from book ten, God of the Hive, that is fairly complete and sharable.  Enjoy!

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After I won the ARC of this from Goodreads, I was ever so excited.  Since The Language of Bees ended in a cliffhanger, I was especially grateful to get to read the book as soon as possible.  However, it was necessary to reread #9 before reading The God of the Hive.  Believe me, if you don't reread it and the last time you read #9 was last year, you might be a little lost (unless you have a photographic memory).  So on the recommendation of Miss Russell herself (on Twitter), I listened to the previous book.
 
The God of the Hive begins directly where the last left off, with Mary Russell carrying Estelle on her back in Scotland.  With the realization that Brothers is not dead, Russell must get the child to safety as soon as possible.  Since they are in the Orkneys, however, it is a bit of a problem.  Russell must once again get on that rickety plane and fly south to England, but that is easier said than done.  Meanwhile, Holmes is fleeing with a shot Damian, making it difficult for them to escape the Orkneys as well.  Both groups are able to succeed with help from old and new friends, including Russell's help from the mysterious Robert Goodman.

However, things are rotten in London.  Scotland Yard is after the Holmes family, and they are not the only ones.  The middle of the book brings some great worry, and I made the unfortunate mistake of pausing there amid my grad schoolwork.  Warning: Do not do this!  It will greatly affect your psyche and possibly make you miserable.  I won't give away anything else, just that more enemies exist for the Holmes' than Brothers and his gang.

I really enjoyed reading the ARC, but I frankly cannot wait to read the actual book.  If only to get the fully edited story without the interruption of school work.  Thanks, Miss Russell, for your exciting memoir.  And thanks, LRK, for the wonderful job of editing it.

Who Could That Be at This Hour?

Huge Lemony Snicket fan here.  How about you?  Some find it an acquired taste, but it is just perfect for me and my sense of humor.  His use of language is spectacular, and this book, a prequel series of sorts, is unusual like his other works.

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I read this faster then I wanted to, but it was due today with holds.  I love going into Snicket's childhood, and the whole thing is sufficiently mysterious and nonsensical like his other work.  Lemony has just graduated from the secret organization he trained with, and is now apprenticing with the worst of the 52 chaperones.  He has a reason for this, but I don't want to give anything away.  Basically, he ends up in a dying town for his first assignment, and meets some intelligent young people and ridiculous adults.  If you like A Series of Unfortunate Events and other Snicket works, you will enjoy.  If you don't like it, I don't know if you will care for this.  The writing style is similar to his grownup voice, but this sounds younger and less experienced.  Which in my mind, makes it all the more awesome, as an evolution of the author/character.  I might change this to a 5 star after I get another chance to read it, but for now it is 4.5.  Can't wait for the next one.

The Name of the Game Was Murder

Any Joan Lowry Nixon fans out there?  She wrote some great teen mysteries with tame romances attached.  Here is one that does not bear a romance, but had a really cool puzzle involved with the mystery.  And as I am posting directly from Goodreads, it may bear some references to that in the reviews.  I hope you don't mind.  Also, they are shorter than what I will be posting (probably) for my regular reviews here.  Still, they give a flavor for the books.

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I'm trying to make an attempt to add everything? (eek!) I have ever read onto Goodreads. This will be an interesting exercise, to say the least. I picked this book since I have read it so many times and I can see it from my bed.

Nixon always does an excellent job of drawing in the reader, making her feel for the protagonist. I can't really remember if I solved the mystery when I first read the book, but it is an interesting little puzzle. And the murderer is unexpected as well. Some of the story is a bit dated now, since some of the characters claim to not be familiar with computers, and today that would be near impossible. However, there is something about this little mystery that makes me smile when I read it.

My Side of the Mountain

So I am going to move some of my Goodreads reviews here in order to fatten her up.  I will also try to stay on top of adding new material too, but since I have but one lone review, I think it is time to add some more.

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George was a Newbery Honor book for that year and is a pretty interesting tale.  The following review is a response to some silly people who take books for children as literal suggestions of what children should do.  Which is ridiculous, since that isn't the point.  Imagination.  Traveling and not moving an inch, seeing the world without spending a penny.  Those are the points.  Sometimes I worry about reviewers who don't seem to have an ounce of imagination or creativity in them.  How do they survive in the world?  So, the conversational tone is addressing their criticism of the book's survival story.

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People, this book was written in the late 50s, and things were a bit different back then. Trying to place it in the now does not work. Yes, there are many unbelievable parts, but it is a children's fiction book, not a survival guide.  This charming story brings me back to my youth and reading other George books.  Escaping the hustle and bustle of everyday life is something many of us imagine for a time. I know I did, judging from journals from when I was young. Thinking it is bad or stupid because of its implausibilities means you have lost your imagination and probably have no idea what some kids think about. perhaps it should not be forced on kids to read in school, but classics that won awards are always fair game. If you don't like them, write a new story that will get awards. And if you can't, then don't complain. The  Newbery (et al.) selection committee is awesome and well qualified and does an awesome job finding the top books out of hundreds or thousands published a year.

Sorry for the rant. This book is lovely and accessible to many.  Keep when it was written in context, and you should enjoy the day to day life of surviving on a mountain.

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos

When I was little, I used to think that chaos was pronounced tcha-Os, which makes sense when you don't understand the rules of English, especially when it isn't even an English word.  So the title Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos will helpfully assist in some pronunciation lessons for some precocious children.  Of course, that isn't all that Theodosia will do.

Theodosia Throckmorton, or Theo, is peculiar and knows it.  As an 11-year-old in Edwardian London, she should really be in boarding school or under a governess's tutelage, but she instead creates her own studies based on the scholarly materials available at the museum where her father is curator: The Museum of Legends and Antiquities.  Even more fantastic is her ability to see the dark curses surrounding the artifacts, including those that her archaeologist mother is bringing from Egypt.

So if you are like me, you can already see why I am super into this series.  Theo spends some nights in the museum sleeping in a sarcophagus (which keeps her safe from curses) and creates her own curriculum, learning all about Egyptian history, relics, and hieroglyphs.  Aside from the scary curses bit, what book-loving kid would not want to practically live in a museum?  Of course, it is not glamorous (very dirty), and Theo does not get along with the second assistant curator.  Theo also has a wonderful cat called Isis, who seems at home with her human in the museum.

Now I am going to say SPOILERS AHEAD, though they are vague.

Sensing the curator's interest in dark curse-ridden artifact, Theo uses the methods of curse removal she has learned from her studies to make it safe.  I love how R. L. LaFevers  actually describes the methods that Theo uses and her substitutions for living in England. Some might find these parts slow, but I like how they add realism to the story.  There are unfortunate side effects to this removal, which make Theo's life more difficult.

Also, Theo's mother brings back The Heart of Egypt, which is very powerful and soon brings out evil forces interested in obtaining it.  But it reveals another group of powerful men who are dedicated to stopping this evil force, The Serpents of Chaos, from trying to descend Great Britain and the entire world into chaos.  Theo also makes friends with a pickpocket, Sticky Will, who becomes her help and eventually messenger with the wise group, the Brotherhood of the Chosen Keepers.

End Vague Spoilers

What captured me with the Theodosia books is the mythology, archaeology, supernatural, and historical in one place.  As an anthropology student as an undergrad, I loved archaeology.  And even as a child, I loved Egyptology.  In theory, this might be great to fit in with mythology curricula.  There aren't enough Rick Riordan books to go around, and this would provide an alternate series, especially for girls who don't like as much action*.

I cannot say that everyone will enjoy this book.  Fans of Percy Jackson or the Kane Chronicles may find little action.  The detail combined with only a little action may not appeal to certain readers, but it is a perfect series for me.  However, as the series progresses, there is more and more action and travel and danger.  *If a reader finishes the book but is not convinced based on lack of action, let them know there is more to come.

I recently referred to Robin LaFevers on her blog as a sort of Judith Merkle Riley for teens and children.  The more I have thought about the sentiment, the more I agree.  I have read all LaFevers' books since Theodosia began (there are few written before that), and I have read all Judith Merkle Riley's works.  The detail, history, and supernatural elements are in both authors' works.

I give Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos 9 out of 10 sonic screwdrivers.

It happens...

So I have decided to start a public book blog.  I suppose it was inevitable, though I certainly took my time getting to this point.  I hope to keep this fully updated, but I won't give you a hard promise.  My name is Jessica and I am a MLIS graduate, which means I wanted to be a librarian but I haven't found the right job for me yet.  (That is the optimistic view that I desperately want to hold instead of the reality.)

I love all kinds of literature, though I tend to go for more happy ending stuff when I am down.  Or happy.  Probably because I become super empathetic with people, even characters in books, and thus cannot stand when terrible things happen to good people.  So upfront warning-- I read quite a bit of romance.  Some of it rather silly, but I will try to be honest while reviewing it.  But remember, don't let anyone tell you romances are bad or stupid.  Some are, but some are wonderful.  I spent my formative years reading lots of historical and regency romance, which builds the vocabulary and (if you read the right authors) gives you a mini history lesson.

I also love children's literature, so many of my reviews will be in that genre.  In fact, my next post(s) will review the first four books of the Theodosia Throckmorton series by R.L. LaFevers.  I hope it will serve to encourage Ms. LaFevers to get back to the little heroine immediately after she finishes her YA series, which I am going to recommend briefly in this post, in hopes to get an ARC of the second in the His Fair Assassin trilogy.  So if you would, visit the trailer at this EW site.  The trilogy begins with Grave Mercy which was listed in YALSA's 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults.  The second book, if you don't follow the link, is called Dark Triumph.  IF you like a combination of assassin nuns, mythology and dark fantasy, medieval Brittany, and a bit of romance, then you will probably enjoy these books. 

In addition to romance and children's/teen, I also enjoy a wide range of genres, including historical, mystery, funny memoirs, some fantasy (more in urban), some science fiction, and some narrative nonfiction.  And any combination of those you can come up with (looking at you, Jasper Fforde).  I hope you join me on my new journey, but if you don't, I understand that there are so many freaking blogs out there it would be difficult.  Of course, if you are that person, you probably aren't reading this, so I suppose my words are superfluous. Still, I like to be thorough.