Welcome to Smugglivus – Day 24!

Throughout this month, we will have daily guests – authors and bloggers alike – looking back at their favorite reads of 2009, and looking forward to events and upcoming books in 2010.

Today’s Guest: Angie of the Young Adult/Fantasy/Speculative Fiction review blog Angieville. Angie runs one of our very favorite blogs, and has a knack for picking up and reviewing books that both of us Smugglers love. She’s one of our go-to sites for book ideas – if Angie likes it, chances are, we will love it too!

Please give a hand to Angie!

Best Performance by a Heroine in a Recurring Role: Kate Daniels for Magic Strikes Kate just gets cooler and tougher and couldn’t stop taunting the Beast Lord to save her life. My kind of girl, is Kate.

Best Debut Performance by a Heroine in a Leading Role: Lyn for Girl in the Arena

She’s the daughter of seven gladiators. She loves her family and is true to herself, while refusing to perpetuate a suffocatingly rigid social system. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Lyn.

Best Performance by a Hero in a Recurring Role: Curran for Magic Strikes

It’s just that he’s Curran. And he’s so furry and cocky and implacable. And out of his mind over Kate. Love the guy. Love, love, love him.

Best Debut Performance by a Hero in a Leading Role: Brigan for Fire

Because if you’re looking for still waters run deep, look no further. His iron self-control and constant putting of duty and family before any personal desires…well, in Kristin Cashore’s capable hands, he’s utterly spellbinding.

Best Performance by an Antihero in a Leading Role: Nick for The Demon’s Lexicon

Talk about the definition of an antihero. Nicholas Ryves takes the cake, my friends. You love him, you hate him, you love to hate him. And his relationship with his big brother Alan will melt your heart. See if it doesn’t.

Best Performance by a Villain: President Snow for Catching Fire

The dude smells like blood and roses and I can’t read a scene he’s in without gagging. Seriously. What is wrong with him?

Best Performance by a Vampire in a Supporting Role: Stefan for Bone Crossed

Stefan is just, hands down, my favorite vampire around. He smells like popcorn and drives a VW bus painted like the Mystery Machine and he absolutely made Bone Crossed. I hope Mercy gives Marsilia what she deserves one of these days. For Stefan.

Best Series Finale: Diana Peterfreund for Tap & Gown

For never dropping the ball and coming through in every way that matters and more. Tap & Gown is the perfect ending to a ridiculously entertaining series. How many of those have you read?

Best Packaging: Arthur A. Levine Books for Marcelo in the Real World

I just love it. Better yet, its inside is every bit as breathtaking as its outside. And that is saying something.

Best Kiss: Lady Julia Grey and Mr. Nicholas Brisbane for Silent on the Moor

These two are three books in now and the tension…let’s just say it remains high. Part of it can be chalked up to how well-suited they are to one another and part of it is just that Ms. Raybourn can infuse a scene with Victorian heat like nobody’s business.

And last, but not least…

Best Author Pimping: My booktwin and dear friend Martha for her tireless and heartfelt pimping of Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief series: The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, and The King of Attolia

Thank you, Martha. What can I say? I should have listened to you earlier. I have seen the error of my ways and will never delay reading a book you rave about ever again. This series instantaneously skyrocketed to the top of my beloved bookshelf and Turner is an absolute storytelling master. Highly recommended for fans of Robin McKinley, Kristin Cashore, and Sherwood Smith.

As for my 2010 Must Be Mine list…I’m gonna leave you with my top 15 most anticipated titles. They hail from 3 new-to-me authors and 12 near-and-dear ones. The list is comprised of 8 YAs (4 fantasy, 2 urban fantasy, 1 dystopian, and 1 contemporary), 3 urban fantasies, 3 straight fantasies, 1 historical mystery, and is top to bottom made of awesome. Shiny, no? Here they are in order of publication date:

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

In a world of fever camps, wandering exiles, and cursed kingdoms, young Finnikin joins forces with the reckless Evanjalin in a bid to save the land of Lumatere from the evil that threatens to swallow it. After the wonder that was Jellicoe Road, I will read anything the woman writes. Due out February 9

The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn

A young woman leaves Scotland, bound for Roumania to visit a friend and write her book. There she encounters the mysterious Count Dragulescu and, well, really, need I say more? Due out March 1

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

The long-awaited fourth novel in the beloved Queen’s Thief series. This one follows Sophos as he fights his way to take his place as the heir to Sounis. Confession: I’m 100 pages into my ARC and it is, in a word, sublime. Due out March 23

Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

A land beset by storms and quakes, a mysterious wizard who brings rain, and a young woman stolen from her home who may hold the key to it all…I am so there. Due out March 23

Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs

Fifth Mercy Thompson novel. ‘Nuff said. Due out March 30

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

The unexpected but delightfully welcome sequel to Perfect Chemistry. This one follows Alex’s little brother Carlos. I enjoyed the hell out of the first book and can’t wait for the follow-up. Plus, that cover? Smokin! Due out April 13

Mistwood by Leah Cypess

A young girl has lost her memory. A desperate prince risks everything on the mere hope she is who he believes her to be. Forced to return to a place she once fled, amid scheming and lies, Isabel struggles to determine who she used to be and what she must become. Due out April 17

Lord of the Changing Winds by Rachel Neumeier

First in the Griffin Mage trilogy. The griffins are coming, bringing fire and desert in their wake. The king prepares for battle to protect his land. Meanwhile a young girl is summoned to heal the Griffin King and her awakening abilities lead her to the truth behind their sudden flight. Due out April 27

Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

The fourth Kate Daniels book. Ilona and Gordon knocked it out of the park with Magic Strikes and I’m just not sure I’m gonna make it until May. Thank goodness for re-reading, right? Due out May 25

White Cat by Holly Black

The first in the Curse Workers trilogy, it’s about a boy named Cassel and takes place in a private boarding school, features a family of grifters, and is about curse magic. Oh, and a white cat. And is a fairy tale retelling. And it will be mine. Due out May 4

No covers quite yet on the rest of these, but keep your eye out because they are definitely not to be missed.

Heroes Return by Moira J. Moore

The fifth Heroes book featuring the lovable Source & Shield duo: Taro & Lee. Due out July 27

Bring on the Night by Jeri Smith-Ready

This series is #3 in my top favorite urban fantasies. I just love how smooth the writing is and finding out what happens to Ciara and Shane and the gang in the next WVMP Radio installment. Due out August 1

The untitled Hunger Games Book 3 by Suzanne Collins

I have no idea how it’s all going to play out but I can tell you one thing. Katniss better knock some heads together in this one because I am THIS CLOSE to losing it. Grrr. Due out August 24

Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund

The second Killer Unicorns book (I just love saying that) and the sequel to Rampant. Peterfreund is one of my very favorite authors and I, for one, am looking forward to more Astrid, more Giovanni, more Phil, and more Bucephalus! Due out September 21

Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier

The sequel to the lovely Heir to Sevenwaters. This one is Sibeal’s book and one I’ve been waiting for for a long time. If you’ve never read any Marillier before, you have until December to pick up Daughter of the Forest and discover the splendiferousness for yourself. Janicu–I’m lookin’ at you. Due out December

That’s it for me. Thanks for having me, Smugglers! I’m off to track down some hot cider and wrap the last few presents. Thanks for stopping in this Christmas Eve and I hope your holidays are filled with good cheer and good books!

Thank you, Angie!!!

Next on Smugglivus: Doug Knipe, aka SciFiGuy

Welcome to Smugglivus 2009 – Day 18!

Throughout this month, we will have daily guests – authors and bloggers alike – looking back at their favorite reads of 2009, and looking forward to events and upcoming books in 2010.

Today’s Guest: Sarah Rees Brennan, YA author who debuted this year (and knocked Ana’s socks off with her writing). To read Sarah’s article about her Inspirations and Influences, go here.

Recent Work: The Demon’s Lexicon (set to make Ana’s top 10 of 2009). Ana reviewed the book here and Thea reviewed it here.

Please welcome Sarah and her list of favourite things of 2009 (plus a giveaway):

My Favourite Things of 2009

So here’s a thing people don’t talk about a lot: reading books by people you know.The first book you read by someone you know is simultaneously really exciting (because you’re happy their book is out! You love this person! You’re dying to read it!) and absolutely terrifying (If you don’t like it, perhaps you can move to Siberia and never ever check your email?).

The thing I never expected is that reading a book by someone you know is really reassuring. You know you’re going to get their humour: you know you find the same kind of things interesting. You’re absolutely certain that there is never going to be that Horrible Lurching Moment of Dismay when you realise the author’s value system is totally different from your own and now all the characters you love are tainted and you can never talk about the books again without going off on a weird rant that makes you look like you’ve been through a bad break-up.

‘I always knew the books were flawed (Oh we were never that serious), I still sometimes pick up their books in the shop (I drunk-dialled him last week), That character was really always the weak point in the series (I always knew that vile girl from the copy shop/his suspiciously clingy best friend Mitch would steal him away from me!), I guess I feel like other people should know how the series turns out before they waste their time (I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights).’ Book break-ups are hard to do!

But when you know someone’s mind and find out you love their writing (and that one’s a gamble…) then you can have a lot of fun. I made a lot of friends among fellow debut authors in 2009, and thus I had a lot of opportunities to find authors I trusted and books I love. (Some of them, of course, were written by total strangers. Who I will now be stalking incessantly in an attempt to get to their laptops – uh, I mean, enjoy their company.)

2009 BOOKS WHAT I LOVED

Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare

I have been reading a lot of romance this year, looking at what works in romance for me, enjoying rolling around with books that seem to really like the ladies (hating on the ladies, something I am very very tired of in books), and I’ve observed that some of the most recent historical fiction has an increased focus on the heroines. Which I love – how d’you invest in a romance without loving both of the main players? And Goddess of the Hunt has one of my very favourite heroines of the year – Lucy, who gets all dolled up in the morningtime to woo a suitor and looks ridiculous, who is self-confident and occasionally embarrasses herself and then picks herself up and goes again, Lucy who eats a crazy amount to keep up her levels of energy for new adventures. I loooove Lucy. The writing and the hero, also excellent, but Lucy made the book one of my favourites.

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

I loved the first book and when I found the sequel in a bookshop early, I performed a little spinny dance that caused one of the bookshop ladies to come and bond with me over the brilliance of this series. Derek and Chloe, I looooove them. I am also fond of Derek’s half-Asian sweet and good-lookin’ foster brother, though if he gets in the way of the romance, there will be consequences. Dark, snarly and hideous genius werewolf Derek! Tiny, blond and relentlessly sensible movie buff Chloe! If I had dolls of them, I would make them kiss all the time. (Quit looking at me like that.)

Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell

Definitely one of my favourite books of the year – reminded me of To Kill A Mockingbird. I have a deep weakness for the South, possibly due to imprinting on Gone with the Wind young, and I also have a deep love for sensible heroines, mysteries, dark secrets in the past, and everybody being to blame and yet not being unlikable.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margi Stohl

In a world of lots and lots of YA featuring withdrawn ladies who fall in love with magnificently beautiful supernatural dudes – not that I don’t love several examples of that YA, but a change is nice – a sweet, normal boy narrator, a deep South background that was exotic (to me at least) and beautifully realised, and a romance that is goofy and adorable and obviously deeply-felt.

Knife by R.J. Anderson (known as Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter in the US)

Knife is the most badass YA heroine I came across this year, and she’s only about five inches tall. She wields a letter opener with deadly accuracy, though! And she spies on the strange and terrible humans who live near her – including Paul, who is newly wheelchair-bound, blond, sensitive, and – ahem! – kind of a hotass. Two very different people coming together in a gorgeously written mystery.

2009 MOVIES WHAT I LOVED

Star Trek

Went in having slept through every Star Trek episode I’d ever been shown, only because I’d heard awesome things, still very wary about space and action. Five minutes in, I looooved it: I loved the cool, reticent Vulcan dude, I loved the rebel with the cause that was daddy issues, and I loved the girl who was cool, confident and very brilliant at something that wasn’t kicking ass but was cerebral – I wish to see more of that. And the subtle, tropes-inverting romance was wonderful. I can’t wait to see the next one.

Let The Right One In

Vampire movie of the year! I love creepy child vampires, I love romances where the girl is the supernatural one, I love supernatural stuff that’s edgy and not romanticised. I loved the cold horror and the analysis of how morals would degrade in the face of the necessity of killing – and how children have very different morality, anyway.

Sherlock Holmes

Um, I haven’t seen it. But I really want to, and Robert Downey Jnr plus hilarity plus a new and strange take on the Sherlock Holmes mythos – I expect to love it!

2010 BOOKS I CAN’T WAIT FOR

(These include books I haven’t read and am dying to read, books I have read and am dying to talk about, and so on!)

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

Dude, how awesome was Forest of Hands and Teeth? Plus, everyone who has read it says it’s even better than the first book. I mean, I don’t know, personally. Because I haven’t read it. I guess Carrie Ryan hates me or something. But Carrie ‘Doesn’t Love Me’ Ryan is still pretty magnificent. I’m dying to read it. By the time March rolls around perhaps I will be a zombie already. Not that Carrie ‘Heartless Withholder’ Ryan cares.

Proof by Seduction by Courtney Milan

As I said earlier, I have been observing a trend I call the New Wave of Historical Romance, which I LOVE, and I think ‘Proof by Seduction‘ is one of the best examples I’ve read so far. The heroine is a scheming fortune teller, and we start out thinking oh well, she’ll repent of her ways, the handsome hero will teach her to love again, and then you realise that in fact Jenny is like a psychiatrist for her clients – she didn’t know that’s what they needed, and they didn’t either, and yet they all needed help – and that truth can be found in lying, cheating and gambling: and the proof is in the book.

The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

This is one of those I have read: I love Cassie’s other books, and how they’re funny, dramatic and romantic all at once, and I was excited and nervous to read her historical demonhunters. I think this is her best book yet – I expected to love the uber-gentleman super-zen Jem, but I did not expect how much I would love Will, who is tall, dark and Totally Insane, and I really did not expect that the Love of the Book for me would be Tessa, the heroine who loves books in a way that I think we can all identify with – passionate, consuming, relating real life to books and books to real life, and being all the better for it. Plus – demons and period clothes and a secret London and lots of delicious humour, what’s not to love?

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

My rule of trilogies is as follows ‘Book One: set up, Book Two: make out, Book Three: defeat evil.’ The first book was a symphony in punking the steam, dressing the cross and buckling the swash, and it set up (I hope) a romance that is my favourite of Scott’s books so far. Therefore I am extremely eager for the Make-Out Book. Also, I have received thrilling spoilers for this one. I know some stuff that happens. And you will be electrified! (Also, I am willing to sell these spoilers to the highest bidder. Okay, not really.)

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

I would kill to read this book. Seriously – no, seriously. All Kelley would have to do is send me an email, with a name in it. And I would understand her. I would go and commit murder, while Kelley constructed a perfect alibi for herself. Perhaps she could be doing a reading? And then later, I would receive my book. It would be completely worth it! I must know what happens next with the surly, shockingly not-hot werewolf Derek and the damsel-in-distress-who-occasionally-stabs-a-bitch Chloe. My suggestion is – making out! (To be fair… that’s usually my suggestion.)

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

I am expecting gorgeous writing, a genius mystery and a use of point of view that makes me really think. The King of Attolia is one of my favourite books ever, ever, and really… I don’t know what would happen if Megan Whalen Turner decided to get in on my murder offer for Kelley Armstrong and I opened the letter and it had the name of a loved one in it. Well I’m not saying I would do it. BUT IT WOULD BE A VERY HARD DECISION.

The White Cat by Holly Black

A world where magic was outlawed at the same time as Prohibition, and now magic is the province of crime and seven magical, criminal families. Cassel is the youngest son of a family of magical conmen: he has no magic, has a hard time not thinking like a criminal (though he tries) and he has far too many secrets. A family of attractive and potentially evil brothers and a very unusual romance, and a YA fantasy written like a noir detective novel. It’s so funny, so different, and I so can’t wait for other people to read it.

And, er, well, in 2010 my second book The Demon’s Covenant comes out, and I thought I might share an excerpt with y’all.

“It’s not some kind of tragically stupid love triangle. I’m not going to choose one guy out of two and settle down. It doesn’t have to be either of them for me, or have to be me for either of them. The world’s full of people, if you hadn’t noticed. I could ask any of a dozen guys out, and any of them could ask me out.” Mae took a deep breath. “I didn’t ask for your advice on my love life,” she said. “And it’s not necessary.”

“Glad to hear it,” Nick told her. “One last thing before I go.”

He leaned in closer, his hand held up to screen their faces as if he didn’t want anyone watching to even read his lips. His fingers were curled about half an inch from her cheek.

“I’m sure you’re right,” he said, his voice a whisper that seemed to curl in the air like smoke, to find a way in to her stomach and twist there, low. “I’m sure there are a dozen guys who will ask you out if McFarlane loses his chance. I just want you to know something.”

“What?” Mae asked, whispering because he was whispering, tilting up her face because he was leaning down, and for no other reason.

Nick looked down at her, his face obscuring the rest of the world, narrowing down her focus and stripping everything else away until she was left with cold black eyes instead of a summer sky.

“I never will,” he said.

2009 was a very special year for me in a lot of ways – chiefly that it was the year my first book was published. I’ll never be a debut author again! It was nervewracking, exciting, and humbling. I’ve loved the responses for my book – I hope more people will start reading with the release of the paperback and The Demon’s Covenant in 2010 – I carry gratitude, terror, happiness and a whole lot of booklove from 2009 to the next year, and the next!

To celebrate Smugglivus and the Year of My Debut, pray comment to win one of two Irish silver quillon dagger charms – my hero Nick’s favourite kind of knife. And happy Smugglivus to you all!

Sarah

And a Happy Smugglivus to you Sarah!

The Giveaway:

Leave a comment to enter to win one of two Irish silver quillon dagger charms! The contest is open to everyone and will run till Saturday 26th 11:59pm (PST). Good luck!

It’s Adios! to week 2 of Smugglivus and Hola! to week 3. But before we tell you the line-up for another MUY LOCA week, we need to announce last week’s giveaways winners!

Simon and Schuster UK giveaway (swag with titles for 2010):

The winner is……..Peta

The Julie James Giveaway:

The winner is…Susan Laura (Comment #11)

The Nalini Singh Giveaway

The winner is…….Donna S (Comment # 23)

The Sherrilyn Kenyon Giveaway:

The winner is….SaraC (comment #34)

Flash Giveaway

Winner of batch 1: Ginny
Winner of batch 2: Debbie (comment # 62)

Congratulations! You know the drill – send an email to contact AT the booksmugglers DOT com with your snail mail address, and we’ll get your winnings out to you as soon as possible! Thanks to all that entered, and if you didn’t win this time, don’t worry. There’s plenty more where that came from!

This Week on The Book Smugglers

The week starts later today with a guest post from Linnea Sinclair, one of our favourite Sci-fi Romance writers.

On Monday, we have Historical romance writer Kate Noble with her fave reads (and other cool stuff) of 2009

Later on Monday, Thea will post reviews of Vampire Haiku by Ryan Mecum and I am Scrooge – A Zombie Story for Christmas by Adam Roberts.

On Tuesday, our Smugglivus guest of the day is Ilona Andrews, followed by our joint review of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

On Wednesday, we have two more Smugglivus guests: writers Carrie Ryan and Diana Peterfreund tell us all about their top reads of 2009 and…

…then on Thursday, Fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson tells us all about his upcoming book The Way of Kings and Alice Morley from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers with what we can expect from the publisher in 2010 with a fabulous ARC giveaway!

On Friday it is Sarah Rees Brennan’s turn to tell us about her Favourite Things of 2009 (with a special giveaway), followed by Thea’s review and giveaway of Raiders Ransom by Emily Diamand.

Finally on Saturday, Fantasy writer Sam Sykes talks about what books he loved best in 2009 followed by a post by Historical Fiction writer Susan Holloway Scott with her own list.

Then FINALLY (phew), on Sunday, our last author/publisher guest, Erin Galloway, publicist for Berkley and NAL, tells us all about the upcoming books from the imprint.

And after that…it is guest bloggers’ time to dish about their favourite reads of 2009!

So buckle up, we have only just started!

~Your Friendly Neighborhood Book Smugglers

So, while Thea is on a Thanksgiving break and I am left on my own, I decided to take over (Muwahaha) and do this stash, Ana style.

What was on my mind last week?

First and foremost: I was immersed in Smugglivus’ (upcoming event to celebrate reading and books!) preparations.

Drooling over the pretty poster, organising our crazy schedule, contacting our guests, etc. If you missed our Smugglivus’ announcement last Thursday, you can read it here.

I also spent some time trying to decide which books to read next month. Because of Smugglivus and the end of the year , I will be able to read those books I wasn’t able to read so far. One of those was The Magicians by Lev Grossamn and that did not work out as expected.  Alas, I do hope my next reads will be better. I have high expectations for those in particular:

I also spent some time musing and fawning over this one here:

I think the cover is fabulous; I like the blurb; I read one story by Sam Sykes in the Dragon Book and I liked it; The twitter buzz around this novel is growing; The book is not out till April though and it is KILLING me that I have other books I need to read before I can read this one.

Speaking of new authors: not a new author per se, but new author to me, I think I have a new author-crush for Jim C. Hines. I loved his Princess books, which I reviewed this week

….and I have been reading his livejournal. On top of interesting posts about writing, there is one about Rape in Fiction which I thought was fabulous.

Speaking of  rape in fiction. Kate, from What Kate’s Reading posted her thoughts on The Windflower and ended up writing a great post about rape and

why Rape is not romance. Rape is not a laughing matter. Rape is not a cheap literary device.

Her post is part of The Windflower World Tour, which by the way, is getting back on track!

For those who do not know, The Windflower World Tour is an across-blogs event in which a copy of the out of print The Windlower by Laura London is going around the world from blogger to blogger. The book is an old school romance and the reactions to it are all over the place. You can read more about it here and here. Next stop on the tour is at Literary Escapism.

Also on my mind last week, were the series of great posts that author Jackie Kessler wrote about the whole Harlequin Horizon debacle (in which publisher Harlequin opens a Vanity Publishing on the side). You can read more about it here and here. Also, here.

Great is also the word I would use to describe a post by Sarah Rees Brennan where she reviews some books she loved (including a couple of wonderful romance novels by the ever magnificent Meredith Duran) and mentions the Blank Page Heroine. Justine Larbalestier picked up the term and talked about it on her own blog . Make sure to read the comments – they are great too.

Speaking of heroines – and heroes and “great” , I jump right into Super-heroes ( am I trying too hard? LOL) : I saw this at Harry’s blog and loved it! The Super Emo Friends:

Seriously, how cute is that? And so, so true.

Anyways, this is what I have been up to. On Tuesday, we kick-off Smugglivus and we will post a special Week One Schedule tomorrow right after my review of Deep Kiss of Winter (Kresley Cole’s story) goes live.

What else? I think I need to do something important. Ah! Giveaway winners! I saved the best for last!

Tainted Giveaway:

Carolyn H (comment # 3)

Flash Giveaway:

Batch 1 – Jenny N (comment #63)
Batch 2 – Sarah (comment #80)

Congratulations! You know the drill – send an email to contact AT the book smugglers DOT com with your snail mail address, and we’ll get your winnings out to you as soon as possible! Thanks to all that entered, and if you didn’t win this time, don’t worry. There’s plenty more where that came from.

And that is it from me today! Have a great Sunday and until tomorrow!

~ Your friendly neighborhood Book Smugglers

Today we bring you a new feature, called “What She Said…” in which we both review books that the other has already read and reviewed. The idea arose because of the dilemma that if one of us reads and reviews a book, the other can’t really post again about it, right? WRONG! Hence, “What She Said…” was born. For those books that we REALLY want to read after the other has reviewed – and gushed – about it. For today’s installment, we take on Jasmyn by Alex Bell, and The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan.

Jasmyn by Alex Bell
Gollancz (UK), June 2009, Trade Paperback 320 pages

Original Review June 2009
Original Rating: 8 Excellent

What Thea Said:

“You know those books, the ones that when you finish them you feel like your heart is being twisted in your chest – with love for how wonderful the book was, but inexplicable sorrow too because the book has come to an end? Such is Alex Bell’s beautiful, haunting contemporary fairy tale, Jasmyn.

Jasmyn is a 27-year old widow, her beloved husband of less than a year having just passed away by sudden aneurysm. Jasmyn’s world is thrown into darkness with Liam’s death, leaving her alone and lost in the world. And that’s when the strange things begin to happen – at Liam’s funeral, six black swans fall dead out of the sky. Jasmyn starts to feel that she is being watched by a shadowy figure, and a few weeks after the funeral, a strange pushy man shows up at Jasmyn’s home, completely unaware of Liam’s death and claiming to have known him through work. With the help of her brother-in-law, the strangely spiteful and cruel Ben, Jasmyn uncovers a whole secret life Liam kept from her, leading her down a path into a fantastic world filled with cursed swans, star-crossed love, and shocking revelation. Jasmyn learns that Liam has meddled with some potent magic, and more importantly, that Liam is not at all the man who she believed him to be.”

What Ana Says: Thea’s review of Jasmyn made me almost regret sending the book to her instead of reading it first: Jasmyn, the book, travelled all the way from the UK to LA and back before I was able to read it, almost an exact imitation of the journey that Jasmyn, the character, undertakes in the book.

Starting in the UK, the 27 year old recently widowed albino woman tries to live through the grief of losing Liam, the man who was not only her husband, but her soul mate, her childhood sweetheart. Ever since that day, in primary school and he walked to her and instead of voicing the usual cruel taunt of “are you a ghost” he asked “are you a snow princess”, he has been her safe port, her best friend and Jasmyn is overtaken with loneliness when she loses him.

Then strange things begin to happen , starting with black swans falling from the sky on the day of the funeral and her wedding photos, all of a sudden showing her face twisted in agony instead of the happiness she remembers feeling – to an around the world race for answers – about Liam and who he really was.

Jasmyn is one of those books where the STORY itself outshines everything else and I simply loved reading this book – regardless of how I sometimes felt about Jasmyn and her lack of self-confidence. Regardless of the fact that I felt like punching Ben, Liam’s brother, in the face. Regardless that sometimes, the writing was tentative and the lack of detail about the background fairytale left me wishing for more. The fact remains, that from beginning to end I was completely captivated by Jasmyn’s story – it is everything a fairytale should be: difficult and sad sprinkled with bits of horror and heartache but with such beauty that was almost painful for me to read.

This is at its core a love story and it has a most rewarding happy ending but beware: two things you need to know before starting to read it

1)This is a contemporary fairy tale, which means that all that happens in the book happens in a world like our own and people believe in stuff like fairies and magic swans. There is no point in reading it if you are going to question the magic behind it or to question how people can believe in those things. It is a fairy tale: to question these here would be akin to reading Snow White and asking: “what do you MEAN there is a talking mirror?”

2) I cannot stress this enough: Don’t start this book unless you mean to finish it. As difficult as it may be especially with Jasmyn and Ben’s frustrating behaviour in parts, the pay off only comes when you read till the end – this is one of those books where the ending rewrites the whole story and it’s all the more poignant for that.

I will end with Jasmyn’s opening words:

“You have never heard a story quite like this one. I can hear you protesting already but, the fact is, it doesn’t matter how old you are, how many books you’ve read, how many things you’ve seen…this story will be new to you. Maybe it will even haunt you a little. Because what happened to me….well, I don’t think it’s even happened before.
(…)
This story (..) has the ribbons and the glitter and the magic. But it also has the blood and the sacrifice and the twisting evil – for this is a real fairy tale, not the sugar-coated imitation. It is a story of love, loss, illusion, castles, hatred, seduction, ice palaces, adventure and knights.”

And what a story this is. If it isn’t clear enough: I totally loved this book as much as Thea did and wholeheartedly second her recommendation.

Rating: 8 Excellent

The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
Margaret K. McElderry (US)/Simon & Schuster Children’s (UK), June 2009, Hardcover 336 pages

Original Review June 2009
Original Rating: 8 (leaning towards a 9) – EXCELLENT

What Ana Said:

“The pipe under the sink was leaking again. It wouldn’t have been so bad except that Nick kept his favourite sword under the sink.”

The Demon’s Lexicon starts with this opening line and it’s a great beginning because it serves the book well. This line is significant in the way it shows how the “abnormal” coexists with the “normal” in this world. Right there and then, I am taken. And this feeling only increases as I read and every single time I had to put this book down, I felt its absence. Much like an umbilical cord between myself and it, there was a calling, something that connected me with to it; I kept thinking about it when I wasn’t reading, mostly theorising about the main character and what it all meant. I am in a way, a few days after reading The Demon’s Lexicon, still hooked in its characters, still thinking about them but mostly still overflowing with admiration for the author. For what she did, for what she dared, for how she constructed the characters, the world, but mostly for how she showed a wondrous dark world and amazing, wonderful feelings such as sensitivity, devotion, fondness and sacrifice through the eyes of a character that feels none of these very same feelings and who is, at every turn and all the time, conscious of this…lacking.

What Thea Says:

Ana has been trying to get me to read The Demon’s Lexicon practically from the second she started the book. I’d received countless emails from Ana about the darkness of the main character, the compelling plot, the strong writing and the humor of the novel, and was instantly intrigued. So, when I picked up Ms. Brennan’s debut novel for myself, I had some pretty high expectations, given Ana’s enthusiastic endorsement – and I’m pretty happy to say that I really liked this book.

The Demon’s Lexicon is told from the third person perspective, but with insight to the protagonist, Nick’s thoughts. Right from the beginning of the novel it is clear that Nick isn’t all that much like his kind and sympathetic brother Alan, and it rapidly becomes clear that Nick isn’t much like anyone else, either. Nick’s defining trait is his strange coldness; he doesn’t understand the motivations that fuel other people around him (like his brother Alan protecting two strangers, to the point where he takes on two demon marks willingly), nor does he get why people are so quick to emote, touch each other in comfort, or talk so much about anything and nothing. And I think Ana describes Nick best when she says:

Nick is a character that makes it hard for the reader to connect with – it is so very hard to feel sympathy for Nick but it is impossible NOT to feel for him.

Ms. Brennan does a ballsy thing by writing a character that is angry, cold, distant and almost alien – but it’s impossible NOT to care for him. Even though he doesn’t ever think or say it specifically, we know that he feels protective of Alan because he loves him (at least, that’s my interpretation). Nick might not identify with our concepts of love, but much like Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter, I think that he subconsciously knows and feels this. Maybe not in the way that “normal” people feel love…but it’s there, and he expresses it in his own way. In short, I loved Nick. He’s a very different character from the norm, and being privy to his thoughts, reading how he interprets (or fails to interpret) the people around him is fabulously different and insightful. Most YA novels tend to take the perspective of the everygirl/everyboy and look at the scarier, different characters from the outside – but Ms. Brennan flips convention through the eyes of a very different anti-hero protagonist. I cannot stress enough how much I loved that Nick was not written as a badass with a heart of gold – NO ONE in this book is what they seem. Besides Nick, Alan is another character that surprises with hidden depth. It is Nick as a character, and then the bond of brotherhood between Nick and Alan that makes The Demon’s Lexicon such a fabulous read.

My only problems with the book had to be the uneven start and some of the writing. In the early chapters especially, the odd descriptions of movements and repetitive details read very much like a debut author trying to write her debut novel – which isn’t really bad, and doubtless will improve in subsequent books (as it is, by the end of The Demon’s Lexicon, Ms. Brennan finds her voice and smoothly tells her story). My other quibble would be with some of the humor – Jamie’s jokes, endearing to Ana felt forced and awkwardly un-funny to me – and with a level of predictability with the plot. There are many not-so-subtle hints strewn throughout The Demon’s Lexicon concerning The Twist – but to the book’s credit, even though you KNOW what’s coming from a mile away, it doesn’t really matter because the story is so dratted compelling!

Basically, with only a few reservations I really enjoyed this book – and I cannot wait for the next in the series! Also, I just have to quote one part that gave me the goosebumps because it was that flipping awesome:

Nick threw his head back and let himself laugh. It was a slow, delighted laugh, rolling cold as the sea and washing through the whole room. He’d used the laugh before to make people shiver and turn pale…

“What?” [he] snapped, and then, as the low laugh continued, his nerve broke and he shouted, “What?”

Nick leaned forward in the dark and whispered, “You don’t know my brother.”

He was still speaking when the first shot was fired.

Rating: 7 Very Good – and Ms. Brennan is clearly an author I need to keep my eye on in the future!

Reading Next on What She Said:

Ana: Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier

Thea: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Ahoy mateys! I’m back from Vegas, didn’t lose too much money or sanity, and I’m taking over the blog…

Well, not really. Just to give you the skinny on another Sunday, and another stash. First, we have a giveaway winner to announce…

Giveaway Winner:

The lucky winner of our giveaway of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker is:

Congratulations! You know the drill. Send your snail mail address to us (contact AT the book smugglers DOT com) and we’ll get your winnings off to you as soon as possible.

This Week on The Book Smugglers:

We’ve got a SUPER packed week coming up for you. On Monday, while Ana’s out enjoying her bank holiday Thea (finally) reviews The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan…

…and also takes a look at the upcoming fall TV schedule.

The sequel to the highly praised The Hunger Games, Catching Fire is already making its way to the top of many “Best of 2009″ lists…so on Tuesday, we’ll be having a SuperMegaFantastic Catching Fire bonanza! To celebrate the release day of one of the most highly anticipated books of 2009, Thea will review Catching Fire, and then later in the day we will be offering a giveaway of THREE copies of the book, along with prize packs of T-shirts and mockingjay pins. Make sure to stop by for a chance to win this great swag.

On Wednesday, we bring you a brand spakin’ new feature: “What She Said…” In which Ana and I read books that the other has read and loved this year. The idea arose after Ana *cough*STOLE*cough* Name of the Wind from the “Joint Review” pile and decided to go rogue and read it on her own (even though I’ve had the book on my shelf for ages and was the one who told Ana about it!). She loved it, wrote an awesome review about it, won’t stop gushing about it…and I’ve had enough. I want to read and review this book, but the dilemma was that if I did read it, I wouldn’t really be able to post again about it. Right? WRONG. Hence, “What She Said…” was born. On Wednesday, Ana reads one of my suggestions, Jasmyn by Alex Bell (which I loved and immediately thought Ana would adore too)…

and then I get to read The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brenan (which Ana loved and immediately told me to buy).

On Thursday, Ana reviews A Duke of Her Own by Eloisa James and Thea reviews Succubus Heat by Richelle Mead.

Friday, we give you a joint review of a book we’ve both been waiting to read for a long time, Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn: The Final Empire (book 1 of the Mistborn trilogy).

Woohoo! (Love the new cover, by the way)

On Our Smuggler Radar: (Or, Books Thea Really Really Wants)

Part two of the literary sci-fi thriller follows a boy and a girl who are caught in a warring town where thoughts can be heard — and secrets are never safe.

Reaching the end of their tense and desperate flight in THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO, Todd and Viola did not find healing and hope in Haven. They found instead their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss, waiting to welcome them to New Prentisstown. There they are forced into separate lives: Todd to prison, and Viola to a house of healing where her wounds are treated. Soon Viola is swept into the ruthless activities of the Answer, aimed at overthrowing the tyrannical government. Todd, meanwhile, faces impossible choices when forced to join the mayor’s oppressive new regime. In alternating narratives — Todd’s gritty and volatile; Viola’s calmer but equally stubborn — the two struggle to reconcile their own dubious actions with their deepest beliefs. Torn by confusion and compromise, suspicion and betrayal, can their trust in each other possibly survive?

It happened quickly. Overnight, the greater Los Angeles area found itself in the horrifying grasp of a werewolf epidemic. Twenty eight days of the month they are no different than you or me–the High Bloods, who managed to go unaffected. But every full moon, they are the most ravenous creatures man has ever seen.

A new law-enforcement agency has been created to keep tabs on the those whose blood runs Lycan. Rawson is an agent for Lycan Control, and his job is to make sure all the afflicted are found, monitored, and kept at bay the night they change. But the Lycans in Hollywood have risen to cultlike proportions, and Rawson’s job is getting tougher.

One night, a woman changes right in front of Rawson. And it’s not a full moon. Someone deep in the annals of Hollywood has managed to trip the logic of the werewolves’ being. Battling a rising tide of Lycan rights activists and a growing population of those who are choosing to be Lycan over High Blood, Rawson must carve a path to the top of the Lycan chain before all hell breaks loose.

No one wanted Ai Ling. And deep down she is relieved—despite the dishonor she has brought upon her family—to be unbetrothed and free, not some stranger’s subservient bride banished to the inner quarters.

But now, something is after her. Something terrifying—a force she cannot comprehend. And as pieces of the puzzle start to fit together, Ai Ling begins to understand that her journey to the Palace of Fragrant Dreams isn’t only a quest to find her beloved father but a venture with stakes larger than she could have imagined.
Bravery, intelligence, the will to fight and fight hard . . . she will need all of these things. Just as she will need the new and mysterious power growing within her. She will also need help.

It is Chen Yong who finds her partly submerged and barely breathing at the edge of a deep lake. There is something of unspeakable evil trying to drag her under. On a quest of his own, Chen Yong offers that help . . . and perhaps more.

Indigo Springs is a sleepy town where things seem pretty normal . . . until Astrid’s father dies and she moves into his house. She discovers that for many years her father had been accessing the magic that flowed, literally, in a blue stream beneath the earth, leaking into his house. When she starts to use the liquid “vitagua” to enchant everyday items, the results seem innocent enough: a “’chanted” watch becomes a charm that means you’re always in the right place at the right time; a “’chanted” pendant enables the wearer to convince anyone of anything . . .

But as events in Indigo Springs unfold and the true potential of vitagua is revealed, Astrid and her friends unwittingly embark on a journey fraught with power, change, and a future too devastating to contemplate. Friends become enemies and enemies become friends as Astrid discovers secrets from her shrouded childhood that will lead her to a destiny stranger than she could have imagined . . .

Elfland is an intimate, sensual novel of people—both human and Aetherial—caught between duty and desire. It’s a story of families, and of Rose Fox, a woman born to magic but tormented by her place in her adopted world.

Led by Auberon Fox, a group of Aetherials—call them the Fair Folk, if you will—live among us, indistinguishable from humans. Every seven years, on the Night of the Summer Stars, Lawrence Wilder, the Gatekeeper, throws open all gates to the Other World. But this time, something has gone wrong. Wilder has sealed the gates, warning of a great danger lurking in the realm beyond them. The Aetherial community is outraged. What will become of them, deprived of the home realm from which their essential life force flows?

Rose Fox and Sam Wilder are drawn to the lands beyond the gates, even as their families feud over Lawrence’s refusal to do his duty. Struggling with their own too-human urges, they discover hidden truths that draw them together in a forbidden alliance. Only by breaching the dreaded gates and daring the danger beyond can they confront that which they fear most— their otherness—and claim their birthright.

That’s about it for now folks! Hope you enjoy the week ahead.

~ Your Friendly Neighborhood Book Smugglers

Happy Sunday, everyone! Another huge basketball game on the line, so everyone send some good thoughts the Lakers’ way.

Giveaway Winners:

We held THREE giveaways this week, and it’s time to announce the lucky winners. Drumroll please…

We had over 210 entries for all Demon’s Lexicon contest – THANK YOU to everyone that entered! We asked people to comment by answering the question, “Who is your favorite character?” and the entries are very interesting, with loads of book recommendations. We highly recommend you check them out.

Without further ado, the five winners of a copy of Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan are:

And the grand prize winner of the goody bag, containing the audio book, a sterling silver knife charm, and character quote bookmarks is:

The lucky (or perhaps unlucky!) winner of Night’s Rose and The Frog Prince ARCs by Annaliese Evans is:

And the two lucky winners of our Flash giveaway of paranormal romance titles are:

Phew. You know the drill. Winners, please send an email to contact AT the book smugglers DOT com with you snail mail address. We will get your winnings out to you as soon as possible! Thanks again to everyone that entered – and if you didn’t win this time, don’t feel too bad. We have plenty more giveaways coming up very soon…

The Stoker Awards 2009:

This weekend, the annual Bram Stoker awards were held in Burbank, California. On Thursday, yours truly (that’s Thea) headed out to Dark Delicacies to pick up some great books, and to meet some of the nominated authors. Although I didn’t get to stay very long (since 1: I am a ginormous stuttering pansy when it comes to meeting authors, and 2: the Laker game was on), I did finally get to meet honorary smuggler and author Joel Sutherland! We’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Joel, and have read and reviewed both his edited anthology Fried! Fast Food, Slow Deaths as well as his Stoker nominated first novel Frozen Blood, so it was great to finally meet him in person!

Joel didn’t take home the award, but he was up against some very tough competition, and I have the utmost confidence in him and his future work! Here are the official winners for 2009:

NOVEL: DUMA KEY by Stephen King

POETRY COLLECTION: THE NIGHTMARE COLLECTION by Bruce Boston

Good thing I picked up a copy of The Gentling Box while at Dark Delicacies…

Other Randomness:

In other bookish news, we have participated in our very first Book Carnival online! You can check out the other paranormal entries HERE.

New trailers have been released for Tim Burton’s film Nine and for the new Scorsese flick Shutter Island.

Ooooooo. We likey.

This Week on The Book Smugglers:

On Monday, Thea reviews Alex Bell’s sophomore effort, Jasmyn.

Tuesday, Ana reviews The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns by Elizabeth Leiknes.

On Wednesday, Thea tackles Slights by Kaaron Warren – the first title from brand spankin’ new Harper imprint, Angry Robot. (On a shallow note, isn’t this a fantastic cover?!)

Thursday, Ana takes on the new, highly anticipated release from THE Loretta Chase, Don’t Tempt Me! AND on Friday, we have an interview with Loretta herself, so stay tuned!

That’s it for now. Until next time….

“Inspiration and Influences” is a new series of articles in which we invite authors to write guest posts talking about their …..well, Inspiration and Influences. The cool thing is that the writers are given free reign so they can go wild and write about anything they want. It can be about their new book, series or about their career as a whole.

Today’s lovely guest is Sarah Rees Brennan, debut author of the fabulous The Demon’s Lexicon (reviewed by Ana here which has a most intriguing main character: a boy named Nick.

The Demon’s Lexicon is Sarah Rees Brennan’s first novel , the first in a trilogy, and here is what she has to say about writing it.

Inspiration and Influences: Sarah Rees Brennan

Here we have Ed Westwick, smouldering like a napkin placed on a hot stove and playing Heathcliff later this year,

Toby Stephens playing Rochester in the latest Jane Eyre,

and of course the inimitable, the irresistible, the slightly damp Colin Firth as the One True Mr Darcy.

‘Well, we appreciate the pictures of handsome men and everything, Sarah’ you might say, ‘But we were under the impression you were here to talk about your book?’

And I am! These three fictional guys have had a profound influence not only on my book, but on ALL books. Think about how many dark, mysterious and silent, bad-tempered but extremely foxy strangers we see in romance, in fantasy, in historical novels and in space.

I thought of them, and then I wondered what was actually going on inside the head of one of those tall dark strangers. So I decided to write from inside the head of That Guy – surly, silent and… in keeping with the tradition… English. (Since I’m from Ireland, it really wasn’t much of a stretch.)

One of the very first things I learned inside Nick’s head was, of course, that he found everyone else was as mysterious as they found him. (Also, he wondered why they all talked so much.)

Another thing about the source material heroes is that they were really edgy. The modern versions might just be concealing their inner pain, but the original type was honestly mad, bad and dangerous to know. Darcy, well, he was just sulky at parties, but Heathcliff hanged puppies. And as for Mr Rochester, even if you overlook the whole ’secreted first wife in the attic’ business, I was always a bit concerned about the cross-dressing.

Nick is not into puppy hanging or cross-dressing, I promise, but I did want to make the point that guys who behave like this – well, they’re messed up. Heathcliff could certainly have done with therapy. Loving a boy like this is hard to do. ‘Your love is like a knife, baby,’ you would say to him. And then: ‘Oh no, wait, that actually is a knife. Oh my God, PUT THE KNIFE DOWN.’

And yet, even now, those heroes are compelling. The Big Three started a Tall Dark and Handsomely Withdrawn movement that shows no sign of faltering more than a century later. I wanted to portray a guy like that unflinchingly, taking him apart from the inside out, and still… with luck… create a character who compelled readers.

More traditional influences than hot guys: books, plays, and mythology! The world of The Demon’s Lexicon is a contemporary England, with run-down houses and overgrown back gardens – and a darker world lying side by side with ours. I wanted to make the world layered, and convincing, so I combed through myths and literature to find ingredients to use. I read the Hexenhammer, an old German text which warns about witches, and the deals they make with devils.

I found out that in Elizabethan times people thought demons were made of air, and so Ariel of the Tempest would have been recognised by an Elizabethan audience as a demon – in ancient Sumer, they thought demons were made of fire and humans were made of earth.

And I’ve always been annoyed by the phantom incomes that some people in books have – they work as a bouncer and can afford a roomy flat in the city, things like that, and yet the heroes of my story need weapons to fight off their enemies. Weapons are expensive. So I figured that if magicians really existed, there’d be a resistance – and there would also be a black market of magical objects, and I mixed the two, and had the market named after Christina Rossetti’s lovely poem of a market selling dangerous, magical fruit.

Signposting all of this via a hero who doesn’t read is a little tricky, though. At one point Nick is bored by the mention of ‘the beautiful poetry of Christina Risotto.’

My other influences were, I admit, wish fulfillment. I studied fencing in school, and I’ve always loved dancing. I am profoundly and terribly bad at them,.

So my hero can’t sing, can dance, and can handle a sword more than a little. And both dancing and swordfighting are an intrinsic part of the book. I’m sly like that…

Thanks very much, book smugglers, for having me!

________________________

Thanks very much, Sarah, for saying yes and for the fascinating article!

Now for the giveaway:

Sarah Rees Brennan is generously offering five copies her book The Demon’s Lexicon and a goodies bag with: the audio book, a sterling silver knife charm, and different-coloured bookmarks with quotes from different characters on them.

To enter, just a leave a comment on this post, answering: What is your Favourite Book Character? The contest is open to all and will run till Saturday 13th June. We will (randomly) pick six winners and announce them on our Sunday Stash. Good luck!

Howdy !!!

We shall start by saying: yay, Roger Federer beat Roland Garros!!! He now holds the record (along with Pete Sampras) of 14 grand- slams titles. Congratulations to Federer – we are great fans here at the UK based office of the Book Smugglers!

OK, not that I got that off my chest, moving on to:

Winners of the Flash Giveaway:

The two winners, randomly picked by Ramdon.Org are

Christina (comment number 41)

And

Kimik (comment number 4)

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

We would also like to say thank you to all of you that entered the contest – we will have a few more of Flash giveaways in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned!

This week on the Book Smugglers

Monday

Last week, Ana reviewed a YA book, The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan, a book that is already shortlisted for her top 10 of 2009. Because the book is so damn good, we invited the author to write a piece on her Inspiration and Influences for us and are delighted to say that she said yes. So tomorrow come by to see what she has to say and for a chance to win one of 5 copies of her books and a special goodie bag she is so generously giving away.

Tuesday

Ana reviews the Fantasy novel The Adamantine Palace by debut author Stephen Deas. There will be dragons, folks!

Wednesday

We will do a joint review of Night’s Rose by Annaliese Evans. The book is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale and we were both really looking forward to reading it and…. the book is not quite what we expected.

Thursday

Ana reviews Mark of the Demon by another debut author, Diana Rowland. The book is not out till June 23rd but already the word on the internets is that it is very good.

Friday

Thea reviews two YA post-apocalyptic novels : Gone and Hunger by Michael Grant.

Upcoming:

The next few weeks will be sort of crazy around these bands. We have LOADS of new books to review and super cool guests. On the Romance front, Loretta Chase will be interviewed by Ana on her new book Don’t Tempt Me in two weeks;

Then, on the Fantasy front, author Jacqueline Carey has written an exclusive article for our Inspiration and Influences feature. We will publish it around the 24th when her new book Naamah’s Kiss is coming out.

We are very excited about both of these and also about:

YA APPRECIATION MONTH.

It is coming.

~ your friendly neighborhood book smugglers

Title: The Demon’s Lexicon

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Genre: YA/UF

US Cover
UK Cover

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s (UK) /Margaret K. McElderry (US)
Publishing Date: June 1, 2009
Paperback: 432 pages (UK) / Hardcover: 336 pages (US)

Stand Alone or series: first in a planned trilogy but this book stands well on its own. No cliffhanger.

Summary: Nick and his brother Alan are on the run with their mother, who was once the lover of a powerful magician. When she left him, she stole an important charm – and he will stop at nothing to reclaim it. Now Alan has been marked with the sign of death by the magician’s demon, and only Nick can save him. But to do so he must face those he has fled from all his life – the magicians – and kill them. So the hunted becomes the hunter…but in saving his brother, Nick discovers something that will unravel his whole past…

Why did I read the book: our good friend Karen Mahoney has been raving non-stop about this book. And you know what? she was RIGHT.

Review:

“The pipe under the sink was leaking again. It wouldn’t have been so bad except that Nick kept his favourite sword under the sink.”

The Demon’s Lexicon starts with this opening line and it’s a great beginning because it serves the book well . This line is significant in the way it shows how the “abnormal” coexists with the “normal” in this world. Right there and then, I am taken. And this feeling only increases as I read and every single time I had to put this book down, I felt its absence. Much like an umbilical cord between myself and it, there was a calling, something that connected me with to it; I kept thinking about it when I wasn’t reading , mostly theorising about the main character and what it all meant. I am in a way, a few days after reading The Demon’s Lexicon, still hooked in its characters, still thinking about them but mostly still overflowing with admiration for the author. For what she did, for what she dared, for how she constructed the characters, the world, but mostly for how she showed a wondrous dark world and amazing, wonderful feelings such as sensitivity, devotion, fondness and sacrifice through the eyes of a character that feels none of these very same feelings and who is, at every turn and all the time, conscious of this….lacking.

16 year old Nick is the main character – 3rd person narrator of the story, the only character with a point of view. He lives with his crazy mother Olivia and his older brother Alan. They try to live a normal life as much as they can but there is nothing normal about them. Olivia is a magician, a human born with magic and with power. Mostly with the power to communicate with demons, beings that live in a world they hate and who will do anything (possess, promise, seduce) to get into ours, to get even a small measure of what is like to be human. Magicians who want more power will open circles to bring them in and they help them possess and mark humans. Once you get three marks, that’s it, you are dead.

Nick, Alan and Olivia have been on the run all their lives – Olivia once stole a talisman from a very powerful magician who has been trying ever since to get it back. Nick and Alan’s father died protecting them, in the same night that Alan got crippled. Nick is the main warrior of the family, he fights demons with his sword and knives and will do anything, anything to keep Alan safe. Alan is not powerless though – he is a mean shooter, and he never ever misses. Together these two work to keep their mother safe – although Nick often muses that they would be better off if she just died. Yes. That’s right, the kid often thinks and sometimes speaks to Alan that their mother should just die. It is not so difficult to understand why though – since Olivia seems to truly, deeply hate Nick: she doesn’t even look at him.

Not that it matters to him – I don’t think I ever read a book from the point of view of such a cold, angry, harsh character. Nick’s narrative is bleak and joyless although not humourless. Sometimes all he can think of is to kill and to maim. He seems to be able only to understand lust .This anger becomes even greater and almost overwhelming when his brother Alan is marked by a demon. Alan, who is smart, sweet, selfless, is trying to help two kids – also siblings – Jamie and Mae. Jamie has two marks and his death is certain as soon as he gets the third (a matter of “when” not “if”) and Alan helps him by absorbing one of the marks. A fact that utterly dismays, mystifies, puzzles Nick. Why in the world would his idiotic brother puts himself in danger like this? Alan carries a crush on Mae and that is perhaps part of it but Alan has had many crushes for Alan has been trying to be loved for such a long time. So, what is it? What is it that makes Mae do anything to keep HER brother safe? Or Alan want to help their undeserving mother so much?

He is completely unable to understand any of these feelings as much as he is incapable of understand written words (he is dyslexic) . He only understands that Alan needs to be saved at all costs even if the only think that can save him is the death and blood of a magician. All of a sudden the hunted become the hunger as the brothers go after who were after them. Alan is the brains of the operation and Nick is the fighter.

Nick is a character that makes it hard for the reader to connect with – it is so very hard to feel sympathy for Nick but it is impossible NOT to feel for him. Because (and this is the strength of this book and of this writer) through his eyes , through this mind that lacks….something, we see this world of connection, this world of feelings and we as readers, KNOW exactly what he doesn’t know and what he is missing. Whenever Alan says something or touches Nick and Nick is puzzled, we just know that it’s love that is moving Alan. As is love that movies Mae to help Jamie. This book is about brotherly love and devotion and it is awesome. Every single character that lacks a point of view comes into life via Nick’s observations and it is another sign of this writer’s talent that all of them are so well developed. Jamie is a sweetheart , the funny guy in the midst of such terrible things; Mae, the resilient one (and possibly a wrench between the brothers – oh-oh a triangle!) and Alan, the one that carries the world on this shoulders. After the (incredible, ass-kicking, beautiful, sad, surprising, jaw-dropping) climax of the book, Alan comes away as one of the most strong and giving characters I have ever had the pleasure to encounter.

And I beg of you, don’t let the bleakness and the (seemingly) endless anger that Nick feels put you off this book. It is sometimes, a difficult book to read but in the end there is recompense because everything has a reason. Because there is lacking yes, but there is something in the lacking. I did have moments of doubt (would a teenager be SO angry all the time?) but as soon as I realised where it was going, and when I read where it did went (could I be any more obscure? But trust me, you don’t want this spoiled),I could not help but to be unequivocally astonished.

The characters shine in this book. But the plot is equally strong and so are the details of the world. Sarah Rees Brennan is Irish and the story is set in the UK and there is insight into everyday life (at school or for example run-down houses and their shabby lace curtains, that is SO true) over here and this is one of the reasons why I like it so much. And I am not even going to talk about the Goblin Market and the Dancers. That’s for you to discover yourself.

And don’t be surprised if The Demon’s Lexicon makes my top 10 of 2009.

Notable Quotes/ Parts:
I LOVE this interaction between Nick and Alan:

“I know you’re worried” Alan said. “Don’t be. How many people with first marks have we seen? How many first marks have you removed? How is this different?”
Nick turned his gaze from the window to Alan.
“This is different”, he said. “This is you”
Alan looked terribly pleased for a moment, and Nick realised that his brother had taken this as one of the ridiculous, sappy things Alan was used to saying all the time. Nick had only meant what he’d said. It had never been his brother before.
Thankfully Alan did not make a fuss about it. He could believe Nick had said any stupid thing he wanted, so long as there was no scenes.
All he said was, “Here, have your dinfast. Then we can start packing”
“Dinfast”, Nick repeated.
“Dinner and Breakfast!” Alan said triumphantly. “Like Brunch”.
Nick subjected him to a long, judgemental stare. “There’s something very wrong with you,” he said at last. “I thought you should know”.
Undaunted or perhaps just unsurprised by this news, Alan began to do the dishes. He pushed Nick’s sword away with sudsy fingers to make room for a wet frying pan.
“Where do you fancy living next?”
“London, ” said Nick, because he thought that Alan would like it.
Alan looked pleased, and he saw he’d guessed right.

Verdict: Undoubtedly one of the best YA books I have ever read. If you like Melissa Marr, you can’t miss this one.

Rating: 8 (leaning towards a 9) – EXCELLENT

Reading Next: Darkborn by Alison Sinclair

ETA: SARAH REES BRENNAN HAS JUST ACCEPTED OUR INVITATION FOR A GUEST POST ON HER INSPIRATION AND INFLUENCES. HER ARTICLE IS GOING TO BE PUBLISHED NEXT MONDAY AND THERE WILL BE A GIVEAWAY!!