Three teenage friends travel the country “hunting” vampires only to find one in their own backyard in Cleveland. In finding the vampire, they are forced to confront their own teenage insecurities and learn more about themselves and the world around them.

I confess, I have very little patience for angst-ridden lip-biting teenagers, so I tend to approach Young Adult Fiction with a jaundiced eye. With that said I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The characters were well-drawn especially the main character Sherbie. Best of all they’re characters with heart, even the antagonists. The author doesn’t rely on a black and white, good vs. evil plot. Each character has his or her own motivations and they are made clear. They all have strengths and flaws which makes them very real and very human.

Also, the dialog is natural. Ms. Ambrose doesn’t feel forced to give the reader a ton of background information on the characters, and what she does give us isn’t given in the form of awkward dialog that would be unnatural for friends talking to each other. She even depicts IM chatting with just the right amount of information. The relationship with Sherbie and his two friends seems very real. They seem to fit together.

Best of all, she’s not afraid to make fun of her own characters. This is a comedy after all. But each of them makes mistakes through the course of the book and those mistakes often lead them into some alternately funny and serious situations. In the end this is a morality play about kids being too focused on appearance. Their troubles are caused by their own insecurities which are typical of teenagers and even many adults I know. Although this book is billed as a comedy, it uses the comic lens to show some truths about teenage life that in a more serious book would seem preachy. 4/5

Thanks!

For more information about the book and what Deborah Harkness has been up to, you can check out her website here or her facebook page here. Also, check out this new video sponsored by Harkness’s UK publisher which features Harkness giving a walking tour of Oxford with commentary about her inspiration for the book.

About the book: Deep in the stacks of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Win a Copy!

Thanks to Lindsay at Penguin we are able to offer a copy for one lucky Read All Over Reviews reader to win. TO ENTER: 1) Read our giveaway rules, 2) check to see that you haven’t won a giveaway from us in 30 days, and then 3) comment below with your email address. Contest is open for US and Canada only.

“Cal MacDonnell is a happily married New York cop with a loving family. Seth Raincrest is a photographer whose self-involved nature has alienated even his closet friends. They have nothing in common—except that they suffer from retrograde amnesia. It’s as if they just appeared out of thin air thirteen years ago, and nothing has been able to restore their memories. Now that forgotten past has caught up to them with a vengeance. Cal and Seth’s lives are turned upside down as they are stalked by otherworldly beings who know their past identities, intent on killing them and anyone who gets in their way. In the balance hangs the life of a child who might someday restore a broken empire to peace and prosperity.” – except of jacket blurb

My Review -

Cal is a cop who despite not having a memory passed the last thirteen years has managed to create a beautiful life with a great job, loving wife and beautiful daughter. Seth has the same amnesiac problem, but unlike Cal, has never managed to put his life together: Seth works as an amateur pornographer who has no lasting relationships outside of that with his pet cat. Cal and Seth soon find themselves with common enemies—the magic-wielding, “we want to kill you” kind of enemies.

Daniel Hauer, an abused thirteen year old, is a kid with a noble heritage; one that links him to Cal and Seth. Their enemies want Daniel as well, but the people who want to keep Daniel safe have no idea where he is…

The tone and style of writing made me feel the aimed target audience was young adult males, so I really wasn’t really feeling it. Five disparate stories for such a short novel doesn’t really give us much and was exceedingly busy. Was it horrible? No, but it wasn’t wonderful either. On GoodReads, 2 stars means “it was okay” so that’s going to be my verdict. 2/5.

“Since the age of eighteen, Joseph has been assassinating people on behalf of a cause that he believes in but doesn’t fully understand. The War is ageless, hidden in the shadows, governed by a rigid set of rules, and fought by two distinct sides—one good, one evil. The only unknown is which side is which. Soldiers in the War hide in plain sight, their deeds disguised as accidents or random acts of violence amidst an unsuspecting population ignorant of the brutality that is always inches away.” – back cover

My Review -

What an fascinating concept this was! Shane creates a terrifying hidden world within our own. One where doing trivial things in our daily life can harbor life and death consequences: paranoia is everywhere.

This book follows twenty-five year old Joseph as he chronicles his assassinations in his journal. Joseph was raised learning all about his family’s deaths and so when he turned eighteen, he began killing for his side by following the rules. When a job goes wrong and he nearly ends up killed (along with his best friends) he is sent to Montreal. Here Joe meets Maria and they fall in love. Again, his assignment nearly goes awry and an innocent life is almost lost. The couple are separated.

Time passes and Joe is growing sick of the War and wants out. He returns to Montreal where Maria delivers some crushing news: she is pregnant and she is only seventeen (which, according to the rules of the War, means her baby belongs to the other side). Together they make a run for it.

Shane makes us care about our anti-hero Joe and his poignant journey through fanaticism, love, and revenge. If this doesn’t end up on the big screen, I’ll be shocked. Unlike most of our action movies today, this book has depth right along side the fray. 4/5.

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott

The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Giants of the Frost by Kim Wilkins

Wintersmith by Terry Prachett

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

Winter Solstice by Rosamund Pilcher

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman

Winter Study by Nevada Barr

Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell

Winter Rose by Patricia McKillip

The Terror by Dan Simmons

Winter’s Desire by Amanda McIntyre

When the Snow Fell by Henning Mankell

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Nocturne by Syrie James

Daughter of Winter by Pat Lowery Collins

How About You?

What wintry books would you add to the list? Let me know in the comments!

“Once a fabled Blade of Namara, Aral Kingslayer fought for justice and his goddess alongside his familiar, a living shadow called Triss. Now with their goddess murdered and her temple destroyed, they are among the last of their kind. Surviving on the fringes of society, Aral becomes a drunken, broken, and wanted man, working whatever shadowy deal comes his way. Until a mysterious woman hires him to deliver a secret message-one that can either redeem him or doom him.” – back cover

My Review –

Broken Blade is the first in an all-new high fantasy series by the author of the Webmage books. Our protagonist is Aral Kingslayer, a former Blade of Namara who now hides, taking odd jobs as a jack (“a jack of shadows, the underworld’s all-purpose freelancer…”). The Blades were once followers of the Goddess—noble assassins of the unjust and amoral—but the Goddess was murdered and her temple destroyed by the Son of Heaven. The Blades were hunted down and Aral believes he is the only one left.

Aral is hired by a mysterious woman named Maylein to deliver a missive to the Baroness Marchon but what he finds on that mission changes everything, and he now knows he isn’t the only Blade who survives. We see Aral struggle with alcoholism and the loss of his Goddess as he grapples with doing the right thing. As the front cover says, “he can’t hide in the shadow forever.”

I liked Aral straight away. He is misanthropic, damaged, despondent, and a reluctant hero. In other words, he’s flawed and that makes him appealing from page one. Triss, his familiar who is a living shadow, is the perfect sidekick for Aral. I adored their banter and relationship.

Overall, Broken Blade is a fast-paced adventure set in an amazingly built world. Looking forward to the second installment. 4/5.

If you are a movie-goer, and especially if you are a film buff, you should be familiar with Drew Struzan’s work. He has designed some of the most iconic movie posters of the last thirty years — from Star Wars, Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, and E.T. to Harry Potter, Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, and The Walking Dead — as well as stamps, record covers, trading cards and promotional artwork. Star Wars creator, writer and direction, George Lucas calls Struzan, “the only collectible artist since World War II.”

This extravagant coffee table book offers full-page prints of his work, over 250 pieces of art (including never before seen personal pieces), and a foreword by none other than George Lucas himself! Drew’s wife of forty years, Dylan, provides us with an intimate look at the man himself and his legacy through her prose.

This is definite must-have for movie buffs and geeks! 5/5.

Reluctant Queen, the story of Henry VIII’s defiant little sister by Geraldine Evans Copyright 2011 (originally published in 2004 by Robert Hale under the name Geraldine Hartnett). Source: e-copy provided by the author for an honest review.

Mary, the beautiful, younger sister of English king, Henry VIII, reluctantly agrees to marry the aged and sickly Louis XII of France for reasons of state. But before agreeing, she extracts Henry’s promise that she may please herself for her second marriage. Mary is deeply in love with the low-born Charles Brandon, her brother’s boon companion, and is determined to wed Brandon should King Louis die.

Review: As an admitted history nerd, I’m predisposed to like this book. From the blurb it would seem to have a lot of elements that I like: lesser known history, a feisty heroine, a little romance. Unfortunately, the description only covers the first part of the book.

Historical fiction takes a lot of research and it’s clear that Ms. Evans did hers. There is a wealth of information here about Mary Tudor and the other royals of her generation in both England and France. I enjoy reading about political intrigue and the machinations of leaders. I learned quite a bit about Mary Tudor who is usually obscured by the shadow of her charismatic and controversial brother.

Another aspect of historical fiction that can be difficult is evoking the speech and voice of the time that’s being written about without making it too jarring to the modern ear of the reader. Ms. Evans does this very well. When there is dialogue, I believe that the characters are speaking in the Tudor area, but I don’t have to work to understand their meaning. This can be a difficult balance.

Unfortunately, there is precious little dialogue in this book. It is written from Mary Tudor’s perspective and reads like an almost endless internal monologue with occasional breaks of interaction with other characters. Because of this it is almost like a history paper more than a novel. That is especially true of the second part, which sees Mary spending most of her time at her country home, but talking about the doings elsewhere. Because her focus seems to always be on the doings of Henry, Anne Boleyn, Woolsey, etc…, the events that affect her personally like the birth of her children lack the emotional punch to engage the reader. The story of Mary Tudor has a lot of potential for drama, but Ms. Evans chooses to simply tell us about some of the most dramatic scenes instead of letting us see the characters engage in them.

In a former career I spent a decade teaching sale people how to demonstrate software. If Ms. Evans were one of my sales people I would have to tell her. “Telling ain’t selling.” For that reason, I have to give Reluctant Queen a 2/5.

Here’s the booklist:
A Darcy Christmas – Carolyn Eberhart, Sharon Lathan and Amanda Grange
Darcys & the Bingleys – Marsha Altman
Darcy’s Voyage – Kara Louise
Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star – Heather Lynn Rigaud
The Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice – Abigail Reynolds
Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One – Sharon Lathan
Mr. Darcy Goes Overboard – Belinda Roberts
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife – Linda Berdoll 
Mr. Darcy, Vampyre – Amanda Grange
Pemberley Chronicles – Rebecca Ann Collins
Pemberley Ranch – Jack Caldwell
Searching for Pemberley – Mary Lydon Simonsen
Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy – Sara Angelini
Darcy and Fitzwilliam – Karen V. Wasylowski