Another Sunday, another stash! And we kick this one off with a HUGE thank you to a fellow blogger. CJ, I am talking to you!!! She gave me an award!!

The Little CJ Award

CJ and her mini-me Little CJ run the fabulous The Thrillionth Page blog and last Tuesday they blogged about this award that they created. Forget about Premio Dardos. Never mind the Zombie Chicken award. Because clearly the only award worth having is the Little CJ Award. BESTEST Award Ever.

(Little CJ is that good enough for you? GEE, you did NOT have to send me this image as a “friendly” reminder. I WAS going to give away the award today anyways!).

Ahem. Anyways, I shall pass on this incredible award to my bellow bloggers: Tumperkin from Isn’t it Romance and Kmont from Lurve a La Mode (you guys better pass this award pronto – I promise you ,you do not want to suffer the ire of Little CJ).

Contest Winners

We had two contests this week and here are the winners (randomly selected using Random.org).

Flash Giveaway:

The winner of batch 1 is: Sandy M

The winner of batch 2 is: Elaine

Santa Olivia Giveaway:

The 5 winners are:

Alexa
Robyn B
Carol Newell
Tiah
Nicole D

CONGRATULATIONS! Please send your snail mail address to contact AT thebooksmugglers DOT com

This week on The Book Smugglers

On Monday, Ana reviews the YA book that has become her most recent addition to her BEST of 2009 : The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan

On Tuesday Ana AKA Bubbles will be doing another Powerpuff Review with her fellow crime-fighter and book-devourer, Katiebabs AKA Blossum. They will be reading fantasy novel Darkborn by Alison Sinclair

Wednesday is Thea’s turn and she will be reviewing upcoming UF Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge

Then on Thursday Ana reviews Salt and Silver by Anna Katherine

Then finally on Friday Thea reviews You Are So Undead To Me by Stacey Jay

BEA

BEA – Book Export America was on this past weekend in NY and Katiebabs has an excellent report of the event.

Speaking of BEA, I have another HUGE thank you to say to the lovely Sarah from the Smart Bitches Trashy Books website. She was at the event when she twitted about this book and how Gail Carriger was signing copies of it:

This is one of the books I REALLY want to read this year and I was all like OMFG, I NEED, I WANT. And Sarah, was all like, I can get it for you. And then I think I passed out. All I know is that she got it, and she is sending it to me all the way to the UK. How is that for coolness? So yeah, Sarah, THANK YOU.

And that is it for today folks!

Have a great week and we will see you around.

~ your friendly neighborhood book smugglers

Since we finished covering Season 5 of LOST last weekend, we didn’t know how to fill in our now sadly empty Saturdays. Well, in order to console ourselves – and you too, dear readers of course! – we’re holding another of our infamous FLASH GIVEAWAYS!

This Saturday, we are offering TWO winners six books apiece! We’re going Paranormal Romance this week…

In the first batch we have:

And in the second batch we have:

The contest is open to everyone in the US or Canada. In order to enter for either batch, leave a comment here (one comment per person please – your comment will automatically enter you for BOTH batches). The contest will be open until MIDNIGHT tonight PST (hence, the FLASH title). GOOD LUCK!

Title: Santa Olivia

Author: Jacqueline Carey

Genre: Urban/Contemporary Fantasy

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: May 2009
Paperback: 352 pages

Stand alone or series: A stand alone novel that can be read on its own, however a sequel is in the works.

Why did I read this book: Jacqueline Carey is one of my absolute favorite authors – her Kushiel’s Legacy books are among my all time favorite novels, period. So, when I heard that she would be extending her considerable writing talents to an urban fantasy type of novel – with the promise of her take on not only werewolves, but superhero comics! – I was foaming at the mouth.

Summary: (from amazon.com)
Lushly written with rich and vivid characters, SANTA OLIVIA is Jacqueline Carey’s take on comic book superheroes and the classic werewolf myth.

Loup Garron was born and raised in Santa Olivia, an isolated, disenfranchised town next to a US military base inside a DMZ buffer zone between Texas and Mexico. A fugitive “Wolf-Man” who had a love affair with a local woman, Loup’s father was one of a group of men genetically-manipulated and used by the US government as a weapon. The “Wolf-Men” were engineered to have superhuman strength, speed, sensory capability, stamina, and a total lack of fear, and Loup, named for and sharing her father’s wolf-like qualities, is marked as an outsider.

After her mother dies, Loup goes to live among the misfit orphans at the parish church, where they seethe from the injustices visited upon the locals by the soldiers. Eventually, the orphans find an outlet for their frustrations: They form a vigilante group to support Loup Garron who, costumed as their patron saint, Santa Olivia, uses her special abilities to avenge the town.

Aware that she could lose her freedom, and possibly her life, Loup is determined to fight to redress the wrongs her community has suffered. And like the reincarnation of their patron saint, she will bring hope to all of Santa Olivia.

Review:

In a not-so-distant future, a superflu pandemic sweeps through nations, rendering many sick or dead. During the ensuing crisis, ruthless leader El Segundo threatens and war is declared between the United States and Mexico. A buffer zone is constructed, insulating the States from the Mexican border – and towns like Santa Olivia, Texas learn that they are no longer a part of the country, but are reduced to no-nationality outposts in a US Army zone. Carmen Garron is one of the many displaced former citizens, living in Santa Olivia, working as a waitress. After her first true love, a soldier and fighter in the US Army, is killed and she gives birth to his son, Carmen resigns herself to raising her son and never loving again. One day, however, a strange man comes through the diner, and Carmen is instantly drawn to him. Martin, the drifter, is no ordinary man but one of the “Lost Boys” – young children whose genetics the government experimented on, creating wolf-human hybrids in the jungles of Haiti. Martin is stronger and faster than normal humans, but the defining characteristic of he and his brethren is the inability to feel fear. Though Martin believes that his kind are sterile, Carmen soon becomes pregnant – and though Martin and Carmen are deeply in love, Martin is forced to leave Santa Olivia forever, before Carmen gives birth. Before he leaves, Martin makes Tommy, Carmen’s first son, promise to take care of his baby sister or brother, and he makes Carmen promise that regardless of the child’s sex, she will name it Loup, for the loup garrou – the French name of their kind. Months later, Carmen gives birth to a baby girl – Loup Garron – who is every bit as strong, fast, and fearless as her father was.

The years pass, and Carmen succumbs to another wave of sickness that passes through the town, leaving Tommy and Loup alone in the world. While Tommy has always loved his baby sister and has taught her well, he cannot afford to feed and look out for her – and he dedicates himself to boxing, like his father before him. The Army General of the Santa Olivia outpost is a fight lover, and has promised any citizen a free ticket out of town and back into the United States if they can beat the Army champion in the ring. Tommy trains hard for his chance at the title fight, to save himself and Loup. In the meanwhile, Loup is sent to live at the town church, with a handful of other orphans. For the first time, Loup shares her secret abilities with others, and with her newfound friends, Loup becomes Santa Olivia in the flesh, serving justice on behalf of those who have no voice.

Santa Olivia is nothing like I expected it would be – it’s marketed as an urban fantasy-cum-superhero novel, but I don’t think that’s quite right. If anything, Santa Olivia is more Zorro than X-Men; more Julia Alvarez than Kelley Armstrong. This novel defies classification – it is a coming of age tale, a touching parable to the power of being different, a fight novel, and a love story. Santa Olivia is also a smartly written book with political undertones, taking elements of today’s culture and imagining ramifications gone awry: the actions of the armed forces stripping people of their rights, the creation of a false war in the name of national security, the permanent sealing of the border between the United States and Mexico to prevent illegal immigrants from seeping in.

Most importantly, as with with all of Ms. Carey’s books, Santa Olivia is a beautifully written book, its characters imbued with life, its prose smooth, flowing, captivating. From my first encounter with Ms. Carey in Kushiel’s Dart, I fell in love with her poetic, luscious writing, and Santa Olivia is no exception. For example:

It had been declared illegal for military personnel to wed denizens of Outpost.

“Why?” Carmen Garron asked her first soldier-lover…

“Because.” He stroked her warm flesh, her skin damp with sweat. His face looked a little naked without his glasses, but his gaze was sharp and earnest…”Everything that happens here is classified. We’re not allowed to talk about it. And you’re not allowed to leave.”

She looked at the top of his head as he bent to follow his hand with his lips. “What about the general’s offer? The boxing?”

He glanced up and laughed. “No one will ever win. And anyway, General Argyle’s a little crazy.”

“Okay,” Carmen said uncertainly.

Her lover peered at her. “So you understand?”

A little bird in her heart uttered a single warbling note and died. “Yes,” Carmen Garron said sadly to her first lover. “I understand.”

And later:

She was twenty years old, still in the first flush of youth, and he was her first love — her first true love. His name was Tom Almquist, and on nights when she was alone, Carmen whispered his name to herself like a prayer. Like her first lover, he was earnest; like her second, he was funny, although it was humor of a slow, careful kind. But he was different.

“I’ll marry you,” he whispered the time the condom broke, his lips pressed to her temple. “Don’t worry. Either way, I will.”

“You can’t!” Carmen whispered back.

His massive shoulders rose and fell. “Don’t care. I will.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “I bet we catch El Segundo in six months’ time and all this will be over.”

It didn’t happen that way.

He would have kept his word if it had, because Tom Almquist was a determined young man, and when he found out that Carmen was pregnant for sure, it only made him more determined. He even talked to his commanding officer about Carmen. But two weeks after they knew for certain, Tom Almquist was killed when his squadron was sent to investigate a report that El Segundo’s men had breached the southern wall some twenty miles away. There was a breach, but it was a small one. And there was a booby trap and a bomb.

The bird in Carmen Garron’s heart went silent for a long time.

In the span of two pages, with periphery characters no less, Ms. Carey managed to draw me in, make me fall in love, and break my heart. Such is Santa Olivia.

In addition to being impeccably written, Ms. Carey’s characters are layered and completely, wholly real. Readers are privy to the thoughts and feelings of Loup (pronounced “Lou”), the protagonist. Loup is different, an outsider to her very core. Her entire life she has had to be careful – not to show her extraordinary strength and speed, so as not to hurt herself or others. Even when she hits puberty and grows into a pretty young woman, her friends and boyfriends avoid her touch, telling her she feels weird, that her kisses aren’t right, her body wrong. Though Loup cannot feel fear, she experiences every other range of human emotion – especially anger, love and heartbreak. When Loup is finally able to be herself, shedding her facade of normality – much like Superman sheds his Clark Kent – she is brilliant. I was riveted by Loup’s story, hoping and pulling for her the whole way.

Santa Olivia’s other characters are similarly fleshed out and well-written; all of the different orphans have distinct personalities, from the quiet, understanding Mack to the flirtatious, passionate Pilar. My other favorite characters, however, would have to be Miguel Garza and Coach Roberts. Miguel begins in the story as almost a villain character, but grows and changes as the story progresses, especially as he and Loup become sparring partners and odd friends. Coach Roberts is all Clint Eastwood in Million Dollar Baby – grizzly, determined, and believing in his fighter, young Loup. On that note, Santa Olivia also happens to be – against all expectation – a boxing book, much to my delight as a pretty big fight fan. Ms. Carey’s scenes in the gym, as Loup trains, and in the ring are testament to a love of the sweet science.

At its heart, Santa Olivia is a story – and one that is near impossible to put down. The characters are beautifully written, but it is the plot and the setting that drives this novel. The town of Santa Olivia, or Outpost 12 as named by the military, is a Texas border town, with strong Mexican roots. The people are disillusioned, hopeless in the face of their military watchguards. Though Catholicism is strong in the roots of the town, their patron saint, Santa Olivia, seems to have forgotten about her children. The oppression and the hunger of the people for something to believe in is palpable throughout the book, and it’s a stroke of brilliance when the orphans of the church decide to take justice in their own hands. In this sense, Santa Olivia is a mantle, breathed into life because of the needs of the people, and kept alive through the faith of the people – much like Zorro.

Finally, there is the Urban Fantasy element to the book. Ms. Carey takes a modern, more realistic version of the werewolf myth – less supernatural magic, and more grounded in something far more sinister. Instead of shapeshifting, Loup and her kind are genetically engineered experiments; strong, fast, and fearless. They are wolf in name, but not in practice – a twist that I welcomed. This is not your run of the mill urban fantasy with a leather-clad chick and a bad attitude.

No, Santa Olivia has heart. And I absolutely loved it.

Notable Quotes/Parts: First, there is Loup’s appearance as Santa Olivia:

Alive.

It was a way to feel alive.

And there was the camaraderie of the Santitos — a clan, a pack. Jamie and Jane lending their wits, Mack his leadership. Everyone itching in, everyone doing their part. Giving people hope, giving people something to believe in. It felt good. It felt like the way things were supposed to feel…

“Fuck,” Loup muttered to herself, standing at the crossroads of Fisher and Juarez, the white kerchief tied neatly over her unruly hair, a dark kerchief masking the lower half of her face. Below, a pretty blue dress, beneath which Loup was sweating through a second set of clothes. She rolled the boulder into the center of the road from where Mack and Diego had left it, hauling it in a garbage cart under cover of darkness. Across from the apartment building was an abandoned gas station. An elderly woman sold tomatoes in front of the empty pumps. She looked curiously at Loup as she set up her wares.

The jeep came, kicking up a trail of dust.

Everything else went away.

The driver saw her and the boulder and braked. The jeep didn’t have a top. The driver stood up, shading his eyes. Beneath the rim of his helmet, he had dense eyebrows. The dimple in his chin was so deep it was in shadow.

“The fuck, bitch?” he called. “Move!”

“I bear a message from Santa Olivia,” Loup called, speaking from the script Jaime and Jane had written for her. “You destroyed an old man’s last happiness. Santa Olivia bids you repent of your thoughtless cruelty!”

The driver leaned on the horn. “Move your ass, you freakshow!”

Loup hoisted the boulder, positioning it on her right shoulder. There were words written on it in white paint Mack had found in a shed.

DOG KILLER.
SANTA OLIVIA DOES NOT FORGET.

The soldiers in the jeep gaped. She summoned a surge of strength and threw it hard. There was about a year of space between them. She didn’t want to hear the crash, the tinkle of glass splintering in a spiderweb, the soldiers’ surprised curses. She just fled.

Past the tenement, down the alley.

God, it felt good. Tommy had never let her go. Loup ran faster than she’d ever run in her life, faster than she’d run on the rooftops, faster than anyone had ever run.

Although, my favorite scene had to be that last boxing match; it’s Rocky-esque. I was holding my breath as Loup made her way into the ring.

The crowd quieted, uncertain, seeing only a smaller-than-expected figure in a vivid blue robe. She pushed back her hood. It could have been a loose white kerchief slipping from her hair.

The soldiers in the bleachers erupted in howls of laughter, hoots of derision, and catcalls of disappointment. But among the Outposters in the square, there was a hush as her name went around, its meaning dawning on them…

And on the heels of that revelation, a second significance dawned. A girl in a blue dress; a girl in a blue robe.

“Santa Olivia!” someone shouted.

Others took up the cry. “Santa Olivia! Santa Olivia!”

Brilliant.

Verdict: Santa Olivia is a beautiful, heartfelt book, told by a master storyteller. I loved every second of it. Highly recommended.

Rating: 8 Excellent

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: We are giving away five copies of Santa Olivia!

The contest is open only to residents of the US and Canada. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment here. The contest will run until Saturday, May 30 at midnight (PST). We will announce the five lucky winners at noon on Sunday in our weekly stash. Good luck!

Title: Frederica

Author: Georgette Heyer

Genre: Romance – Regency

Publisher:Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publishing Date:Reprint edition – January 1, 2009
Paperback:448 pages

Stand Alone or series: Stand alone

Summary: When Frederica brings her younger siblings to London determined to secure a brilliant marriage for her beautiful sister, she seeks out their distant cousin the Marquis of Alverstoke. Lovely, competent, and refreshingly straightforward, Frederica makes such a strong impression that to his own amazement, the Marquis agrees to help launch them all into society.

Normally wary of his family, which includes two overbearing sisters and innumerable favor-seekers, Lord Alverstoke does his best to keep his distance. But with his enterprising – and altogether entertaining – country cousins getting into one scrape after another right on his doorstep, before he knows it the Marquis finds himself dangerously embroiled…

Why did I read the Book: I was contacted by Sourcebooks Casablanca asking me if I wanted to read one of their Heyer releases and since I always wanted to read one of her books, I said yes!

Review:

I am quite possibly a few years (maybe decades) late with reading Georgette Heyer. Writer of dozens of Regencies, the author is, according to Wikipedia, the grandmother of the current historical romance (the great- grandmother is obviously, Jane Austen. I wonder where Barbara Cartland falls into this genealogical tree) , I had meant to read her books before but never got around to it. I live in the UK and her books are everywhere. All book shops store bucket loads of them – even book shops that do not sell Romance. When I received the email from Sourcebooks Casablanca, I thought it was a Sign and said yes , please.

What I did not know was how popular she is over here and to prove my point: everyday, on my lunch break, you can find me in the meeting room, reading. Usually my colleagues look at the books I read and say nothing: mostly because they are from US publishers and they have never heard of them. BUT when I was reading Frederica, everybody stopped for a chat and to say they love her books. Even my director, the perfect English Gentleman said to me: “I have all Georgie’s books, they are terribly romantic” .

And so it is. I opened the book without really knowing what to expect and was immensely pleased that I managed to pick a book that had a Reformed Rake story – my favourite romance trope.

The hero is the Marquis of Alverstoke (his given name is Vernon. VERNON. I shall ignore this because the only other Vernon I know, is Harry Potter’s uncle Vernon, and let me tell you, so NOT the image you want to have in your mind when you are picturing a romance hero) , who is 37 years of age, a confirmed bachelor , the rake that has his fair share of liaisons and who cares for nothing, no one , especially not his family (they seem to be only concerned about his money and influence). Alverstoke is also , as many rakes before – or rather, AFTER him – bored. Bored with the parties of the ton, bored with the mamas after his hand for their daughters. He even manages to be bored before the fact – one of the reasons why he never married is because he believes his wife will bore him to death.

Enter Frederica – a non-nonsense , honest and witty distant cousin who asks for his help in sponsoring her sister Charis into Society. Charis is one of the most beautiful young women he has ever seen (although a bit of a nitwit) and he says yes, at first to unsettle his own sisters but later, it becomes known that he had other reasons behind it. He becomes friends with Frederica whom he can have real conversations with, whilst growing, to his utter dismay, strangely attached to Friederica’s younger brothers, Felix and Jessamy .

The thing with this book is: even though the title is Frederica, the main character really is the Marquis. We have more of his point of view than of Frederica which was a good thing because nothing warms my heart faster than the musings of a previously, cold and collected man, falling head over heels in love with a woman who is by no means, the prettiest of them all, but who is the smartest and the one who shares things in common with him.

But do you know what the BEST thing about this reformed rake story? He is and remains unapologetically cynical. He does not redeem himself in his family’s eyes, he does not become a softer version of himself , changed by his love for Frederica. He finds in Frederica a similar soul (yet kinder) who understands him and laughs with him. I loved how , as soon as he realised his love for her, he is bent on trying to make her life easier. How he wished to help her and unburden her but ONLY her. Like, for example in this short piece:

“if the affair proved to be more serious than he supposed, and Frederica was troubled by it, he would intervene ,and without compunction. His lordship in fact, previously ruthless on his own behalf, was now prepared to sacrifice the entire human race to spare his Frederica one moment’s pain. “

If we get to know the Marquis quite well but the same cannot be said about Frederica – oh, we do know that she sees herself as being in the shelf (she is 24!!) , as a plain woman in comparison with her sister (which is fine with her) and how she was determined to do the best for her family. But we hardly ever see her side of falling in love with the Marquis. This short time spent with the heroine wouldn’t have bugged be so much if it wasn’t for the countless pages where everybody else – bothers, sisters, matrons, suitors, secretaries – got their moment in the spotlight.POV kept moving around and I , at one point wondered if the dog, would too get his 15 minutes of fame (a couple of scenes with the dog were so funny though). I read somewhere that Georgette Heyer is known for the detailed background on Regency customs and yes, this is most true. Although interesting for most of it, I have to say I was a bit bored with some of the overly clunky passages and wished we could just have more of the Marquis and Frederica or of her brothers.

Speaking of brothers – they were absolutely delightful and funny and their relationship with the Marquis was deliciously ludicrous and a pleasure to read about. As pleasurable was the overall experience I had with this novel. I will definitely be back for seconds.

Notable quotes/ Parts: every time Frederica and the Marquis were talking and laughing together. Funny repartee, how I love thee.

Verdict: delightful repartee, a good Hero and crazy kids as secondary characters = win. I just wish there were more of the amazing scenes between Frederica and the Marquis.

Rating: 7 very good.

Reading Next: The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan

Welcome to our May Guest Dare. The Guest Dare is a Monthly feature in which we “dare” guest reviewers to read & review books outside of their comfort zones.

This month’s victim guest is our good friend Harry from Temple Library Reviews. who doesn’t like mysteries and usually doesn’t do “funny” – with these two bits of information, our single track brains immediately zeroed on the Amelia Peabody series.

We give the floor to Harry who will be reviewing Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters.

Harry:

The Dare: I feel very lucky to be invited over another blog, which has never happened before, and I felt overjoyed when Ana, the cheeky little devil she is, propositioned me to participate in the Dare. This strikes as a sort of reviewer blog barter system, in which I give the girls their three days of royal party time on my blog and they would have me post a review for a book which is outside of my comfort zone. In what turned out to be a rapid succession of e-mails, I said ‘sure why not’ without thinking much, and soon a book was decided upon: “Crocodile on the Sandbank” by Elizabeth Peters.

The Author: It turns out that Elizabeth Peters is one of three alter egos of author Barbara Mertz. Mertz publishes nonfiction, whereas her pen names Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels write mystery suspense and thrillers with a supernatural vibe, respectively. With 68 titles in total under her belt, you kinda start to think that there is a reason that MPM [as the author likes to refers to her multiple aliases] has managed to stay so long in the industry, and I am glad to confirm it as well.

The Plot: Set in 1884, this is the first installment in what has become a beloved bestselling series. At thirty-two, strong-willed Amelia Peabody, a self-proclaimed spinster, decides to use her ample inheritance to indulge her passion, Egyptology. On her way to Egypt, Amelia encounters a young woman named Evelyn Barton-Forbes. The two become fast friends and travel on together, encountering mysteries, missing mummies, and Radcliffe Emerson, a dashing and opinionated archaeologist who doesn’t need a woman’s help — or so he thinks.

The Review: Despite this being a novel written early in Peters writing career and a first in a series that stretches to 18 volumes, “Crocodile on the Sandbank” is a very enjoyable mystery novel with a humorous undertone. Considering that the author is born and bred in Illinois, I was delighted to find the distinctive Victorian manner of speech incorporated both in the narrative and conversations. This, packed along with the easily accessible, but not overly simplistic writing style, contributed to the believability of the story being told. You could imagine yourself sitting alongside Miss Peabody and enjoying a cup of tea.

And speaking of Amelia Peabody, it’s a good time to start off with the characters. The story is told through Peabody’s first person point of view exclusively, so the reader will see a whole lot of her character. I think that with the ever growing popularity of sarcasm, smartass punch lines and witty repartee wars in modern culture, many of the readers will be able to identify themselves with Amelia or at the very least like her. She represents the independent woman, which in Victorian society pretty much strikes horror in the hearts of British gentlemen and ladies alike. However she remains strong, stoic under strains and quite perceptive without crossing the line of what is believable, or what is just wacky fiction.

Her entourage also consists of likable characters, who are essentially more or less different from Amelia, but Peters achieves to create a fine balance, wherein weaknesses and strengths complement each other. Evelyn Barton-Forbes is a disgraced young noble with a flair for the dramatic and unmatched beauty. Her role, more or less, is to act as a contrast to Peabody among other things such as proving that love can overlook one or two mistakes in a very complicated social landscape. The brothers Emerson to me strike as the male equivalent of the Amelia–Evelyn duo, with the older one Radcliffe being the wild, commanding one with a shocking reputation as an agitator, whereas Walter is the calm artistic dreamer.

“Crocodile on the Sandbank” is a well written book, but I struggled with it through the middle up until the beginning of the buildup for the ending. The start was fun and promised dynamic travelogue encounters, but as the story progressed and there was no hint of a mystery I got a bit less interested a bit more bored. I realized that the author was planting clues and red herrings as in every good mystery books before the actual mindboggling puzzle comes along. Since I am no mystery fan, these subtle hints went unnoticed and for me the story was just some socializing and Egyptology themed scenes knitted together. This went on until an actual mummy walked and scared people.

From then on I was in heaven, since I had the slight hope that things will go either zombie related or at the very least Hitchcock-esque. Nevertheless, I wracked my brain who stood behind the walking bandaged villain and his motifs for wanting to kidnap young Evelyn. To avoid spoilers I skipped mentioning some of the back story and additional characters, lest a smarter reader figures it out. From my Scooby Doo fandom days I learned a valuable lesson: the culprit is always the most innocent and harmless looking character and I was I pretty much right at the very end, but without proper deduction. The mystery itself was awesomely crafted and nothing is left to chance here, which I always love to see in a novel, even if it has a slow buildup and the reader a much depleted pool of patience.

Nevertheless, the process of unmasking the villain offers quite the action and adrenaline rush with shooting scenes, casualties, kidnappings and the ominous mummy, which quite frankly remind me of the good old days, when Indiana Jones ruled. I had my skeptical moments and my bored moments, but overall this was an interesting diversion from what I normally read and quite frankly I have read far less well thought out and plotted books, so it’s a win-win.

_________

Thank you Harry, for a most entertaining review of one of our favorite books! *Ana and Thea highfive over another one brought to the Dark Side*

Next Month: Our guest is Tia from Fantasy Debut who shall be reading a horror novel: Peter Straub’s Ghost Story.

And Tia dared us back (the nerve) to read Fantasy classic The Once and Future King by T.H. White.

Till next month!

So, even though Terminator: Salvation was a total bust, blockbuster season is far from being over. Here are a few films Ana and I cannot wait to check out:

Up
Release Date: May 29, 2009

I don’t care what Pixar does, I will watch any of their films. The trailer for Up doesn’t look particularly awesome – but it’s freaking PIXAR. I thought Wall-E would just be so-so, and I’m happy to eat crow on that count. Early reviews indicate that Up is another winner, and I cannot wait.

Drag Me To Hell
Release Date: May 29, 2009

Ok. I’ve lost hope in Raimi. I am convinced that an evil Raimi android has taken his place after Spidey 2, and has put out a ton of crap films in his name. That said, no matter how awful a horror movie might look, no matter how much I bitch and moan, at the end of the day, I’m not kidding anyone. I watch all of these movies in the theater. Usually by myself because the dear boyfriend refuses on seeing “[my] stupid horror crap again.” I don’t care. I’m AM cinema-ing this one on Friday or Saturday. Plus, the one review I’ve seen for this film is favorable! Fingers are crossed for Good Raimi to return from the shadow of his evil android usurper.

The Hangover
Release Date: June 5, 2009

Three dudes, a tiger, Mike Tyson, and a baby. Um…of course I’m gonna watch this! I cracked up when I saw the first trailer months ago. (Although is it wrong that it really bothers me that the douchebag from Wedding Crashers is fucking Green Lantern!??!?! That’s the best they could do? I’ll believe it when I see it. I much prefer this version.)

The Taking of Pelham 123
Release Date: June 12, 2009

A remake of the 1974 film (which I’ve never seen), this looks pretty good. I mean, it’s Denzel. And Travolta. In The Negotiator meets the end of Speed. Did I mention Denzel? And who doesn’t love it when Travolta plays a bad guy (hello Broken Arrow and Face/Off)?!? Easy sell.

Moon
Release Date: June 12, 2009

Sam Rockwell stars in this new Sundance-y science fiction film, and it looks pretty sweet. In a kind of 2001: Space Odyssey looking way. Plus, the director Duncan Jones is David Bowie’s son.

Dead Snow
Release Date: June 12, 2009

YES. YES. FINALLY! I have been jonesing on Dead Snow since I heard about it from Meljean Brook a year back. Finally, the Norwegian nazi zombie movie is making it to the US this summer (with subtitles of course). Nazi Zombies always equal win.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Release Date: June 24, 2009

Yeah, it’s Transformers. Yeah, it’s Michael Bay (It cracks me up that at 1:26 Megatron knocks over the flag – right after Michael Bay’s name comes up – OH NOES! I’m gonna get in my Chevy and stick it to those damned evil freedom-hating Decepticons!). Yeah, it’s Megan Fox (sexy but completely devoid of talent) and Shia LaBeoff (D-bag). But…it’s Transformers. You gotta expect all that, and go for the mindless – yeah, guilty – entertainment.

Public Enemies
Release Date: July 1, 2009

Though Christian Bale has done me wrong once this year, I’m thinking that’s a total fluke. Especially with Johnny Depp and Marion Cotillard in the film, and with Michael Mann at the helm. Plus, it’s been a while since we’ve had a good gangster film. I’m excited.

Bruno
Release Date: July 10, 2009

Trailer HERE

Sasha Baron Cohen made his mark official with Borat, and he’s back this summer with another Ali G Show character, Bruno. I loved some of his shows with this character before (check out the the Spring Break clip), thought Borat was freaking hilarious, so I’m hoping Bruno can deliver. I love awkward humor.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Release Date: July 15, 2009

Ohmyfuckingod it’s almost here!!!!!!!!!!! Doesn’t the trailer give you the goosebumps? Both Ana and I are huge Potter fanatics (waiting in line at midnight for the books), and Half-Blood Prince is quite possibly my favorite book of them all (it’s a toss-up between this one and Prisoner of Azkaban). This is one of my most highly anticipated movies of the year, and I cannot wait.

Orphan
Release Date: July 24, 2009

I’ve already explained that no matter how trite or rehashed a horror movie looks, I will watch it. I enjoy them, even the ones that are horrible, even the ones I have seen a million times before. So, even though Orphan is so very The Bad Seed/The Good Son/Joshua, I’m still gonna watch it. Plus, I like Peter Sarsgaard. And the chick from The Departed.

Funny People
Release Date: July 31, 2009

Ana would kill me if I left this off. So, it’s the third ‘official’ movie from Judd Apatow, starring the usual Seth Rogan and Leslie Mann, but this time taking on Adam Sandler. I loved 40 Year Old Virgin, thought Knocked Up had its moments, so I’ll probably watch Funny People. But I’m picking up some of the same un-funny weirdo vibe I got from Knocked Up. Furthermore, I gotta admit that while I loved old Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, Little Nicky, even Big Daddy), this new, serious, kinda douchey version (I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry) isn’t really my cup of tea.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Release Date: August 7, 2009

Another sort of Transformers dilemma for me. I fondly remember watching the cartoons when I was younger, and I like Stephen Sommers (writer/director of Deep Rising, The Mummy, Van Helsing) for all the glorious cheese he injects in his films. On the other hand, this looks like another Transformers knockoff (not too surprising considering it’s another Hasbro/Paramount effort), the casting bugs me (Sienna Miller is so NOT my Baroness), and at the end of the trailer the dudes – wearing only the delta six body armor – are out-dodging heat-seeking missiles. On foot.

District 9
Release Date: August 14, 2009

Peter Jackson’s newest film, directed by Niell Blomkamp looks freaking AWESOME. Set in a world not too different from our own, extraterrestrials are being held prisoners in South Afrika. Word on the street is, District 9 is a full length version of newbie director Blomkamp’s short film “Alive in Jorburg”. This year’s Cloverfield (sans shitty camera techniques, naturally)? I have high hopes for District 9.

Inglorious Basterds
Release Date: August 21, 2009

I love Tarantino. This movie looks exploitative, satirical, gloriously violent, and comes out the day after my birthday. Oh, I’ll be there.

H2: Halloween 2
Release Date: August 28, 2009

Again, horror. And I think Rob Zombie has a great eye as a director. House of 1000 Corpses was confusing but inexplicably captivating; The Devil’s Rejects was fucking awesome. I have to admit, I found his remake of Halloween, however, to be a bit of a disappointment. Whereas the blood and the terror were well timed in the first two of his films, Halloween was strong for the first half, then lost its edge. It was too much – too much of the same thrills, too much of the same sex/lumbering Michael/blood that I was completely desensitized to it and frankly just wished he’d off Laurie to get her to shut up already. Still, I have high hopes for H2, even if the trailer isn’t sending me any promising signals (Sheri Moon Zombie as Michael’s crazy ghost mommy looks kinda funny, actually). Still, I’ll watch it.

And that’s about it folks! Which summer flicks are you looking forward to?

Title: Flood

Author: Stephen Baxter

Genre: Speculative Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction

Publisher: Roc
Publication Date: May 2009
Hardcover: 490 pages

Stand Alone or Series: Book 1 in a duology.

Why did I read this book: We were offered a review copy of Flood, and after looking at the gorgeous – and terrifying – cover, and quickly reading through the blurb, I was sold. Apocalyptic fiction is my weakness, and I had not yet read anything by the esteemed Mr. Baxter.

Summary: (from Penguin.com)
The “deeply scary”(BBC Focus) new novel from a national bestselling and critically acclaimed author.

The world they have returned to has been transformed by water—and the water is rising. As it continues to flow from the earth’s mantle, entire countries disappear. High ground becomes a precious commodity. And finally, the dreadful truth is revealed: before fifty years have passed, there will be nowhere left to run…

Review:

In the year 2016, four hostages are finally liberated from their political and religious extremist captors by a powerful conglomerate, AxysCorp. Having been kept chained in cellars for five years, former USAF pilot Lily Brooke and her fellow captives return to an alien world. Recuperating in London, Lily reconnects with her estranged younger sister, niece and nephew, but drastic changes immediately threaten Britain. Flooding on a massive scale beings – the Thames overspills, and London and other coastal areas are awash in flood waters, made worse by the torrential rains. Soon, Lily learns that the flooding is not localized to London – the extreme weather patters are echoed in Australia, and countries around the world. Over the next fifty years, Flood follows the unchecked rise of the oceans, from the scant originally predicted 5 meter rise datum to the worldwide devastation of over 8000 meters of water, documenting the struggle of life on Earth to overcome and survive.

Flood is a haunting apocalypse novel, full of powerful ideas and resonating images of a water-logged planet. Mr. Baxter puts an incredible amount of research and scientific detail into this book, examining a future where sea rise completely obliterates the planet. Though the rise is ultimately (at least possibly) attributed to humanity, this is not some global warming parable. No, although the planet is warming and ice reservoirs melting, the exponential rise in sea-levels is because of subterranean water pushing up from beneath the Earth’s mantle – as Thandie, the brilliant scientist who discovers the phenomenon explains:

“Look — the Earth is like an egg, with the core the yolk, the mantle the white, and the crust the shell. To cover all the land surface would require an ocean three times the volume of the existing seas — but this would amount to less than one percent of the Earth’s total volume. It would be an immense event for us, but only a little weeping of the white out onto the shell.”

Even though I, like Lily admit that I’m no scientist, it’s a terrifying theory and grippingly portrayed in this novel.

While the science seems entirely detailed and plausible (at least enough to suspend disbelief), the book itself actually takes a while to really dig into because of two factors: its initial lack of character focus, and the list-like, clinical descriptions of cities and countries succumbing to the rising water. On the character front, though Lily is the closest thing we readers have to a central protagonist, the novel varies in focus from Lily to fellow former hostages Helen, Piers, and especially scientist Gary, especially in the early years of the flood. The effect is at times dizzying, and instead of being able to connect with any character in the early chapters I felt distanced from each of them. These characters in themselves are a device – their extended period of captivity means that they have to be reintroduced to a strange new world, allowing for explanations to made to readers through the ignorance of these observers. As a result, the characters are not nearly so fleshed out as one might expect from a large scale apocalypse story (in contrast to, say, Stephen King’s The Stand or Robert McCammon’s Swan Song). At least, this is how I felt initially – by the second half of the book, the focus settles firmly on Lily, following her life and her relationships with Nathan (the founder of AxysCorp and many times over the man who has ensured hers and the Barcelona hostages’ survival), with Piers, but especially with her younger sister Amanda and niece Kristie. Lily is the anchor of this book, the emotional rock amid the torrent of floodwater, and the one character I felt connected to, though it did take a few hundred pages to get to that level.

The other factor that made Flood a hard novel to delve into (initially), is the emotionless, clinical way Mr. Baxter describes the rising sea levels around the world. In an offhand remark, New York is destroyed. In another, Louisiana disappears. In yet another, Australia has vanished from the face of the Earth. But, again, by mid-novel, this sense of detachment wore off…or at least, my understanding of Mr. Baxter’s writing had increased.

I found myself wondering if this wasn’t Mr. Baxter’s point with his detached voice; that it was a conscious decision to remove any emotional bravura from these descriptions. Flood paints broad strokes, impassively moving from drowned city to drowned city, and by mid-novel, the overwhelming tragedy of it all, the indifference of Mr. Baxter’s tone – as indifferent as the rising salt water – left its mark, emotionally, on me as a reader.

Too, the powerful images in the later portion of the book reinforce this emotional ache. These visions are incredibly haunting: the vision of Nathan’s Ark 3, a replica of the Queen Mary, sailing the world’s landless, plastic bag covered oceans; the human skulls guarding the last outpost in the Nepalese Himalayas bearing grim warning of what type of society lies beyond the gates; the emerging society of rafts.

By the end of Flood, the effect is profoundly sad, and profoundly moving. When the last rock succumbs to the sea, it’s a pronounced, desolate finale. Though this is by no means a perfect book, I cannot say how emotionally impacted I was by Flood – especially considering I was skeptical and unimpressed by the first 200 pages or so. A book hasn’t resonated so much with me since I read Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer last year (incidentally, my favorite read from last year). Flood is a relentless, powerful, profound novel, and one I whole-heartedly recommend.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From the later portion of the novel:

The prow of the Ark plowed into the crust that covered the sea.

Lily stood with Piers on the foredeck, watching. It was as if they stood on an icebreaker pushing its way through the pack of ice of the Arctic. But the crust on this ocean was not ice but garbage. Lily had small binoculars, and through them the surface scum resolved into a mess of plastic netting, soda bottles, six-pack rings, bin liners, supermarket bags, bits of polystyrene packaging. In the watery sunlight the colors were bright, red and orange and electric blue, artificial colors characteristics of a vanished world. Lily thought she could smell it, a stink of rot and mold and decay, but that was probably her imagination; this far from land not much would have survived the hungry jaws of the sea but indestructible, biologically useless plastic.

For more on Flood, check out Stephen Baxter’s website. He has an essay on the background of the novel, titled “The Flooding of London”. Also, there’s a collection of short fiction from the Flood world, Scrapbook.

Additional Thoughts: Two things, actually.

Nathan Lammockson – rescuer of the Barcelona hostages, visionary behind AxysCorp – thinks ahead as the waters continue to rise worldwide, and builds an refuge named Ark 3 – a replica of the Queen Mary.

As a Southern California resident, I’ve been to see the illustrious Queen Mary, now cemented and forever docked in Long Beach (see below).

Larger, grander, and ultimately more lucky than the ill-fated Titanic, Lammockson says he fell in love with the Queen Mary on a visit he made to Long Beach as a child…he couldn’t have picked a better vision for his sanctuary.

Book 2 in this apocalyptic duology is titled Ark and is out August 2009 (for lucky UK residents). Check out the cover:

Gorgeous, isn’t it? Ark tells the story of Ark 1 from Flood. Here’s the blurb:

As the waters rose in FLOOD, high in the Colorado mountains the US government was building an ark. Not an ark to ride the waves but an ark that would take a select few thousand people out into space to start a new future for mankind. Sent out into deep space on a journey lasting centuries, generations of crew members carry the hope of a new beginning on a new, incredibly distant, planet. But as the ages pass knowledge and purpose is lost and division and madness grows. And back on earth life, and man, find a new way. This is the epic sequel to the acclaimed FLOOD; a stirring tale of what mankind will do to survive and the perfect introduction for new readers to one of SFs greatest tropes; the generation ship. Written by one of the most significant SF writers of the last 30 years, a man considered to be the heir of Arthur C. Clarke as a writer with a unique ability to popularize science and science fiction for the largest possible audience FLOOD and ARK together form a landmark in modern SF.

Verdict: A poignant, resonating tale about the end of the world as we know it. Flood terrifies as the world endures. Highly recommended.

Rating: 8 Excellent

Reading Next: Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey

Title: Black and White

Author: Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge

Genre: Fantasy – Superheroes

Publisher: Bantam Dell
Publishing Date: June 2, 2009
Paperback: 464 pages

Stand Alone/ Series: book 1 in a new series but can be read as stand alone (i.e. no huge cliffhanger)

Summary: It’s the ultimate battle of good versus good.

They’re both right. And they’re both wrong. Because nothing is as simple as Black and White.

Why did I read the book: the Extraordinary Karen Mahoney recommended it to me and let me borrow her ARC.

Review:

When I first heard about Black and White, I thought, what a GREAT idea – there aren’t enough superheroes novels out there, if you ask me. Vampires, Werewolves, Fairies, Demons, yes. Superheroes? No. On the other hand, I thought – what could one possibly add to the superheroes’ lore that hasn’t already been done in comics? I mean – all the cool superpowers have been taken, all the cheesy lines delivered and even all the Dark Side of superheroes has been explored with Batman Graphic Novels and the Watchmen. Could Black and White offer something fresh to the genre?

In one word: yes.

For starters, there is the fact that the two main characters here are women – The Superhero Jet and the SuperVillain Iridium. Former best friends who find themselves at different sides of the Law. Jet is the do-gooder hero, the face of the City, the one that always follows the rules set by the Corps. Iridium is the rabid ™ vigilante who rules the underworld. They have been at odds with each other since their time at the training academy for superheroes and since Iridium has turned her back at the official rules.

But as the book’s tagline says: nothing is black and white in the world that Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge created. Jet is the strict chick sorely in need of loosing up (think Superman) whereas Iridium, well, Iridium rules, quite frankly and even though I would like to say more on the subject of Iridium, I simply can’t as it would be spoilery.
But their relationship goes way beyond simply good x evil.

The chapters alternate between Iridium and Jet’s POV (Jackie K. writes Jet and Caitlin K. writers Iridium by the way and each has a very distinctive voice) and at every few chapters the story alternates between Now and Then. Now being the current developments of the story in which Jet is trying to get Iridium who is trying to get…something big which I shall not spoil (I am feeling quite restricted in this review!). And Then, following the two in their five years at the Academy where they met and where they received their training until they broke apart .

Then there are the powers themselves – Jet may be the face of the City, may be the superheroine everyone looks up to, but she is far from being stable and that is because of her power of Shadow-wielding. Because this an unique power that few superheroes possess , she is rather alone with the knowledge that all Shadow heroes will eventually go crazy – and that is part of why she follows the rules set by the Corp so closely, it is a way of keeping tight control on herself. Iridium wields Light and is cocky and smart-mouthed and together they are a perfect foil to each other’s strengths and weaknesses and their present-day enmity is all the more interesting to read about by having this insight into their early lives.

The two may well be, the Black and White of the title, not only because of their positioning in the world but also because of their powers. But the Black and White may also refer to the world they live in – the year is 2112 and society is divided between those that like having superheroes around and those that don’t. Then there are the Corps – the Corporation that train and shape the superheroes since they are children. The supes go to the Academy (like a high school) where they mingle with other superheroes, learn to fight and in a more complex and fresh twist, get “branded” – every superhero goes through tests and talks to establish what is the best way to market themselves -from their uniform , to their aliases. They even have to test the lines they will say when fighting villains and before leaving the Academy every superhero needs to get a sponsor. It is all very market- centred and if preludes the motive for Iridium going a different way.

There is a narrow line that both walk (be it sanity or insanity/law or out-law) and as the story progresses with events that bring to the front the fact that not all humans want to be saved by superheroes as evidenced by the actions of the Everyman society and the disappearance of a reporter who have found a connection between the mythical Icarus Project and the Corps. More interesting events occur, and the line between Jet and Iridium and others blur and more engaging the book becomes till the final blow-out with the Villain, like all Cool Villains, revealing all to the hero.

But I think the Black and White ALSO refers to the book itself: this is a story and a world that both pay tribute (the opening pages are so clearly a declaration of admiration to the Watchmen!) and make a parody of Superheroes. It works and it is cool.

Notable quotes/ Parts: The entire book is actually wicked cool. The fighting sequences, the on and off relationship between the girls, sometimes even the poignancy of it all. Iridium’s lines were awesome.

Additional Thoughts: The authors have created a website for the series called Icarus Project (yay, there is another book coming called Shades of Gray!) with a list of characters, details of the world and a gallery with for example the Corp-Co’s Extrahuman Division Logo and a wanted poster for Iridium.

Clearly, these two authors are having fun with these books, and it shows.

Verdict: Superheroes in the future with different powers and a very interesting-to-read relationship between the two protagonists: what’s not to like? Good fun and definitely recommended for YA as well.

Rating: 7 – very good.

Reading next: Frederica by Georgette Heyer

Title: This Duchess of Mine

Author: Eloisa James

Genre: Historical (Georgian) romance

Publisher: Avon
Publishing Date: May 26, 2009
Paperback: 384 pages

Stand Alone/ Series: Book 5 in the Desperate Duchesses series, it can be read as a stand alone but it would NOT have the same effect.

Summary: Wedding bells celebrating the arranged marriage between the lovely Duchess of Beaumont and her staid, imperturbable duke had scarcely fallen silent when a shocking discovery sent Jemma running from the ducal mansion. For the next nine years she cavorted abroad, creating one delicious scandal after another (if one is to believe the rumors).

But what manner of seduction will make a man fall desperately in love…with his own wife?

Why did I read the Book: this is my top 1 historical series and this book, this book I have been waiting for a long, long time. You can read more about the series here

Review:

Warning: some spoilers ahead.

This Duchess of Mine was one of my most anticipated reads for 2009. This is book five in the Desperate Duchesses series and it is Elijah and Jemma’s book. For those not in the know, Elijah and Jemma are the couple that stole every single scene in which they appeared in the past four books. Their story is a most interesting one: 9 years ago, Jemma and Elijah got into an arranged marriage. A young Jemma went into the arrangement completely besotted with her handsome husband, who in turn hardly ever spared one moment of thought for her. A serious, steadfast statesman trying to make a name for himself in the House of Lords, Elijah spent as little time as possible at home, bedded his beautiful wife under the blankets with little care for her pleasure. One day, Jemma decides to surprise her husband at his offices and walks into Elijah and his mistress having sex at his desk. In the fight that ensues, Elijah proclaims that he loves his mistress and Jemma flees to France where she spends the next 9 years creating quite the reputation until Elijah summons her back to England to beget a heir. Her return happens in the beginning of book 1, Desperate Duchesses. For the next year – for this is the amount of time taken in the 4 books – Elijah and Jemma gravitate around each other. Jemma is changed from the ingénue she once was and has become a scandalous, sophisticated woman , all the rage in Paris. Elijah is a most important honourable politician.

Their story is not simple or straight forward. Because Jemma is also an accomplished Chess player – something she shares with Elijah. Upon returning to England, Jemma meets the reprobate , seductive, Duke of Villiers, a champion of the game. Villiers was Elijah’s best friend in childhood but they become as estranged as Elijah and Jemma. The three of them become entangled in an evolving relationship which move around games of chess : Jemma is playing both Elijah and Villiers in a set of three games and the last game is to be played in bed and blindfolded. As the story progresses, Villiers and Jemma become friends, Elijah and Villiers rekindle their friendship and Jemma and Elijah fall for each other and in the previous book of the series, When the Duke Returns, Jemma makes her choice, forfeits the game with Villiers and decides that Elijah is hers to take.

This Duchess of Mine starts at the King’s party that took place at the end of When the Duke Returns. Jemma is there waiting for Elijah in what will be the first night of their lives together. He had been away for a couple of weeks in one of his political recesses and is dying, positively dying to see Jemma. But the boat where the party is being held is attacked by a mob and Elijah plays the hero and saves Jemma. The first pages of the book are exciting as much as the remaining of the book is heart-warming.

This is a story that is 10 years and 4 books in the making. At the start of the series, I briefly rooted for Villiers to win Jemma (specially considering that Elijah was a cheating bastard!) but the more I got to know the three characters, the more I wanted Elijah and Jemma together. BUT there is a HUGE obstacle in their way to their happiness: Elijah is dying. He has a heart condition, the same ailment that killed his father at 34 and Jemma doesn’t know about it. Elijah knows they have little time to be together and Jemma thinks she has all the time in the world to woo her husband. Until she finds him in one of his fainting spells right at the start of the book and her heart nearly breaks with the truth. A truth that the readers have known for a few books, and which in turn have caused our hearts to break.
Elijah and Jemma’s book is everything I could have hoped for (with one or two small caveats).

My main concern was that Eloisa James would de-fang the scandalous, intelligent Jemma and yes, she somewhat does so. We learn Jemma was driven to become scandalous because of her husband and her broken heart and not because this was who she was (although that is quite, possibly who she eventually became) and she had a reputation that was not really based in true facts. As I feared, Jemma’s reputation was grossly overestimated. In all her years in France, she took only two lovers and she didn’t care much for the physical aspect of their relationship . Eloisa James goes as far as having Jemma being strange to the elusive orgasm. (at least Eloisa James is fair to Jemma by making Elijah choosing celibacy as a self-punishment. )

BUT

Taking into consideration that within the novels themselves, Jemma never wanted to have an affair and that the woman she became was indeed to incite a reaction from Elijah, it actually makes sense and it doesn’t feel like a cop-out. I love that all the public façade disappears , Jemma’s mask falls and all there is left is a woman with a broken heart. A woman who was capable of living gloriously and yes making the most of her life but still at the end of it, Jemma was a vulnerable woman who wore her heart in her sleeve when it came to Elijah and she was all too aware of this unfashionable fact.

The thing is , in This Duchess of Mine, all play, all matter of pretending HAS to be quit, because they have no time. Elijah is dying. They have only but little time and they must make the most of it. What ensues then is a sequence of events, in a matter of few days (11) in which the Duke and Duchess of Beaumont bridge the gap between them. In which they talk, they discover things about each other they did not know.

They are also driven to be completely honest and they speak things that are hurtful to the other : Jemma still does not understand why Elijah lives the way he does or why does he care about saving the world; he thinks she wastes her days away in trivial pursuits. Both claims are as hurtful as they are true. It means, although they have been married for ages and although they have fallen in love with each other since reunited, they still have a ways to go in actually knowing each other. They also become re-acquainted with each other’s bodies and with the subject of sex. And it is with great aplomb that it happens; I don’t remember the last time I read sex scenes that work so well, even the numerous ones here. And the sexual tension that led to them left me tingling with anticipation.

What happens then is absolutely gut wrenching because you have two people that have wasted years, who are absolutely in love with each other and who can’t see a future ahead of them. There is happiness and utter despair. And I cried, I cried a lot reading this book.

These are two characters that I LOVE. I am invested in their story 100%. It is a story of two deeply flawed characters, that have made HUGE, stupid mistakes in their lives. That have allowed, guilt, shame, pride to lead them away from each other and throughout the first four books, or the 1st year of their coming together again, we read about pain, and how this same guilt and pride kept being obstacles to their coming together.. And jealousy, and misunderstanding of how the other thinks have made them play a game of cat and mouse for far too long. No more. Eloisa James can write amazing stories about married couples and the problems they face. She added to this one the tension of Elijah’s condition and without spoiling too much, I was completely satisfied with the way things worked out and with their HEA.

Although I regret that Jemma lost some of her allure ,I am happy to report that I was completely satisfied with Jemma and Elijah’s book. It is safe to say I have waited for This Duchess of Mine with unabated anxiety , I have known these two characters for a while now, and I had high hopes for their happiness because I cared a great deal about them. Their book was heart-tugging, romantic and intelligent as we have come to expect from this series. After all, this is Elijah and Jemma. Elijah and Jemma. If you follow these series you know exactly what I am talking about.

Notable Quotes/ Parts: Elijah and Jemma in the scene where Jemma finds out that he is dying.

“Have you seen a doctor?”
“There’s no point to that”
“I don’t agree!” she said hotly.
“No one’s found a cure for a broken heart,” he said. “Not in any sense of the word”
She did cry then, and he found himself cursing his heart, not for the fact that it was broken, but for his ability to break other hearts.

Additional Thoughts: In about a month, the final book in the series comes out. The Duke of Villiers book.

The man that cares only about chess and his appearance, who has bedded countless women and sired 6 illegitimate children. After having a close encounter with his own demise in the first book of the series, Villiers has started to look at his life. This is making me…anxious. I am torn about his book. It seems his way to redemption and love will be via his children. In This Duchess of Mine we see the start of this process as he searches for them. Although his encounter with his first son is absolutely hilarious (you need to read this for yourself) , and I can see the potential to more hilarity ensuing, I had rather hoped that his story would be more poignant than funny. Although, in This Duchess of Mine there is a very deep, sorrowful conversation between Elijah and Villiers in which the latter say that all he wishes is for a woman to look at him the way Jemma looks at Elijah. Plus, in the end of the book there is a small teaser about his book that says “how to choose a wife, in five lessons. Advice gleaned by Shakespeare for the benefit of the Duke of Villiers” Eloisa James is a Shakespeare professor and to have Villiers+chess+Shakespeare sounds like a potentially good equation to me.

Verdict: This Duchess of Mine brings Elijah and Jemma’s story to a perfect ending. It is a sad book, a happy book, but most of all, a GREAT book.

Rating: 8 – Excellent

Reading Next: Frederica by Georgette Heyer.

Hello, good afternoon and welcome!The weather is lovely here in the UK today and I am for a change, ready to start the week ahead! So, getting down to business:

Giveaway winners:

The winner of a copy of Don’t Look Twice is:

TIAH

The winners of Compromised by Kate Noble are:

Heather Hassey
Maya M

The winners of Revealed by Kate Noble are:

Bridget3420
PamP

Congratulations to the winners. Please send your snail mail address to: contact AT thebooksmugglers DOT com and we will get the books sent to you!

This week on the Book Smugglers

We have quite the week ahead of us!

On Monday, Ana reviews This Duchess of Mine by Eloisa James, fifth book in the Desperate Duchesses series, the one that finally brings together the Duke and Duchess of Beaumont. If you read this series, you KNOW how this book is important. And as a teaser I shall say only this: it’s good. It’s really good.

On Tuesday, Ana reviews Black and White by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge. It’s about superheroines. In the future. Really. What’s not to like?

On Wednesday, Thea reviews Flood by Stephen Baxter. It is the first in a post-apocalyptic science fiction duology.

On Thursday, Ana tackles a classic author: she will review her first ever Georgette Heye, Frederica.

Finally on Friday Thea reviews Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey and we will have a HUGE giveaway with it!

Movies, glorious movies!

Leaving behind the BIG disappointment that was Terminator : Salvation what else have we got to look forward to?

HARRY POTTER BIATCHES !! and here is the new Poster:

Other than that, I am really looking forward to the new Quentin Tarantino movie: Inglorious Basterds.

There is a great, positive buzz coming from Cannes that has me all tingly inside. The movie stars Brad Pitt and it is set in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, where a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as “The Basterds” are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. And just have a look at the teaser:

Seriously.

That’s it for today: have a great Bank Holiday tomorrow!

~ your friendly neighbourhood book smugglers