Princess For Hire

Princess for Hire Lindsey Leavitt

Desi knows she's destined for greatness-- something much better than spending the summer in a groundhog costume handing out coupons in front of the Pets Charming pet store. When she sees an ad to be a princess, she can't resist.

It turns out that she has Magic Potential and sometimes even princesses need a break. When royals need to get away from their lives for awhile, they call Facade. A bit of magic rouge will transform the sub to a physical match with the princess and the sub will step in for a few days so the real princess can escape.

Desi wants to make an impact, so she tries to help the princesses solve their problems when she's pretending to be them--sadly this is very against the rules. And while Desi can try to solve the princesses' problems, who will help her solve her own?

Very fun with awesome comebacks, ultimate humiliations, and some cool magic technology. It's a fun, light read that shows some of the darker sides of princessdom (Facade runs out of subs when no one wants to go to horrible Lady Carol's wedding). I also liked the internal politics of Facade. I think this will be a series*-- there's definitely room for more continuing adventures but they aren't necessary. However, if they come, I will probably read them.

*Charlotte reviewed this last week and she says there are two more coming.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Changeless

Changeless Gail Carriger

SPOILERS! There are SPOILERS for Soulless in this review! It can't be helped!

There seems to be a plague of... humanity infecting London's supernatural. The Shadow Council can't figure it out, and to top it all off, Lord Maccon has some urgent family business crop up in Scotland and has gone to deal with it. As the plague spreads, Alexia follows it, along with Ivy, her sister, and a most intriguing French woman who makes the most marvelous parasols. The answer seems to lie at Maccon's ancestral home, where there is a pack of werewolves sorely lacking and alpha and feeling abandoned by the one they used to have.

Did you like the first? You'll like this one, too. The back is a bit misleading, as it makes it seem that Maccon and Alexia are having relationship issues when they're not. The same humor and manners and romance as the first, but takes the story further with the mystery of the humanity plague. Plus, some great new characters.

BUT HOLY COW THE ENDING! You might want to wait and read this at the end of August, so you can pick up Blameless right away and not fret over such a cliffhanger!

Book Provided by... my local library, then my wallet

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Soulless

Soulless Gail Carriger

My friend Dana read this during my blog birthday party. It looked good and she confirmed that I would like it. It then went on to win an Alex this year. So, I checked it out from the library and LOVED LOVED LOVED it. I got the sequel right away and then when I finished it, ran to the bookstore and bought both of them and pre-ordered the third (which comes out this fall.)

Basic premise is this-- Victorian London. Ghosts, vampires, and werewolves exist and are upstanding members of society. Not everyone can be a supernatural. It has to do with an excess of soul. If you have too much soul, then you'll survive being changed into a vampire or werewolf, or can stick around as a ghost after you die.

To balance this, there's Alexia Tarabotti. She's a spinster, half-Italian, larger with a big nose, and has horrible Bluestocking tendencies. As if that weren't bad enough she has no soul. This comes rather in handy when she's attacked by a hungry vampire in the middle of a ball. Preternaturals like her cancel out the supernatural elements when they come in contact. As soon as the vampire touches her, his teeth turn back into teeth.

Of course, then she accidentally kills him. And gets herself involved in the detestable Lord Maccon's (alpha werewolf) investigation, which discovers that there are vampires and werewolves going missing. And new ones turning up with no idea about the rules of such things...

SO MUCH FUN!!! Victorian manners + steam punk + urban fantasy + good food + horribly awful hats + a great romance? YES PLEASE.

It's just fun and funny. Many of the characters are outrageous and over the top. Alexia's mother and half-sisters are picture-perfect pretty and unbelievably shallow. Lord Akeldama is a mincing vampire whose fashion sense is much more Regency dandy than Victorian aristocrat, which a bevy of young men looking after him. And Alexia's best friend, Ivy Hisselpenny (Hisselpenny?!) has Empire's worst taste in hats.

It was also a lot... steamier... than I was expecting, but I'm not complaining about that, especially as it was really well done. ;)

Book Provided by... my local library, and then my wallet.

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker

The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker Leanna Renee Hieber

In Victorian London, there are six members of the Guard, tasked with The Grand Work. The Grand Work involves keeping the spirit world at bay, keeping the human world safe. But things are getting harder. Hell hounds have been unleashed. The Ripper stalks and attacks the alone and defenseless.

The Guard waits for their prophesied seventh. The one who will bring a war, but will also enable them to win it.

Percy Parker has always been different. Not only can she see and hear ghosts, but she looks like one with bone white skin, ice blue eyes, and white hair. When she arrives at Athens Academy, she is thrust up against the Guard their enigmatic leader, the dark and somber Professor Rychman.

Amazon kept recommending this to me because I liked Soulless so much, so I checked it out from the library. It's no Soulless, but I did enjoy it. I liked the way Hieber works British History (such as Jack the Ripper) in with the spirit world and how it's all related to Greek Myth. (I won't say which ones, because that gives some things away, but lots of warped Greek myth here.)

I was a bit taken aback, because this is, technically, a romance novel. It doesn't get that steamy and while there is definitely a love story here, I feel it's almost secondary to the grander plot of the Guard finding their seventh and fighting back the forces of evil. (Also, it's a rather chaste love story.)

Rychman, however, a great romantic hero. He reminded me a bit of Snape in that dark aloof professor always swooping about the school. But he's more in the lines of Darcy-- smoldering and stand-offish that takes awhile to get to know the soft gooey center. Ok, maybe not gooey, but you know what I mean. (I hope.)

I also really liked the secondary characters. I most loved how the rest of the Guard (lovingly) mocked Rychman, which gave the reader most of our information about his character and appearance. Elijah thinks that Beethoven should start spontaneously playing whenever Rychman appears, so they start singing it when he enters and exits, much to his chagrin. It was those small moments that made the book for me.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Lips Touch: Three Times

Lips Touch: Three Times Laini Taylor

Three stories, three kisses, three women marked with dark and supernatural forces.

Kizzy's the perfect target for the goblins. Though she lives in modern times, she should know better. Her family is weird, her family believes. Her desire to be normal is what makes her a perfect target. But, when they come for her, will she notice? Will she even care?

In the days of the British rule over India, a bargain with a demon saves twenty-two children from an earthquake, but leaves one cursed with the most beautiful voice, but anyone who hears it will die. She grows up, silent, not wanting to test it, to see if it's true, but curses can't be real, can they?

The Druj are immortal, magic-working, shape-shifters. They keep human children as pets. A girl-mother and her unborn child have escaped, but fourteen years later, there will be a price to pay, and it must be paid.

Every story starts with illustrations, a wordless picture book introduction with backstory.

Such a wonderful book that lives up the hype and the rewards. This is a perfect example of teen appeal and amazing literary quality. How can you not love such writing like this:

Kizzy laughed and it came out as a throaty chuckle, almost a purr, the closest she had yet to come to the sultry voice she would grow into as she grew up and learned how to wear her skin. If she grew up.

Oh, the foreboding.

The last story, "Hatchling" is the longest, and also my least favorite. The first, "Goblin Fruit" with its juxtaposition of Eastern European (Roma, possibly?) beliefs and culture with modern American high school life just works so well... and it's dark and spooky without being horror. Just a fairy tale gone darker than Grimm.

So delicious.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Using your psychic powers to read high school social cues...

Golden Jennifer Barnes

All the women in Lissy's family have some sort of psychic ability. Lissy can see auras, and as she starts life at a new high school, she knows her math teacher is up to no good. Meanwhile, she's trying to navigate the crazy social scene. The most popular kids are the "Goldens" the rest are "Nons" and the school takes the distinction very seriously. Luckily, the students realize that it's weird, it's not that Barnes thinks high schools are usually like that. Lissy has to pay even more attention to it because the Queen of the Goldens is her uncle's girlfriend's daughter, so they're often thrown together.

Barnes wrote this book at the age of 19. It's really good for someone who was 19 when she wrote it, but it's no where near as good as her Perfect Cover or Killer Spirit. Being a huge fan of those books, I was disappointed with this one. BUT! I do like that she set it in Oklahoma and Lissy has to quickly realize that Oklahoma is not full of hicks.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

I think Dan has a parking talent fairy. Mine involves breaking myself.

How to Ditch Your Fairy Justine Larbalestier

Charlie has the worst fairy ever-- a parking talent fairy. Sure, it sounds great, but when everyone wants you to sit in their car while they go to the grocery store just so they can get a good spot? Stupid. It gets worse when the star water polo player starts kidnapping her for good parking. Charlie needs a new fairy, and pronto. Her best friend Rochelle has a shopping talent fairy--amazing clothes at low prices. Her crush Steffi has a never-get-in-trouble fairy. Sadly, the world's biggest fairy experts are the parents of Fiorenze Stupid-Name, possessor of the every-boy-likes-you fairy (so unfair!). Charlie's not going down that road for help, but she does need to get rid of her fairy. Disaster and hilarity ensue.

Lots of fun and a good read, but what really strikes me Larbalestier's world building. Fairly close to ours, but you know, with fairies. Beyond that though, the concept of a magnet high school for sports, where you study PR and statistics along with your chosen athletic areas. But Larbalestier has seriously thought this through to the point where they are examined medically on a regular basis and have their nutrition closely monitored. Building further out, race seems ambiguous, with everyone being a shade of brown (and it only comes up when doing a complete physical description as is standard when talking about how hotttt someone is) and sexual preference is no big deal, but plenty of students are gay or bi. It's just a matter of who you have a crush on. It's not a thing. And, you have the conceit of those who live in New Avalon and think their city is the center of the universe and how they look down on the rest of the world. But, this world building never gets in the way of the story. It's there seamlessly. When you can do that much world building in a light frothy story? Sweet.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

When's Dinner? I'm Hungry!

Do you NaNo, too? Check out John Green's latest video about it (and his hair) (warning-- that's a direct link to YouTube, so it'll start playing right away.)

Even better, IF YOU ARE A MAC PERSON, Scrivner is offering a free trial for NaNo-ers. AND, if you win, you can then buy it for 1/2 price! Which I'd be all over, except I'm a PC, and it only works with Mac. Poo. It looks really, really neat. Alas and Alack.

And now, two reviews from the vault, as I need to do my writing for tonight (they're both short, because I don't have anything to add to the discussion of them.)

City of Bones Cassandra Clare

Clary has started to be able to see things that aren't there. After her mother is taken by demons, Clary (and her best friend Simon) quickly finds themselves in a world of demon hunters, including hotttttt (and infuriating) Jace. If Clary's going to save her mother, she has to deal with all sorts of recent history and politics.

Soooooooo not for me. I figured everything out way too quickly and wanted to smack Clary for missing the painfully obvious. Every big reveal was something I had figured out chapters ago. A lot of people found this funny, but I'm not one of them. And Holly Black's cover blurb promised "Funny, Dark, and Sexy" but I didn't find it to be any of that. I could actually go on for pages, but that would move into the petty and mean and not overly helpful or useful. If I were funnier, I could go for comedic-like some of the great Twilight takedowns, but I'm not, so I won't. Oh well. Everyone I know loves this series to death and so I'm glad I read it, but I won't read the others.

Graceling Karen Cashore

Katsa is Graced with a special killing ability that's exploited by her uncle the King. In her work with the secret council that she founded to offset her Uncle's dirty work, she discovers an international plot. With the help of another Graced one (Prince Po) she sets off to save a kingdom and a princess. Lots of adventure and girls kicking butt. Not really my thing, but good. I can see why it's so popular.

But, HOLY HOT GRACELING ACTION BATMAN! I was not suspecting it to go there. I thought it would stay cleaner for the younger teen set, but nope. It went there. And those are the parts I loved, and why I enjoyed reading it.

There's a companion novel/prequel out, Fire I probably won't read it, because it won't have Katsa or Po and I was more interested in their relationship than the world they inhabited.

Books Provided by... my local library

Reasons I picked them up both were required reading for my small group discussions at Books for the Beast

Currently Listening to Every Sperm Is Sacred Monty Python

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.