Welcome to guest dare! For those new to the feature, our Guest Dare is a monthly endeavor in which we invite an unsuspecting victim to read a book totally outside of their comfort zone. You can read all previous Dare posts HERE.

This month’s victim is Jeff – one of the minds behind the awesomeness that is Alert Nerd and the dude who talks about geeky things at Jefferson Stolarship. When we invited Jeff for the dare, we just knew he would be reading a Romance Novel. So please, ladies and gents, give it up for Jeff!

——

Title:The Duke of Shadows

Author: Meredith Duran

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Pocket
Publication Date: March 2008
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages

Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Sick of tragedy, done with rebellion, Emmaline Martin has no interest in courting trouble. But when violence seizes the British colonies, she must turn for help to the one man whom she should not trust, but cannot resist: Julian Sinclair, the dangerous and dazzling heir to the Duke of Auburn. In London, they toast Sinclair with champagne. In India, they call him a traitor. When Emma’s life falls into his hands, Julian cannot imagine the lengths he will go to keep her safe — or how love itself will become their greatest danger. A lifetime later, in a cold London spring, Emma and Julian will finally confront the truth: no matter how hard one tries to deny it, some pasts cannot be disowned . . . and some passions may never die.

Why did we recommend this book: : This is one of Ana’s favorite Romance novels by one of Ana’s favorite romance novel writers.

Jeff’s Review:

When I was younger and more inclined to be glib and cynical, I opined that I could write a historical romance novel pretty easily. I was in college, and I’d just found a bodice-ripper half-hidden under a friend’s bed; of course, wrapped up in my haughty, self-important English major-dom, I mocked her terribly. Romance novels were nothing but insubstantial and overly florid frivolity, I said, and even I could just churn one out if so inclined. My outline involved a chaste yet listless Spanish noblewoman abducted by fierce privateers whose harsh and demanding captain taught her about love and adventure…not in that order. I didn’t dissuade Anna from reading her book, and I ignored the hypocrisy carefully when I cracked open a Star Wars novel later that day. And though I talk a good game, I never did get around to writing that book. Go figure.

It was that incident that I had in mind when Ana and Thea dared me to tackle Meredith Duran’s The Duke of Shadows. Though I’d broadened my horizons since my all-genre-fiction-all-the-time period, I wasn’t sure that my forays into ‘chick lit’ had really prepared me for what I was about to read. I’m not one to back down from a dare, but I kind of dreaded the promise of purple prose and quivering members. I forgot for a moment that I’m an unabashed consumer of melodrama.

I couldn’t put The Duke of Shadows down. I devoured it greedily and in large, uncouth bites. Like its heroine, it seems unassuming at first blush, but has something incredibly compelling hidden underneath its exterior. So compelling that I found myself talking to the book in the way that some people shout at the victims in slasher flicks. You know, “Don’t run UP THE STAIRS!” It hit me when heroine Emma was reunited with the titular shadowy duke after a four year absence and they both overreacted in the exact wrong way. I sat bolt upright in my comfy reading chair and informed Emma and Julian both that Marcus – the evil Viscount – had deceived them both.

Does The Duke of Shadows adhere to the conceits of the genre? Well, of course it does. The romance between the headstrong, artistic Emma and brooding, conflicted Julian is so unrealistic that it might as well be supernatural. Julian is practically perfect in every way – breathtakingly beautiful, absurdly wealthy, erudite, compassionate and a master marksman. Emma is a rich, headstrong tragic heiress who is herself unconventionally beautiful and a superbly talented artist. I realize that that’s like complaining that water is wet; we’re dealing with romantic melodrama, so I accept that it’s par for the course. Despite that, their mutual attraction seems real, and their banter organic. The romantic in me roots for them almost immediately, especially in contrast to Marcus, Emma’s racist womanizing bastard of a fiance.

Would I have enjoyed this book if it weren’t for Meredith Duran? I’m not sure. She makes the book move quickly, makes the dialogue not only pop but sound real, and despite being inside her characters’ heads frequently, the voice of the book is efficient and not overburdened with filler adverbs the way this post is. The inside-back-cover bio of Duke describes Duran as a lifelong history buff, and that’s something that definitely shows in the life she’s able to breathe into the setting of the book – colonial India.

The British Raj is the perfect backdrop for exotic romance, especially set as it is against the backdrop of Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. I know the tendency can be to correlate India with outsourced call center reps and their longtime feud with Pakistan and move along, but it is a breathtakingly beautiful country with an exotic mix of old and new, even at the time when The Duke of Shadows takes place; in fact, the division between and admixture of tradition and modernity is a bit sharper because it’s fresher. As a result, the book also has some things to say about nationalism and cultural identity that gave it added depth. Emma, steeped in British court society but too independent to let it govern her thinking, is the perfect point of view character for the story.

I thought that The Duke of Shadows was a great read, and I’m glad that Ana and Thea urged me to step outside my comfort zone and try something new. Am I going to have to clear out room for a ‘Harlequin Shelf’ in my library? I doubt it, honestly, but I’m certainly not going to steer away from a great book that just happens to be a romance again.

——

Yay, Jeff! We are most delighted that you enjoyed your dare!

Next on the Guest Dare: Peter from Bitterly Books reads Scalped Volume 1

Until next month!

Welcome to the first Guest Dare of 2010! For those new to the feature, our Guest Dare is a monthly endeavor in which we invite an unsuspecting victim to read a book totally outside of their comfort zone. You can read all previous Dare posts HERE.

This month’s victim is Renee – prolific blogger of Renee’s Book Addiction and reader of all things Romance, Romance, YA, M/M, Mystery , etc. When we contacted her for a guest dare, she came back to say she hasn’t read many Epic Fantasy – not even, gasp, Lord of the Rings. We immediately created a list which included not only Tolkien but Rothfuss, Sanderson and others. Her first choice was The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, but after much nagging from her significant other, she caved and decided to read The Lord of the Rings.

Ladies and gents, please give it up for Renee!

________

Title: The Fellowship of the Ring

Author: JRR Tolkien

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Ballantine (This is the edition I read, but there are many publishers.)
Publication Date: July 29, 1954 (UK)
Paperback: 527 pp

Stand alone or series: The Lord of the Rings, Part One – The Fellowship of the Rings

Why did we recommend this book: It is an Epic Fantasy classic and one our Favorite books of all time.

Summary:

Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power except one — the One Ring that rules them all — which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. Young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task when Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.

Renee’s Review:

From the outset, high fantasy was one of the genres I suggested to Ana and Thea when we first discussed this guest dare. The Fellowship of the Ring was mentioned by Ana, but I blew off the suggestion, being far too intimidated by taking on such an icon of fantasy lit. Also, I tried reading The Hobbit a couple of times in my teens, and couldn’t get through it. When I told my husband about Ana’s suggestions, he said I was going to have to give back both my lit major card (we were both lit majors in college and met in a literature class) and my geek card if I didn’t remedy the fact that I hadn’t read this classic.

Typically, my reading tastes are varied, mostly enjoying romance of all flavors, YA, urban fantasy, dark fantasy, and other kinds of spec fiction. However, high fantasy has never been a genre that I have been interested in reading. I think of knights and wizards and trolls, and my eyes glaze over. (Movies, especially The Lord of the Rings trilogy, are another matter, for some reason. I love these movies to death.) In fact, I often think I’d be interested in a high fantasy book, buy it, and then reality sets in and it just sits on my shelf, unread.

Since I consider myself a self-respecting book-geek, I rose to the challenge, and took on The Fellowship of the Ring.

Most people are familiar with the story of The Fellowship of the Ring, either the book or film, so (for the most part) I’m focusing this review on my experience reading the book, rather than reiterating the plot points.

The Prologue: When I first started the book, I was really stressed out by the Prologue. The history and backstory set out in it was complex, and the number of names, events, and dates felt really overwhelming. I also worried the entire book was going to be like this. However, I was reassured that I didn’t need to memorize everything, and that the Prologue’s style was more to give a sense of entering a complete world. So, I relaxed and kept moving forward.

It took me well over a week to settle in to the book. It was frustratingly easy to get distracted by tv, my kid, the fact I had a cold, or conversations going on around me. I found that my mind would wander while I was reading, and I’d have to keep bringing my attention back to the page.

However, as I pushed on, something gradually changed. It was a shift of my mindset. Typically, I’m a fast reader, and usually have a couple of books going at any given time. I generally read books that have lots of fast paced dialogue or action. However, The Fellowship of the Ring is just not that kind of book. While many things do happen, they unfold slowly, and the action builds as the book progresses.

In the Shire: At first, I was impatient, waiting to get from plot-point to plot-point, as I remembered them from the movie. Yet, it felt like not much was happening. I’d glance at the page number, thinking, “I can’t believe they still haven’t left the Shire!” Part of what gives The Fellowship its slow pace is that each scene is crammed with an incredible amount of detail: physical detail—how the building looked, what was on the dinner table, what the weather was like; historical detail— who the characters are, how they are related, what this event’s significance is in the scheme of things; and, character detail—what each character said, did, or thought. The result is an amazingly vivid book that, once I allowed myself to slow down and enjoy the ride, began to come to life.

Awesome quote, describing Gandalf’s fireworks at Bilbo’s party:

There were rockets like a flight of scintillating birds singing with sweet voices. There were green trees with trunks of dark smoke: their leaves opened like a whole spring unfolding in a moment, and their shining branches dropped glowing flowers down upon the astonished hobbits, disappearing with a sweet scent just before they touched their upturned faces.

I loved learning things about the hobbits, like Sam’s impulsive and adventuresome nature. The beautiful interlude with Tom Bombadil and Goldberry was an unexpected surprise, since (inevitably) I kept comparing the book with the movie.

At The Prancing Pony, where they meet Strider (Aragorn): About halfway through the book, I realized what the experience of reading The Fellowship of the Rings was like for me. To use a food analogy, this was the literary equivalent of a “slow food” dinner. One where I needed to savor the words, the descriptions, and the songs. The point was not to get to the book’s climax, but savor the journey. This isn’t always a natural state for a goal-oriented person like me. Yet, even the songs (which I tend to skim over in most books) became enjoyable. I once had a lit professor tell us to read things like sermons and poetry out loud since they were written to be heard. So, in an effort to get into the swing of things with the songs in The Fellowship, I’d sing them to myself. (Greensleeves, Amazing Grace, and Scarborough Fair worked especially well!) This made a vast difference in my enjoyment of them.

Rivendell, at the Council of Elrond: This was my favorite part of the book! While it wasn’t the book’s climax, it really felt like the book comes together here. It’s funny, because often we talk about how a book needs to “show not tell”, yet to me I was so excited to get everyone’s story. It was like fitting a puzzle together, where before you only have a few of the (hobbit) pieces. Part of it the reason this “telling not showing” works is because the dramatic tension has been built slowly. The hobbits go through so much to finally get to Rivendell, and Frodo is so relieved, thinking that his adventure is near its conclusion. Yet, I (the reader) know that all this changes here at the Council. Frodo’s journey is just begun. The path for the rest of the trilogy is set down at this point and we get to see what must happen —the ring must be detroyed, the people of Gondor must be aided, Sauron must be defeated— and get to hear from the key players (the hobbits, men, elves, dwarves, and wizards).

Moria and Lothlórien: For me, this part of the book became more about the big events. The tragedy in the mines and meeting Galadriel were parts of the story which I had been dreading and anticipating (as the case may be). However, with both these sections, again Tolkien’s vivid writing make them wonderful. The “doom, doom doom” drumbeats of the orcs foreshadow what eventually happens in the mines as well as adding an auditory layer to the scenes in the mine. The unreal beauty of Lothlorien and Galadriel are such a contrast following the events in Moria.

Awesome quote #2, when Frodo asks Galadriel to take the ring:

‘In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!’

She lifted up her hand and from the ring that she wore there issued a great light that illumined her alone and left all else dark. she stood before Frodo seeming now tall beyond measurement, and beautiful beyond enduring, terrible and worshipful.

*chills*

The Breaking of the Fellowship: This part felt mostly like a set up to The Two Towers. I read about the events of Boromir and Frodo, and Frodo’s decision to break up the group with anticipation for the next part of the adventure. By now, I knew I was in it for the rest of the story. I will be definitely be finishing the rest of The Lord of the Rings.

It’s impossible to ignore the movies’ impact on my reading experience. While the movies gave me some very clear referential images, and helped me in understanding some of the more complicated historical relationships, I sort of regretted that I had seen the LotR movies first. I wonder what it would have been like to experience Middle Earth for the first time solely through JRR Tolkien’s words. (That being said, though, you know what I’ll be watching this weekend.)

I don’t usually grade my books at my place, but from about halfway through the book it was clear that The Fellowship of the Ring was a “10″ for me. Not because of its classic status, but because of Tolkien’s success in creating the incredibly ambitious world of Middle Earth. The magnitude of his scope is breath-taking, and once I allowed myself to slow down and enjoy the ride, I was rewarded with a truly memorable reading experience.

Thanks, Thea and Ana for daring me to take on The Fellowship of the Ring. I know I wouldn’t have read it without the extra little push.

__________

And thank you, Renee for saying yes, to the dare! And we are delighted that you enjoyed the book!

Next on the Guest Dare: Jeff one of the folks from Alert Nerd, reads a Romance Novel: The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran

Until next month!

It’s time for another Guest Dare – the November edition. For those new to the feature, our Guest Dare is a monthly endeavor in which we invite an unsuspecting victim to read a book totally outside of their comfort zone. You can read all previous Dare posts HERE.

This month’s victim is the fabulous Rhiannon Hart – prolific blogger and aspiring author of Young Adult fantasy. Rhiannon’s reading tastes run towards the Dystopian and Apocalyptic (sound familiar?), especially of the YA persuasion. When we contacted her for a guest dare, she came back with a laundry list of genres she’s uncomfortable towards, we (naturally) found a way to encompass multiple areas of discomfort in one book – a male protagonist, in a science fiction setting (minimal physics involved), with multiple war/thriller storylines. The book is The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold, starring none other than the incomparable, indomitable Miles Vorkosigan.

Ladies and gents, please give it up for Rhiannon!

——————–

Title: The Warrior’s Apprentice

Author: Lois McMaster Bujold

Genre: Science Fiction

Publisher: Baen
Publication Date: 1986
Paperback: 320 pages

Stand alone or series: The first book to feature Miles Vorkosigan in the ongoing Vor series and the first book published in the series, though technically the fifth story in the series. (Think Star Wars Episodes I-III versus IV-VI – The Warrior’s Apprentice is starting at episode IV)

Why did we recommend this book: After discovering this series last year, Miles Vorkosigan has become one of Thea’s favorite protagonists. And when Rhiannon mentioned her aversion to scifi, male protagonists and war/espionage thrillers, we knew immediately that Miles and his shenanigans would be able to win her over. Thus, we recommended The Warrior’s Apprentice!

Summary: (from amazon.com)
Between the seemingly impossible tasks of living up to his warrior-father’s legend and surmounting his own physical limitations, Miles Vorkosigan faces some truly daunting challenges.

Shortly after his arrival on Beta Colony, Miles unexpectedly finds himself the owner of an obsolete freighter and in more debt than he ever thought possible. Propelled by his manic “forward momentum,” the ever-inventive Miles creates a new identity for himself as the commander of his own mercenary fleet to obtain a lucrative cargo; a shipment of weapons destined for a dangerous warzone.

Rhiannon’s Review:

Miles Vorkosigan has eleven generations of proud warriors preceding him, all weighing heavily on his stunted, fragile frame. His attempt to qualify for the Barrayaran Military Service Academy and follow in his illustrious family’s footsteps fails when he breaks both legs on an obstacle course. At a loss for what to do with himself now he’ll never become an officer, he turns his attention to Elena, the beautiful daughter of his bodyguard, Sergent Bothari, to help her found out the truth about her unknown mother. A chance meeting with a jump pilot about to have his ship scrapped on Beta colony sets in motion a series of events that sees Miles become the leader of a private, imaginary army, and embroiled in a war against the Oserans.

From the very beginning of this novel I was fascinated by Miles. He’s the perfect combination of audacity, wit, ego and fragility. On a planet where defects are barely tolerated, Miles’s physical imperfection makes him even more determined to prove himself, especially to his father. His catchphrase “forward momentum” is an apt one, and combined with an overwhelming desire to help the underdog (who he is prone to identify with) he becomes embroiled in all manner of sticky situations. Outward he is austere and commanding; in private he is fraught with worry and prone to tears. I don’t know whether I want to clasp him motheringly to my breast or tongue pash him.

I was relieved at how character-driven the narrative was. I’m not a sci-fi aficionado despite all the speculative fiction I read. I get a bit lost in deep space. I really like to know how things look and where they sit in relation to one another. The problem with space is it’s mostly empty (funny that) and I can’t get a proper handle on where things are. All the worm-holing and planet-hopping that went on had me a bit baffled, and see now why it may have been a good idea to read the two preceding books in this sequence, if only to learn more about Beta and Barrayar, what they look like and where they sit in relation to Earth. While I had a hard time visualising things, the social aspects and interplanetary relations were well fleshed out. I loved the contrast between the prudish and sheltered Barrayarans and the liberal Betans. Cordelia, Miles’s mother, is from Beta and also the protagonist of the first two novels, and her exasperation with Barrayarans his highly amusing.

Overall, this is a very funny book. I had a huge grin plastered on my face the whole time I was reading it and frequently laughed out loud. Bujold is a true wit. It’s also very touching, exciting and believable. Bujold doesn’t try to tie things up too neatly. Characters with a sordid past are neither demonised nor exonerated. They just are. I will definitely be picking up the other books in this series and picking up more sci-fi in general. I think a lot of teenagers would get pleasure out of books like these, but no one seems to writing them for a mass audience at the moment. Perhaps I should try! I’ve heard whispers that after the wave of dystopian novels that is about to submerge us up to our necks in end-of-the-world scenarios (hurrah!) sci-fi will be the next big thing. I better start researching rocket fuel and air-locks.

Thanks for having me, Smugglers! This was a fantastic dare, and maybe the start of a beautiful friendship between me and deep space sci-fi.

——————–

There you have it, folks! Rhiannon is converted to the wonder that is science fiction and the awesomeness that is Miles Vorkosigan! Thanks again to Rhiannon for being a good sport, and for the fabulous review!

Next on the Guest Dare: We are actually letting you off the hook next month, as Smugglivus will be in full swing – but don’t fret! The Guest Dare will be back, with a vengeance, come 2010. If anyone is down for a challenge, feel free to email us or leave a comment here! We are always hungry for a new victim…

Welcome to another Guest Dare – the October edition. For those new to the feature, our Guest Dare is a monthly endeavor in which we invite an unsuspecting victim to read a book totally outside of their comfort zone. You can read all previous Dare posts here.

This month’s victim is Kati – from Katidom whose taste for Romance novels is similar to Ana’s (but not too much. Ahem, The Windflower). We sent a list of possible picks for Kati’s dare and she chose the Steampunk Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassoti. Here is what she has to say:

_____________

Title: Clockwork Heart

Author: Dru Pagliassoti

Genre: Steampunk

Publisher: Juno Books
Publishing Date: April 2008
Paperback: 304 pages

Stand Alone or series: Stand alone

Why did we recommend the book: This was one of Thea’s top 2008 reads

Summary: A steampunkish romantic fantasy set in Ondinium, a city that beats to the ticking of a clockwork heart. Taya, a metal-winged courier, can travel freely across the city’s sectors and mingle indiscriminately among its castes. A daring mid-air rescue leads to involvement with two scions of an upperclass family and entanglement in a web of terrorism, loyalty, murder, and secrets.

Kati’s Review:

I’ll be honest, I’m a romance reader through and through. Solidly 98% of what I read falls into the genre of romance, and the other 2% is usually Young Adult with strong romantic overtones. So when I emailed Ana and volunteered to be a victim of the Guest Dare, I was hoping they’d push me far outside my boundaries. Ana and Thea sent the list to me, and I decided that I needed to step outside my comfort zone, but still wanted at least a minute dose of romance to go with my Guest Dare. I ended up choosing Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti. I remember Thea’s review of it, and that she’d truly loved it. And I also remember reading a conversational review about it on Dear Author, although I didn’t really remember anything about the story.

I was nervous when I got the book. It has this beautiful cover featuring a woman who is wearing a contraption with wings on it, and what looks like the workings of a clock behind her. I knew the book was supposed to be steampunk, and I’d read and been interested in Katiebabs’ primer on this unknown to me genre, but honestly just didn’t know where to start. I figured Clockwork Heart was as good a place as any.

Honestly, I was lost from almost the beginning. The world which Pagliassotti has created is obviously a complicated one, with multiple castes, a complex technological world, and a character whose role in that world was not readily apparent to me. Taya, the main character, is an icarus, one without caste, who is a messenger of sort, delivering missives throughout Odinium (the world)’s sectors, and able to mingle within any of the castes. She finds herself drawn into the public eye when she makes a daring rescue of an upperclass woman and her son. She is honored for her heroism, and because of that, finds herself entangled with the Folare brothers, Alister, who is a leader in this upperclass world, and Cristof, who abandoned his honored roots, and works as a master clock repairman. Alister romances and intrigues Taya, while Cristof raises her hackles and suspicions about a terror plot that seems to be undermining the power of the ruling council and something called the Great Engine, which is a sort of machine that is revered in Odinium for its power.

I ended up having to email Thea to have her talk me through the world construct and the role of the Great Engine throughout the book. I was literally midway through the book and felt I couldn’t go any further with the story because I didn’t understand the world’s rules. Thea graciously talked me through and I kept reading.

I think that my problem with the book was that it was trying to be many, many things all at the same time. There was a mild romantic thread throughout the story, a love triangle of sorts between Cristof, Alister and Taya. It is Taya’s attraction to Alister that leads to her involvement with Cristof. There is a mystery/suspense thread concerning the identity and motivations of the terrorists and whether Cristof or Alister had any involvement in the plot to overthrow the ruling party. There is a fantasy bent in the world’s construct with the apparatuses and machines utilized by the characters, which are unusual and I suppose in keeping with the steampunk feel of the story.

For me, it was all too much. I lost threads of the story by becoming too bogged down in the technology and my confusion about the construct of the world. I felt frustration with Taya, who I felt became involved in the lives of the Folare brothers without sufficiently represented motivation and who took a number of what I thought were ill advised chances. But more, I just always felt a step behind. As if I’d missed some critical description of the world that would have helped me better understand, not just the technology, but the culture that Pagliassotti was trying to convey.

Honestly, it’s hard for me to evaluate the book, because I truly believe that those who have read and enjoyed the steampunk genre probably would really love the story. But for me, it was a case of the book attempting to do too much all at the same time, which resulted in a lot of confusion and frustration for me as a reader. This is a book that I honestly slogged through, and would have DNF’d if it weren’t for the guest dare. All of this being said, I am pleased with myself for stepping outside my comfort zone. This exercise just illustrated to me that my comfort zone exists for a reason.

Thank you so much Ana and Thea for pushing me to read this book. Even though it wasn’t a winner for me, I am proud of myself for picking up something that I would never have read otherwise.

______

Kati, we are sorry that you didn’t enjoy the book – but thanks for playing anyways!

Next on the Guest Dare: Rhiannon Hart reads The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold.

Until next month!

Welcome to another Guest Dare – the September edition. For those new to the feature, our Guest Dare is a monthly endeavor in which we invite an unsuspecting victim to read a book totally outside of their comfort zone. You can read all previous Dare posts here.

This month’s daree (yes, we believe just totally made this word up) is Lusty Reader. Her book lusting (a trait we share) and the fact that she is totally a Very Cool blogger (who is funny, entertaining and writes very insightful reviews) has put her under our radar. (She also introduced us to “The Shiz My Boyfriend Says”. Seriously, you need to read these. But do not read whilst drinking and/or eating – you might spill and/or choke. You have been warned) . One day Ana was unsuspectingly doing her Twitter rounds when she read that LR had never read a Graphic Novel in her life and that was cause for an instant-dare and ergo, here we are.

Lusty reader, ladies and gentlemen:
___________________

Title: Fables Vol.1 – Legends in Exile

Author: Bill Willingham, Lan Medina, Steve Leialoha, Craig Hamilton

Genre: Graphic Novel (Fantasy)

Publisher: Vertigo
Publishing Date: September 2002
Paperback: 128 pages

Stand alone or series: First volume in the Fables comics; collects issues 1-5.

Summary: (from Vertigo)
Who Killed Rose Red?
In Fabletown, where fairy tale legends live alongside regular New Yorkers, the question is all anyone can talk about. But only the Big Bad Wolf can actually solve the case–and, along with Rose’s sister Snow White, keep the Fabletown community from coming apart at the seams.

Why did we recommend this book: it started when we both read this first volume and loved it. . Thea went on to read every single one of them (there are 12 so far) and continues to follow all the monthlies as well. Ana (aka The Lazy Smuggler) has only read up to volume 4 so far. But what matters is this: we luuurves it.

Lusty Reader’s Review:

Since we may not know each other too well, dear Book Smuggler readers, I thought I would start off my guest dare post by sharing a secret. Secret sharing is a great way to make new bff’s, I have a picture in my mind of us all in a giggling gaggle at a slumber party – I have dibs on the My Little Pony sleeping bag! So, gather round, it’s confession time…Even Thea and Ana don’t know this, which might have made the dare even better.

I always thought a “graphic novel” was a sex book. Like erotica. Or illustrated Kama Sutra books. Because like in movies and stuff they are rated R for graphic scenes, right? This equaled sex to me. I have had a lusty mind for a long time I guess.

I was so sure of this my whole life I always made a wide berth around the “graphic” section of any bookstore so I wouldn’t be seen near “those sex books.” I couldn’t believe that they had a sex section! Out in the open! With a big sign! Shocking. My heart already beats faster in embarrassment and anxiety when I am in the romance novel section, heaven forbid I get too close to those graphic sex books!

When I started poking around book blogland earlier this year I finally realized what graphic novels really were.

Phew, it felt good to get that off my chest!

This confession illustrates *snicker, pun intended* that I know absolutely nothing about graphic novels. I mean, can I even call them comic books? Or is that a negative connotation thing, like bodice rippers vs romance novels? The last comic book I ever read was Archie when I was a kid in the 90s. I say this all so you can take it as an official disclaimer since my hosts here are winners of Best Graphic Novel Review blog – whereas I have no clue what I’m talking about.

Hence the guest dare! Chatting on twitter Ana discovered I had never read a graphic novel and quickly made sure she would change that, so since I always listen to what the Book Smugglers tell me to do, here I am!

Reading Fables Vol. 1 Legends in Exile was a totally new experience for me. Starting off, I was a bit distracted – I read all the words, but skipped the pictures, or studied all the details in the pictures, but glossed over the dialogue. My eyes were darting in every direction, trying to take it all in at once, afraid I was missing something, like Where’s Waldo’s hat, or scroll, or glasses. But the longer I read the more adjusted I became and began to really appreciate the artistry in the illustrations as well as the skill the writers need to have to only be able to write dialogue, but still communicate enough to the reader. The pairing is such a unique way to follow a story and I found myself really enjoying it!

One reason why is because I love retellings or new twists on fairytales. The Fables series follows a number of well known fairytale characters and legends from folklore as they live in exile in New York City. They were driven from their respective kingdoms, magical woods, and all their lands by The Adversary (whose drawings were so frightening I physically shuddered when we finally got to see what they looked like) and so are now all living in a clandestine community known as Fabletown in the Big Apple.

Those who cannot blend in with the mundanes (aka humans) live at The Farm in upstate New York. This is an example of the depths of the world building, there is so much back-story to their escape from the Adversary, how their relationships have evolved over time, and we learn so much in just the first few pages. More about how Fabletown’s community and government is set up, how some were able to escape with their riches and some weren’t, and what rituals, rules about old grudges, and traditions they have developed to keep everyone together.

One upcoming tradition is the annual Remembrance Day ball in memory of their Homelands. This year it’s not just a ball, it’s a deadline to find a murderer. Hard partying Rose Red’s apartment was found trashed, covered in blood, and she was no where to be found. Suspecting the worst, her sister, Snow White (Director of Operations) and Bigby Wolf (of Fabletown’s Security Office) team up to find the killer.

These were the two characters we followed the most and I loved both of them, especially rugged Bigby. He is the perfect tortured, rough-around-the-edges hero just begging for the right woman to come along and fix him with her love. There is the slightest, teensiest, tinyest, vaguest suggestion of a romantic undercurrent between him and Snow White, which tickled my fancy, but was certainly not enough to fulfill my usual romance preferences!

The pacing, plot twists, and the big reveal are awesome, it doesn’t feel drawn out at all. And while I guessed a little bit about what happened, the way the clues are shown and later explained is super fun and keeps you on your toes.

The best part for me was all the characters we met along the way: a pissed off Pinocchio trapped in a little boy’s body, but after 300 years is horny as hell, a troubled marriage between Beauty and the Beast, several divorced Prince Charmings, a fencing Cinderella, and a Little Pig who escapes from The Farm upstate. How they evolved in Fabletown was my absolute favorite, was such a cool “what happened after they lived happily ever after” way of imagining their stories.

I did enjoy having the visual side of the story as well, but I will say that all the female characters were drawn in bit too much of a “va-va voom” way for me, like a Jessica Rabbit or something. I know so many of these fairy tale women were SUPPOSED to be gorgeous and what not, but they were uber sexy in the comic book.

Overall I am so glad I made my first foray into the graphic novel world and would recommend Fables Vol. 1 to anyone who likes a good whodunit and retellings of classic fairytales.

And it helped me make a new friend on the DC metro. The colors and pages are so splashy they drew a lot of attention on my commute to work. The nerdy, 20-something guy with glasses I was sitting next to kept sneaking peeks and he finally asked me what I was reading. When I flipped the cover, his eyes lit up as he proclaimed his love for the series. He thought we had a lot in common and recommended the book he had open on his lap – H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, definitely not my usual cup of tea either!

But I will absolutely be reading more graphic novels in the future. Even though they are not sex books I’ve already added The Surrogates to my TBR so I can read it before the movie comes out!

___________

Needless to say, we are delighted that LR liked Fables and will try other Graphic Novels. And hey Lusty, if you liked the romantic dynamics between Snow and Bigby you might want to keep reading this series. It only gets better. Like, REALLY, really good. *ninja*

Next on the Guest Dare: Kati of Katidom reads her first Steampunk Novel: Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassoti!

Until next month!

Welcome to another Guest Dare – the August edition. For those new to the feature, our Guest Dare is a monthly endeavor in which we invite an unsuspecting victim to read a book totally outside of their comfort zone.

This month we invited Angie (from Angieville),  one of our favorite bloggers and book pimps. When we asked what sort of genre was outside her comfort zone she answered “Romance” and Ana jumped at the opportunity to introduce someone else to one of her own favourites: Loretta Chase. What we did not know was that Angie had never EVER read a romance before. Here is what she has to say about her experience.

Title: Mr Impossible

Author: Loretta Chase

Genre: Romance (Historical)

Publisher: Berkley
Publishing Date: March 1 2005
Paperback: 320 pages

Stand Alone or series: Part of the Carsington Brothers series but can be read as a stand alone.

Summary: Blame it on the Egyptian sun or the desert heat, but as tensions flare between a reckless rogue and beautiful scholar en route to foil a kidnapping, so does love, in the most uninhibited and impossibly delightful ways.

Angie’s Review:

Thanks for accepting the dare Angie. I hope you will try other romance novels – maybe give Julia Quinn’s What Happens in London a go next?

Next month on the Guest Dare: Lusty Reader accepts our dare to read the Graphic Novel Fables, Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham.

Until next month!

Welcome to yet another Guest Dare – the July edition. For those new to the feature, our Guest Dare is a monthly endeavor in which we invite an unsuspecting victim to read a book totally outside of their comfort zone.

This month’s guest is Liz (A.K.A The Liz) from the wonderful UK-based blog My Favourite Books which she runs with hubby Mark. Liz revealed that her most dreaded genre was Sci-fi and we promptly suggested that she should read Hyperion by Dan Simmons, one of Thea’s all time favorites. Liz agreed at first, but could not carry on (I will let her tell you all about it) and offered to read Principles of Angels by Jaine Fenn instead and since Thea recently reviewed Consorts of Heavens (a book in the same series), we said yes.

So, ladies and gentlemen , The Liz and her review of Principle of Heavens (and a giveaway).

Title: Principles of Angels

Author: Jaine Fenn

Genre: Sci-fi

Publisher: Gollancz
Publishing date: 12 Feb 2009
Paperback: 320 pages

Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Summary:Khesh City floats above the surface of the uninhabitable planet of Vellern. Topside, it’s extravagant, opulent, luxurious; the Undertow is dark, twisted and dangerous. Khesh City is a place where nothing is forbidden – but it’s also a democracy, of sorts, a democracy by assassination, policed by the Angels, the élite, state-sponsored killers who answer only to the Minister, their enigmatic master.

Taro lived with Malia, his Angel aunt, one of the privileged few, until a strange man bought his body for the night, then followed him home and murdered Malia in cold blood. Taro wants to find the killer who ruined his future, but he’s struggling just to survive in the brutal world of the Undertow. Then an encounter with the Minister sets him on a new course, spying for the City; his target is a reclusive Angel called Nual.

Elarn Reen is a famous musician, sent to Khesh City as the unwilling agent of mankind’s oldest enemy, the Sidhe. To save her own life, she must find and kill her ex-lover, a renegade Sidhe.

Though they come from different worlds, Taro and Elarn’s fates are linked, their lives apparently forfeit to other people’s schemes. As their paths converge, it becomes clear that the lives of everyone in Khesh City, from the majestic, deadly Angels to the barely-human denizens of the Undertow, are at risk. And Taro and Elarn, a common prostitute and an uncommon singer, are Khesh City’s only chance . . .

Review:

Hi Ana and Thea – thanks very much for having me! Here’s my review of Principles of Angels, after I chickened out of reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons. My poor non-sci-fi-loving brain could not take it!

I picked up Principles of Angels as it’s been sitting on my bookshelf for ages now. Receiving the DARE from Ana and Thea clinched it. Not only did I have to read it for my own blog’s Summer Reads List, I get to come and play outside of my own sandpit for a change!

I will be the first to admit that I am not a fan of science fiction writing, hence the dare, but I have been told to amend my ways because I am losing out on some very good books out there.

I acquiesced to this and fell into Principles of Angels with great abandon. I can highly commend Ms. Fenn’s writing style. You couldn’t fault her creating two very engaging characters, Elarn and Taro. I was probably more interested in Elarn than Taro as I felt her character had been better developed and held more intrigue than Taro, the boy-whore.

The contrast between the two characters works well – Elarn is a renowned singer; she is graceful, competent, a lady, people like being around her. Taro on the other hand is rough, coming from the Undertow, whilst his speech patterns reflect this, as does his approach to life, where he is prepared to do anything to survive, even joining a gang and becoming addicted to drugs. Something else that I couldn’t quite wrap my head around was the language used when spoken, especially some slang bits. Instead of giving me a feel of the city, it’s social standing and the more dodgy characters and places in the novel, I felt alienated and I couldn’t bother figuring out what they meant as I had no frame of reference to work form.

I found myself hugely confused about Khesh, the City – it is almost a third mysterious character in the novel. Just enough information is given about why it is suspended above the arid world of Vellern. The City reminded me of every single stereotype you ever heard of when it comes to boomtown America or thirties Bangkok – anything could be had, several times over, even perversely, for a price. Tourists leave their staid homes to revel in Kesh’s apparently lawlessness where assassinations are the rule and Angels are highly respected for their skill and status within society. I found that the Topside was less well described compared to the Undertow but then realised after the fact that this is evident in Elarn and Taro’s characterisation.

The plot felt a bit slow at times and I found myself skipping certain sections as I was in danger of putting the book to the side as it just wasn’t holding my attention. I thought it was maybe because there was too much exposition when it came to the two characters, you get really up close and personal with especially Taro’s life and although it’s not a problem in most cases, he just doesn’t do that many exciting things! I came away thinking that the novel could entirely have been written from Elarn’s perspective and it would have been a completely different piece of work.

I am very much aware that I am very torn about Principles of Angels. I did enjoy reading it, but I didn’t love it enough to want to immediately pick up the second novel, Consorts of Heaven which, by all counts, is not a follow-up of Principles, but a complete standalone novel.

I would therefore like to offer the following: a copy of both Principles of Angels and Consorts of Heaven to the first person in the UK to email me at: myfavouritebooksatblogspot@googlemail.com . These books are not for me, I will freely admit that and they need a new home. This offer is open for one day only. If there are no takers, I’ll give the books away to a charity shop.

I’d give Principles of Angels 4.5 out of 10 stars.

___________

Thank you Liz for being brave and trying a book outside your comfort zone – and we are sorry that it didn’t work for you!

Next month in the Guest Dare: We dared Angie from Angieville to read Mr Impossible by Loretta Chase.

Welcome to yet another Guest Dare – the June edition. For those new to the feature, our Guest Dare is a monthly endeavor in which we invite an unsuspecting victim to read a book totally outside of their comfort zone.

This month’s victim – er, guest – is the fabulous Tia from Fantasy Debut. Tia revealed that her most dreaded genres were Horror and Paranormal Romance, and we gave her a tough selection of books to pick from. Finally, she settled on one of Thea’s personal favorites, the classic horror novel Ghost Story by Peter Straub.

Without further ado, we give the floor up to Tia!

—————

Title: Ghost Story

Author: Peter Straub

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Coward, McCann and Geoghegan
Publication Date: 1979
Paperback: 560 pages

Stand alone or series: Stand alone novel

Why did we RECOMMEND this book: It’s one of Thea’s nostalgic favorites (both the book and the film, starring Fred Astaire) – one of those books she read as a young teen that got her into the horror genre in the first place!

Summary: (from amazon.com)
In life, not every sin goes unpunished.

Peter Straub’s classic bestseller is a work of “superb horror” (The Washington Post Book World) that, like any good ghost story, stands the test of time — and conjures our darkest fears and nightmares.

TIA’S REVIEW:

Ana, Thea–forgive me. I have failed.

When Ana and Thea challenged me to this Dare, choosing a horror novel was an obvious choice. In all the time I’ve run Fantasy Debut, the only horror novel I covered was Calling Mr. Lonely Hearts by the awesome and incredibly sweet Laura Benedict. She’s so sweet, you wonder how she can write such about such awful things.

Anyway, Ana and Thea gave me a selection of titles to choose from.

Ghost Story by Peter Straub
The Damnation Game by Clive Barker
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
Angels’ Blood by Nalini Singh

I probably should have selected the Lovecraft novel for its sheer brevity, but I’ve tried to read Lovecraft before. I much prefer the Cliff Note’s versions of his novels! The Barker and Singh novels put me off too much for various reasons. I selected Ghost Story because it seemed to be the most readable and–to be frank–the least repugnant (sorry!).

It starts with a twenty-plus page prologue. In the prologue, a guy named Wanderley has apparently kidnapped a little girl and is headed south. As they head south, you find that there is something strange about the little girl. Toward the end of the prologue, I wondered if she was even a little girl at all. My interest was piqued.

Then, I started chapter one. The narrative jumped back an unspecified period of time. Four old men, Ricky, Sears, Lewis and John meet on a regular basis, apparently to exchange ghost stories. This started after a fifth member of their society–Wanderley’s uncle–died last year. Turns out there’s a deeper reason they’re exchanging ghost stories. Turns out they were all involved in the death of a young woman years before.

They decide to bring Wanderley in under the dubious–or desperate–credentials that he’s a novelist. He might understand what they’re experiencing.

Part of the reason I don’t read horror is because very often, the protagonists are such unpleasant people that I feel no attachment to them. I didn’t care about any of the old men, and I figured that they probably all deserved their fates. It is a plot-driven story when I’m attracted to character-driven ones. I found the writing too opaque, with long descriptions of such things like what one of the old men experiences as he takes his daily run (he’s a fit old guy, and the youngest of them). And the ghost stories that they men were exchanging weren’t especially scary. At least, they had not gotten scary at the point where I stopped, about 120 pages in.

There was a bit of interest when a mysterious young woman appears on the scene. She is related to the murdered girl of years before, but ultimately it didn’t interest me enough to carry me through.

So, I took up the dare, but I failed. I can’t blame other books, because while the other books I’m reading are interesting, none of them are can’t-put-it-down kinds of books. Do I get points for trying? Will Ana and Thea even want to post this? I do feel bad about not finishing, but at this point, I would have been forcing myself to go on. I hate that. Since Ana and Thea have posted Did Not Finish reviews in the past, I decided to write one for them.

Straub is unquestionably a master writer. But unfortunately, I don’t have any interest in the types of novels he writes. The book is due back to the library tomorrow. My daughter spilled water on it, so they might make me buy it. If they do, I may finish it eventually, but it would probably be too eventual to be any use to Ana or Thea.

Rating: Did Not Finish
—————

Well, shucks. We feel awful that Tia didn’t end up finishing this novel, but we can of course understand where she’s coming from, and we thank her for the heroic effort!

Speaking of Dares, Tia had the gall to counter-Dare us to read one of her favorite novels, The Once and Future King by T.H. White! We’ll be over at her blog with our review of the first book in the series, “The Sword in the Stone,” so make sure to stop by.

Next Month on The Guest Dare: Liz from My Favourite Books is our next guest up on the Dare. Liz revealed that she would be interested in reading something in the SciFi category – and has selected Hyperion by Dan Simmons.

Until next time!

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!

Another month, another dare.

Every month we dare a book blogger to read a book that is outside their comfort zone and invite them to post their reviews or thoughts here. This time, the victim guest is Jessica who writes the excellent Racy Romance Reviews. As soon as we asked her which genre she does not read and she said YA, we thought of Melissa Marr and decided to dare her to read Wicked Lovely.

So, we warmly welcome Jessica and here is what she has to say:
________

Jessica’s review of Wicked Lovely

Ana and Thea challenged me to read a YA, and suggested Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. Like most avid romance readers, I have occasionally ventured outside the genre to try other books with strong romantic elements, such as urban fantasy, sci fi, suspense, and mystery. But I have resisted the call of the YA. I believed either that a romance between teens would not interest me, or that it would interest me, and I would feel like a dirty old woman (I’m in my late thirties.). I’m happy to report that I failed to consider a third alternative: a chaste, age appropriate YA romance that has all the elements of adult romance that I find compelling, with a strong enough characterization of the teen protagonists that I was never in any danger of wanting to be one of them.

This book was published in 2007, and two others in the series have since come out. I’m going to keep my plot summary brief, since this book is now quite well known. Aislinn, a Catholic high school student, lives in Huntsville, PA with her grandmother. She has the Sight, meaning she can see faeries all around her, even under the glamours they use when they want to be viewed as normal by humans. She follows a set of rules handed down by her grandmother designed to keep her ability hidden from the fey, and spends time with Seth, her tattooed and pierced friend who lives in a series of train car (which is handy, since the fey can’t abide steel).

Unfortunately, Aislinn’s ability to stay out of faery business ends when Keenan, King of Summer, identifies her as his Queen and sets about courting her. Keenan has his own troubles, including his evil mother, the Queen of Winter, who knows her chilling reign will end should Aislinn ascend to the throne, and Donia, the girl he once thought was his queen, who is now just a winter girl, a frosty shadow of her former self, under the thumb of the Winter Queen.

It’s a very scary thing to be aware that there are nonhuman beings in our midst, and even scarier to have the burden of keeping your knowledge a secret. As the book opens, we are thrust into Aislinn’s terrifying world. She has to school herself not reveal her awareness of the faeries by looking at them, starting or maneuvering to avoid them. Imagine walking home, knowing they are following you, but not knowing why, not being able to run for fear of alerting them to your knowledge, but being desperate to run. Even worse, imaging that you can see under their glamour, when they are flirting, or talking with your friends, or enrolling in your school. This is a kind of horror – the horror the totally isolating, dangerous unknown — and I thought it was perfectly realized, engaging me right away in this book.

I was also engaged by Aislinn, who is scared but strong, and doesn’t lose her wry sense of humor. Here’s one characteristic observation:

“The Church might caution against the dangers of the occult, but finding a modern priest who believed in anything supernatural—other than God himself—was about as likely as finding one who’d suggest women should be able to be priests too.”

Maybe it’s also a kind of metaphor in some way for teenage relations. My children have no anxiety at all about social relations: if someone doesn’t want to play, they move on. But I know this innocence won’t last, and in a few years they will experience the precariousness of peer groups and all the rest. They’ll learn the hard way that not everyone can be trusted, that not everyone is who they seem. As Aislinn says, “even if she could somehow stop seeing the fey, a person can’t un-know the truth.”

I thought the portrayal of teen life was dead on. There were the little things, like this line,

“Her lips were blue—not lipstick blue, but corpse blue.”

I never would have thought of blue lipstick! But also the savviness about partying and sex that so many older teens have. The teens in the book did all of those adult things (and most of this behavior was merely alluded to), but often not with good judgment. Sound familiar? I have seen other reviewers criticize Marr for putting these “experienced” teens in a Catholic school and I had to laugh: I started high school in a Catholic girls school, and you know what? After one year I switched to a 1500 student coed public h.s. to get away from the aggressive, oversexed party girls at St. Mary’s Academy so I could study! Obviously, not every Catholic high school is populated with this type, but when people criticize Marr on this point they are tacitly assuming the opposite, and they are wrong.

I also thought Marr’s realization of the faery world was terrific. We don’t spend much time in fey dwellings, and most of the faery encounters are on human turf, so it’s all the more impressive to me that Marr was able to convey so much about the history, alliances, customs, and traditions of the fey. Some have criticized her use of simplistic names and relations, and it is true that there is a very heavy use of the “seasonal model” (summer against winter), as personified by their king and queen, and their appearance and abilities. But if you are going to write a faery story, even an urban faery story, you have to stick to nature. The Winter Queen (not to mention Aislinn’s name) evoked the C.S. Lewis’s White Witch, in both her demeanor and her plans – already underway — to winterfy the world. And, like Lewis, or Grimm, or anyone who utilizes this set of themes, they serve as a mutually recognizable backdrop onto which you can put whatever you want.

Once Aislinn’s Sight becomes known, that element of suspense is lost, but a new one takes its place: can she resist the Summer King? As Marr describes him, he is everything that looks, and smells, and feels, and evokes all the good things the average human can imagine. Here’s one description:

“As she watched Keenan walk toward her, Aislinn saw a fleeting image of sunlight rippling over water, bouncing off buildings, strange flickers of warmth and beauty that made her want to run toward him.”

You begin by wondering how anybody at all is enticed to becomes a faery, and by the point in the book when Aislinn attends a carnival with the King, dancing with him until the wee hours of the morning, an amazing scene, a beautiful and pivotal and heartbreaking one, you wonder how she or anybody can possibly resist.

This again, I read as a metaphor for the temptations teenagers face to determine the difference between changing into your adult version and changing into someone else entirely. Once the King identifies Aislinn, she has to choose whether to refuse the test and become a Summer Girl, basically a member of Keenan’s harem, a point to which I shall return, or take the test. (I note here that one annoyance I had with the book was that I was well over halfway through Wicked Lovely before Donia explained these basic facts to Aislinn, and the reader. I appreciated my ignorant suspense for about half that time, but eventually it felt forced to me.) Just as we cannot refuse to grow up, Aislinn cannot refuse this choice. Even a nonchoice is a choice, with its own consequences, a painful fact of adult life that Marr captures very well.

I’ve read some comparisons to Twilight, namely regarding the passivity of the heroine. I think there’s a difference between being out of control and being passive. Being a teen is being out of control, both in our own feelings and emotions, and in the world around you, and that’s what Aislinn was. But, if anything, the message of the book is that young women have to regain that control by thinking for themselves and solve their own problems. As Donia puts it,

“Your modernity is your best weapon. Use it. Show him that you are entitled to some sort of choice. You know what he is now, so demand that he talk to you. Negotiate for what control you can wrest from him.”

Although the Summer King has some powers, they are “bound” by his mother for most of the book, a metaphor I think I don’t need to explain. And although Aislinn relies on her mortal boyfriend Seth, the strong characters, the ones who ultimately have the power and make the decisions in Wicked Lovely are the women. Aislinn and Donia are contrasted sharply with the Summer Girls, those who decided to exist for the pleasure of Aislann and his men, a theme I thought was a bit of a harsh and unexplored actually, who

“believe they’ve won. … The girls were happy: they didn’t see their dependence as a burden.”

I wonder who the Summer Girls are in our world?

Not everything worked for me in this book. Seth, while wonderful, was a bit too perfect himself. Never a wrong move, always just waiting for Aislinn to show up so he could help her. I also felt that the secondary characters like the Winter Queen and Aislinn’s grandmother were quite one dimensional. There was a twist near the end which I did not see coming, that was truly grotesque, the implications of which were not explored. And I thought Aislinn’s transition from being terrified of the faery world to embracing her role as Queen occurred abruptly, without a corresponding change in character. Finally, the ending wraps things up in a bow that seemed a little too neat: there was a tension all along between the really horrific elements of the story and the romantic ones that I felt was not resolved perfectly.

But I really enjoyed this book. More importantly, it’s the first book in a while that I could not put down. I thank the Book Smugglers for inviting me to read and review it!

______________

You are very welcome Jessica! Glad you liked the book – hopefully you will pick up the others and enjoy them too!

Next Month: We dared Tia from the Fantasy Debut Blog and she will be reading a Horror book which we have yet to pick. We do know this though: she also pulled a Graeme and dared us back to read The Once and Future King by T.H. White!