Book Reviews: Unbreakable by Kami Garcia, Fire with Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian & Eternity by Elizabeth Miles.

 When twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart storm into her life with tales of vengeful spirits and secret societies, Kennedy Waters is really not all that interested. After all, her mother, the only person who has ever really been there for her, has just died. Kennedy is all alone in her grief - and that’s exactly the way she wants it to be. But Jared and Lukas won’t take no for an answer. According to them, Kennedy’s life is in danger. According to them, a vengeful spirit killed Kennedy’s mom, and, if she’s not careful, Kennedy might be next.         

The first in a new series from Beautiful Creaturesauthor Kami Garcia, Unbreakable may be fast paced, and it may be creepy good fun at times but, though it is heavily blurbed and obviously loved by a wealth of best-selling authors, (Richelle Mead, Rachael Caine, Ally Condie et al.) Unbreakablefailed to hit the mark for me. This was due, at least in part, to the break-neck speed at which the story moves which meant that I never really got to connect with the characters or their plight as they battled with paranormal ghouls. Also, I had a problem with the love story. By which I mean the, ahem, love triangle. But first, I have to mention the insta-love: because this book has possibly the worst case of insta-love that I have ever encountered in a book EVER. Both Jared and Lukas fall head over heels for Kennedy and seriously their fascination with her comes out of nowhere. I didn’t get it. And I never bought it.

While I haven’t read Beautiful Creatures, I have heard a lot of good things, and so I was expecting more –a whole lot more – from Unbreakable. I can’t say that I ever really connect with or cared about the characters, and so my journey with Kennedy and the love struck Lockhart brothers ends here. I’ll leave them fight it out amongst themselves.

In short: Read it only if you live for insta-love.

Unbreakable by Kami Garcia. Series: Legion #1 Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK.  Released: October 2013. Ages: 12+.   Rating:  2½ out of 5.   Source: Received from publisher for review.  

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 An eye for an eye – and someone must die.

So, we’re back with our not-so-favourite girls, Lilia, Kat and Mary as they continue their twisted ‘revengenda’ against Mary’s obsession former star-quarterback Reeve. And if their motivations for targeting Reeve in the first book were clear; here they are less so. OK, the guy gave Mary a hard time when they were kids; but now the girls have pretty much ruined his promising football career due to their revenge hi-jinks in Burn for Burn. Think they might leave it at that? No chance. Reeve is nursing a broken leg thanks to the girls, so why not go one better and just break his heart. Phase Two of the ultimate plan for revenge is underway…

But why? Why do Lilia and Kat want to help out scary Mary? That’s why I don’t get. And Mary is pretty scary. She was a little strange in Burn for Burn, but here she’s really rocking the Carrievibe and is a whole lot of weird. Just what is her story? Well, Fire with Fire takes its sweet time in getting where it wants to go (seriously, this book is over five hundred pages long), but when it finally does get to the reveal, all I can say is, WOW! I almost gave up on this book a couple times, but I’m glad I stuck with it. I really, really liked its twisted ending, and now I can’t wait to see how things turn out when Ashes to Ashes the third and final book in this trilogy releases next year.

p.s: Major props to Lindy for being one of these sweetest guys in YA. I hope he gets his happy ending with Lilia, because he is so into her. You know what they say, though: nice guys finish last; and in a romantic twist of fate, Lilia may just have her eye on one hell of a bad boy!

In short: This book is too long; but it does have one hell of a killer ending.

Fire With Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian. Series: Burn for Burn #2. Other Books in Series: Burn for Burn. Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK.  Released: September 2013. Ages: 14+.   Rating:  3 out of 5.   Source: Received from publisher for review.  

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Picking up in the immediate aftermath of events in Envy (Fury #2) – which said goodbye to Drea, saw Skyler scarred for life, and left JD as lovelorn as ever – the Furies are back for one last hurrah in Eternityand, if you hadn’t guessed it, they’re planning on revenge.

Oh, those Furies. They are full of their fun. Or maybe not. Despite having enjoyed the first two books in this series, this time, I wasn’t really feeling it. It’s been quite a while since I read Envy (and the recapping isn’t quite there with this one) so that may have detracted from my enjoyment a little, but, I dunno, from start to finish I felt totally disconnected from the characters here.  Case in point: Em. Her life is at stake. I mean, the Furies are literally threatening to take over her life; heart and soul. But I never really felt it. I never felt like the stakes were all that high in this book at all. Em and Crow half-heartedly search for a solution to the Fury problem (and go nowhere fast) while JD, who for the most part, is totally clueless to what is going on around him, finds the answer without ever really looking at all. The characters – you have to remember that JD and Em are in (unrequited) love - barely interact here – at least not until the final act. And Crow, the mysterious bad boy of Envy, well he now acts as the (permanently inebriated) third-wheel in a rather lackluster attempt at a late-inclusion love triangle.

This trilogy, though, was never really about love. Rather, it’s all about revenge. The Furies, so menacing in the first two books, pretty much exist as pretty props here. They don’t do very much at all, and rather than galloping towards it’s promised gripping conclusion, Eternity (very slowly, because this is a book where not a whole lot happens) limps towards the finish line.  Readers will have to wait until the final chapters of the book for a little action to kick off, and while the conclusion is pretty satisfactory, in that certain questions get answered, it’s not enough to raise this book above ‘pretty forgettable’ status.

In short: Did they call it Eternity because it takes SO LONG for anything to happen?!

Eternity by Elizabeth Miles. Series: Fury #3. Other Books in Series: Fury, Envy. Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK.  Released: October 2013. Ages: 14+.   Rating:  2½ out of 5. Overall Series Rating: 3 out of 5.    Source: Received from publisher for review.   

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Read All About It: News, Deals and Cover Reveals from Alexandra Monir, Jennifer Donnelly, Rebecca James, Gayle Forman & More!

Here's a round up of the latest book news, deals and some cover reveals that I've discovered over the past few weeks!  It's also basically a digest of all the exciting news stories that come my way and which I've mostly already posted on my twitter and Facebook feeds, so if you want up-to-the-minute book news and you don't want to have to wait around for me to type this up, you can follow me on those sites!

 Like DaisyChainBookReviews on Facebook  ||   Follow  @daisychainbooks on Twitter and then you'll never miss a thing!

Suspicion by Alexandra Monir || Release date: December 2014

A contemporary Downton Abbey with a dash of the supernatural, a hot and heavy romance, and a deadly family mystery.

"There's something hidden in the maze."

Seventeen-year-old Imogen Rockford has never forgotten the last words her father said to her, before the blazing fire that consumed him, her mother, and the gardens of her family's English country manor.

For seven years, images of her parents' death have haunted Imogen's dreams. In an effort to escape the past, she leaves Rockford Manor and moves to New York City with her new guardians. But some attachments prove impossible to shake-including her love for her handsome neighbor Sebastian Stanhope.

Then a letter arrives that forces Imogen to return to the manor in England, where she quickly learns that dark secrets lurk behind Rockford's aristocratic exterior. At their center is Imogen herself-and Sebastian, the boy she never stopped loving.

Combining spine-tingling mystery, powerful romance, and unforgettable characters, Suspicion is an action-packed thrill ride.

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Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly || Release date: May 2014

The first in a series of three epic tales set in the depths of the ocean, where six mermaids seek to protect and save their hidden world.

Deep in the ocean, in a world not so different from our own, live the merpeople. Their communities are spread throughout the oceans, seas, and freshwaters all over the globe.

When Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, awakens on the morning of her betrothal, her biggest worry should be winning the love of handsome Prince Mahdi. And yet Sera finds herself haunted by strange dreams that foretell the return of an ancient evil. Her dark premonitions are confirmed when an assassin's arrow poisons Sera's mother. Now, Serafina must embark on a quest to find the assassin's master and prevent a war between the Mer nations. Led only by her shadowy dreams, Sera searches for five other mermaid heroines who are scattered across the six seas. Together, they will form an unbreakable bond of sisterhood and uncover a conspiracy that threatens their world's very existence.

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Book Deals, Book Deals, Book Deals.... 

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories ed. Stephanie Perkins. 

Sara Goodman at St. Martin's Press has bought a YA anthology called My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories, edited by Stephanie Perkins, author of Anna and the French Kiss. The collection will feature 12 romantic tales of young love by celebrated YA authors, including Rainbow Rowell, David Levithan, Gayle Forman, Ally Carter, Holly Black, Kiersten White, Matt de la Peña, Laini Taylor, Jenny Han and Kelly Link. Publication is set for October 2014; Kate Schafer Testerman at KT Literary did the deal for North American rights. 

I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Ken Wright of Viking has acquired I Was Here, a YA novel by Gayle Forman, author of If I Stay and Just One Year. The story follows Cody Reynolds in the months following her best friend Meg's suicide, as she delves into Meg's secret life in search of answers. Publication is scheduled for the first half of 2015; Michael Bourret at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management negotiated the deal for North American rights.

Great Library by Rachel Caine

Anne Sowards at NAL signed a mid-six-figure deal for a YA fantasy trilogy by Rachel Caine, author of the Morganville Vampires books. In the new trilogy, called the Great Library, the Library of Alexandria still exists and has become all-powerful, and, while there is unfettered access to information digitally, it is a crime to keep print books in any personal collection. The series is described as The Book Thief with Fahrenheit 451 by way of Harry Potter. The first book is planned for summer 2015; Lucienne Diver at the Knight Agency sold North American rights. 

Presumed Dead by Anne Heltzel

 Margaret Raymo at HMH has bought North American rights to a new YA novel by Anne Heltzel, a former editor at Razorbill. Charlie, Presumed Dead is the story of two teenage girls who meet at the funeral of Charlie Pryce, presumed dead after an explosion on a college campus. When the girls realize they both thought they were Charlie's one true love, the secrets of his double life are unraveled – and it's possible they’ve walked into a trap he's laid for them. Publication is scheduled for spring 2015; Stephen Barbara at Foundry Literary + Media did the deal. 

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 Some Awesome UK covers...

'I still dream about Anna London's house. In my dreams it's as if the house itself has sinister intentions. But in real life it wasn't the house that was responsible for what happened. It was the people who did the damage ...'

When Tim Ellison finds a cheap room to rent in the perfect location in Sydney it looks like a huge stroke of luck. In fact the room comes with a condition, and the owner of the house, the mysterious Anna London, is unfriendly and withdrawn. When strange and terrifying things start happening in the house at night, Tim wonders if taking the room is a mistake. But then his feelings for Anna start to change, and when her past comes back with a vengeance, Tim is caught right in the middle of it.

A thrilling rollercoaster of a story - read it with the lights on!

Sweet Damage by Rebecca James: Release date - March 2014.

Australian Edition

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The Dispossessed #2: Release date: May 2014
(synopsis not included in case of spoilers. You can read it here) 

US Edition

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Growing up in privileged, Manhattan social circles, Caggie's life should be perfect, and it almost was until the day that her younger sister drowned when Caggie was supposed to be watching her. Stricken by grief, Caggie pulls away from her friends and family, only to have everyone misinterpret a crucial moment when she supposedly saves a fellow classmate from suicide. Now she's famous for something she didn't do and everyone lauds her as a hero. But inside she still blames herself for the death of her sister and continues to pull away from everything in her life, best friend and perfect boyfriend included.

Then Caggie meets Astor, the new boy at school, about whom rumours are swirling and known facts are few. In Astor she finds someone who just might understand her pain, because he has an inner pain of his own. But the more Caggie pulls away from her former life to be with Astor, the more she realises that his pain might be darker, and deeper, than anything she's ever felt. His pain might be enough to end his life…and Caggie's as well.

The Edge of Falling by Rebecca Serle: Release date - March 2014. 

US Edition

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Out of Control by Sarah Alderson || Release date: May 2014

When 17 year old Liva witnesses a brutal murder she’s taken into police custody for her own protection. But when the police station is attacked and bullets start flying it becomes clear that Liva is not just a witness, she’s a target.

Together with a car thief called Jay, Liva manages to escape the massacre but now the two of them are alone in New York, trying to outrun and outwit two killers who will stop at nothing to find them.

When you live on the edge, there’s a long way to fall.

 

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The Year of the Rat by Clare Furniss || Release date: April 2014

I always thought you'd know, somehow, if something terrible was going to happen. I thought you'd sense it, like when the air goes damp and heavy before a storm and you know you'd better hide yourself away somewhere safe until it all blows over.

But it turns out it's not like that at all. There's no scary music playing in the background like in films. No warning signs. Not even a lonely magpie. One for sorrow, Mum used to say. Quick, look for another.

The world can tip at any moment … a fact that fifteen-year-old Pearl is all too aware of when her mum dies after giving birth to her baby sister. Told across the year following her mother's death, Pearl's story is full of bittersweet humour and heartbreaking honesty about how you deal with grief that cuts you to the bone, as she tries not only to come to terms with losing her mum, but also the fact that her sister - The Rat - is a constant reminder of why her mum is no longer around…

 

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That's it for this month's round-up! Let me know what you think of the covers and exciting new book deals in comments!

Please note that book covers may not be final and may be subject to change.  Additional sources:  PW Children's Bookshelf, Edelweiss, Goodreads.

Book Review: Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young.

Product details:
Publisher: Penguin.
Paperback, 464 pages.
Release date: January 14th 2013.
Rating: 4½ out of 5.
Ages: Adult.
Series: On Dublin Street #3.
Other Books in Series: On Dublin Street, Down London Road.
Source: Purchased.

One simple lesson in seduction between two friends can turn into so much more…

Despite her outgoing demeanor, Olivia is painfully insecure around the opposite sex—usually, she can’t get up the nerve to approach guys she’s interested in. But moving to Edinburgh has given her a new start, and, after she develops a crush on a sexy postgrad, she decides it’s time to push past her fears and go after what she wants.

Nate Sawyer is a gorgeous player who never commits, but to his close friends, he’s as loyal as they come. So when Olivia turns to him with her relationship woes, he offers to instruct her in the art of flirting and to help her become more sexually confident.

The friendly education in seduction soon grows into an intense and hot romance. But then Nate’s past and commitment issues rear their ugly heads, and Olivia is left broken-hearted. When Nate realizes he’s made the biggest mistake of his life, he will have to work harder than he ever has before to entice his best friend into falling back in love with him—or he may lose her forever…

Sassy, funny and outwardly confident, Liv loves her new life and the new group of friends she’s made in Edinburgh. There’s just one problem: men, or rather the lack thereof.  It’s not that Liv doesn’t attract male attention –it’s that she just doesn’t know what to do with it when it comes her way; and she most definitely does not seek it out. Instead she dresses down and likes to be seen as one of the guys.  In her heart, though, Liv is a romantic, and she wants love in her life. The problem is she just doesn’t know how to do relationships. Heck, Liv can’t even talk to the guy she likes –a sexy postgrad who frequents the library where she works – without breaking out in a cold sweat. Around her, Liv sees her new friends moving forward with their lives: Cam and Jo are totally loved up, while Braden and Joss are planning a wedding. But, Liv, well, she’s on her own.  And while her life is fulfilling and fun, she wants more.

Liv spends most of her evenings hanging out with best friend Nate, Cam’s ridiculously good-looking friend last seen playing video games in Down London Road. Nate is the ultimate player. And he never, ever lets anyone into his heart. Liv knows the truth about Nate, the secret hidden in his past that has made him the man he is today. And Liv gets it. She’s experienced the pain of loss, and she knows that sometimes it’s impossible to let go of the past. So Nate lives in the moment, he lives in the now, and he never loses his heart to anyone, because that way, he can’t get hurt. Not again.

Things with Nate are great, and Liv wonders why she can’t be as relaxed around her crush as she is around her friend. When she gets horrendously drunk and Braden and Joss’s wedding, Liv confesses all of her relationship woes to Nate. And so a plan is born; a plan to rid Liv of all her sexual insecurities, an extremely sexy plan of teacher and pupil where the ultimate goal is to get Liv laid.

Hot. That is my one word description of these books for anyone who asks, but there is so much more to them too. Sure, the On Dublin Streetbooks are very sexy romps, but they are also warm and heartfelt, while the characters Samantha Young has created ring so true. Liv, for example is a character you can really root for. She is insecure, but also level-headed, she is funny, smart, able to tell and take a joke, and overall just so relatable. I definitely related to Liv more than Joss (who I liked but didn’t really relate to) or Jo (who I had a hard time connecting with). So, I worried for Liv when she hooked up with Nate as part of her ‘education.’ He’s a total player. Would Liv get hurt? Would he break her heart? And would their friendship be ruined in the end?

Just like On Dublin Street and Down London Road, Before Jamaica Placeis a truly great read. I always read these books when I know I have time to get really stuck in, because once I pick these Samantha Young’s books up, I generally don’t put them down until I am done. Young has a great way with words and she is a supreme storyteller. I love how well-developed her characters are and I love how she always weaves characters from past books into each of her new books in this series. I also absolutely adored the by now well established family dinners where everyone comes together. I love catching up with Joss and Braden especially and also Hannah, who I have always loved for her reading habits and special bond with Jo. I was very excited then when I discovered that the next book in this series Fall From India Placewill focus on Hannah and her crush Marco. While I was reading Before Jamaica Place, I pictured Jesse Williams as moody Marco (those eyes!) so I can’t wait to find out more about him.

But back to Liv and Nate. What can I say?  Those two are made for each other and their sexy game is all kinds of hot. But will it all end in tears? Will Liv end up with the hot post grad? Or will Nate come to his senses in time, let go of his past, and move on to a fantastic future with his best friend?

You’ll have to read Before Jamaica Lane to find out – and I strongly recommend that you do!

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Want more Joss and Braden? Then read Castle Hill...

We are treated to snippets of Joss and Braden's wedding in Before Jamaica Lane, but if you want to experience the full glorious day, then check out Castle Hill. This novella (On Dublin Street #2.5) encompasses a lot of exciting times in Joss and Braden's life including Braden's romantic proposal, the aforementioned wedding, and of course, the Honeymoon (split into two parts), and believe me when I say what happens at the airport is all kinds of hot! You'll also find out what comes next for my favourite hot-blooded couple...

Just like all the other books in the series, Castle Hill is a novella is well worth checking out!

 

 

Book Review: Before We Met by Lucie Whitehouse.

Product details:
Publisher: Bloomsbury.
Hardcover, 256 pages.
Release date: January 16th 2014.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Ages: Adult
Source: Received from publisher for review.

A whirlwind romance. A picture-perfect marriage. Hannah Reilly has seized her chance at happiness. Until the day her husband fails to come home...

The more questions Hannah asks, the fewer answers she finds. But are the secrets that Mark has been keeping designed to protect him or protect her? And can you ever really know what happened before you met

Meet Hannah, a thirty-something New York City dwelling career girl and complete commitment-phobe. At least that was the old Hannah, the Hannah before she met Mark Reilly. Nowadays Hannah lives in a beautiful London townhouse where her days consist of jogging and job-hunting. But Hannah is happy. She’s married to Mark. Yes, their relationship and subsequent marriage may have been a complete whirlwind, and she may have had to give up her job and relocate because of it, but Hannah is certain she made the right choice.

She’s certain that Mark is the man she’ll spend the rest of her life with. Hannah is certain that Mark is the only man for her.  But how well does Hannah really know Mark?

When we pick up the story, Hannah is on her way to Heathrow to surprise Mark who has been away on one of his many business trips to New York. As successful as he is dashing and charismatic, Mark is the director of his own company.  Hannah reaches the airport, and waits and waits, but there is no sign of Mark. He’s not on his scheduled flight, and, though Hannah waits for hours, Mark doesn’t show. Furthermore, he’s not answering his phone. Refusing to panic, pragmatic Hannah returns home. But when Mark still hasn’t returned the next morning, Hannah decides to take action. Mark’s PA –the woman who practically runs his life- has no knowledge of a business trip to New York. In fact, she thinks that Mark and Hannah are enjoying a romantic weekend in Rome. When Mark does eventually call, he offers personally reasonable explanations for his absence and non-contact. But Hannah knows in her heart that something is not quite right. And though she’s reluctant to jump to conclusions, ever-conscious of how her own paranoid mother drove away her husband with constant slights and accusations, it’s pretty clear to Hannah that Mark is lying. All signs point to an affair.  Has Mark taken someone else, his mistress, off to Rome for the weekend?  Hannah is not quite sure what’s going on. But she knows one thing: she no longer trusts Mark.  And she’s determined to find out the truth.

Billed as a psychological thriller in the vein of, you guessed it, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, Before We Metby Lucie Whitehouse is a story of lies, ambition and past secrets buried deep. The comparisons with Gone Girl are inevitable, I guess, since this is a story of secrets within a marriage and, just like Flynn’s bestseller, it poses the question of how well anyone really knows the person they marry. Because everybody has their secrets, right? Hannah has hers; Mark certainly has his, and the race to find out what exactly he’s playing at makes Before We Met a gripping page-turner. I love books of this type, but I think the Gone Girl comparisons are overdone. Sure –comparing a book to a multi-million bestseller will up its exposure and sales, but it also raises expectations. Here, I needed more shocks. Before We Met is a really good read, but the twists were overall a little too predictable, and the ending just a little too neat for my liking.

That said, Before We Met is one of the better psychological thrillers I’ve read lately, and this one has certainly compelled me to check out more of Whitehouse’s books. Her previous novel The Bed I Made is on my list, as is her debut, the eerily-titled The House at Midnight. In Whitehouse, I think I’ve found one of those authors who can make me pick up a book and not put it down until I’m done and have devoured every little twist and turn. And that can only be a good thing.

 

Guest Post: Melissa Bailey on Catherine de Medici & Inspiration for The Medici Mirror.

The Medici Mirror by Melissa Bailey || Release date: October 2013.

Can the power of love defeat a centuries-old curse? Or will long-buried evil rise up again to destroy those who stumble upon its secrets?

  

No one had any idea the room was there. The Victorian shoe factory had been abandoned for years, its machines silent and dusty, the shoes for which it was renowned, still waiting for collection by the last of its patrons.
 

But now gifted young architect, Johnny Carter, has been commissioned to convert the factory into a luxury appartment. Quite by chance, he finds a door at the back of a forgotten storage cupboard. From there stairs lead down to a windowless room with a bare earth floor. In this room are a bed, a chair, an ancient mirror, mottled with age, its silver frame blackened and tarnished -- and hanging from one of its corners, a pair of exquisite, high-heeled green shoes, suspended by a green velvet ribbon.
 

From the very moment he discovers it, Johnny begins to be affected by the malign atmosphere in the room and soon he and his new partner, photographer Ophelia Gray, are drawn into a terrifying web of hallucination and obsession. Neither of them can understand what is happening -- but each becomes determined to get to the bottom of whatever secrets lie concealed in the room.
 

This dangerous path leads back to the woman known as the Queen of Death -- Catherine de Medici -- and a four-centuries-old curse. Its terrifying power has accounted for a chain of deaths already. How can Johnny and Ophelia break it, before it engulfs them, too?

***** 

Guest Post: Melissa Bailey on the Inspiration for The Medici Mirror 

Catherine de Medici – scourge and sorceress or slighted woman?

The overarching storyline of my novel, The Medici Mirror, centres on Catherine de Medici, the Italian wife of the French King Henri II of France, and her connection to an old, blackened, seemingly magical mirror. This mirror is passed down through the centuries and is uncovered again in the present day alongside, fragment by fragment, the story of its vengeful heritage. Did it belong to Catherine and does it embody the darkness which became so synonymous with her character? 

The Black Queen, Madame la Serpente. They are names which at various times throughout history have been applied to Catherine de Medici. Some have painted her as the embodiment of evil, a demonic political schemer, a murderer. But are these overblown descriptions accurate or actually rather simplistic? Was she a more complex creature, a product of her violent, complicated times?

Born in Florence in April 1519, Catherine de Medici’s personal life was fraught with difficulty from the start. She was orphaned soon after her birth and then passed between various members of her family until she was imprisoned in a convent following a civilian uprising against the Medicis in 1530. She was held hostage there for over three years never quite knowing if she was safe. At the age of 14, she was married off by her uncle, Pope Clement VII, to Henri of Orleans, later King Henri II of France. Catherine adored him, but in return was essentially ignored in favour of the older, more beautiful, Diane de Poitiers, who was Henri’s mistress for practically the whole of his adult life. While Catherine clearly hated Diane and her hold over the King’s affections, Catherine wasn’t powerful enough to challenge Henri’s mistress and so had to tolerate the older woman and constantly hide and disguise her true feelings. If that wasn’t enough, Catherine’s position was further undermined by her inability to conceive a child for the first ten years of her marriage. During this time she lived under the almost constant threat of repudiation. After all, a barren Queen was anything but indispensable to the monarchy. And yet, through a combination of politics, pragmatism and resourcefulness, Catherine maintained her position. 

Given this set of personal circumstances, perhaps it is not a surprise that Catherine was a woman of many sides, of seeming contradictions. She was educated and enlightened, a Renaissance champion, a patron of the arts and architecture. She was also religious, a Catholic. And yet simultaneously she was deeply superstitious. She believed in the power of the stars and sought consolation from astrologers, soothsayers and mystics. In her early life she became interested in ancient magic - many have thought that this developed out of her supposed ‘infertility’ and that in her desperation she resorted to pagan remedies to try to cure it. She is said to have drunk gallons of mules’ urine, supposed to ward against sterility, as well as mare’s milk, rabbit’s blood and sheep’s urine. She had hideous poultices put upon her body, numerous concoctions made by alchemists.  

After ten years, and still with no sign of a child, it has been said that Catherine actually started to believe that she was sexually inadequate - that she wasn’t making love to her husband in the right way. And so the stout hearted woman had holes drilled in the floor of her bedchamber so that she could stare down through them and, in the hope of learning something herself, watch her husband and his mistress making love in the room below. My novel opens with this scene, which is thought to have taken place at the chateau of Fontainebleau. Eventually Catherine did conceive but whether conception was aided by either the voyeurism or the pagan remedies is anyone’s guess!

Later in life, it is clear that Catherine’s fairly innocent magical dabblings developed into something somewhat darker. Part of her entourage were the Ruggieri brothers, Cosimo and Tommaso, renowned astrologers but who also practised the black arts and meddled in the occult. At Catherine’s chateau at Chaumont, various sources recount that a black magic ceremony was performed with a mirror in a darkened room to see how long Catherine’s sons would remain on the throne. It is also said that other evidence of occult practices was found after Catherine vacated the premises after Henri's death - pentacles drawn on the floor, altars decorated with skulls, the remains of animal sacrifices.

Dark arts aside, Catherine was also a consummate politician and tried to steer a steady course between the opposing parties of her day. She seems to have preferred the paths of reason and conciliation, but if diplomacy failed, she did not shy away from ruthlessly dealing with her enemies, especially in defence of her family. It has been said that later in her life she had her infamous Italian perfumier, Maitre Rene, create poisoned gloves to despatch those who stood against her. Some have maintained that she had an apothecary of deadly poisons – 237 secret compartments hidden behind the wooden panelled walls of the room adjacent to her bedroom and private chapel in the chateau of Blois. Others have argued, less sensationally, that it is far more likely that books and objets d’art were kept there. What is clear, even though the stories of Catherine’s murdering exploits have no doubt been exaggerated, is that she did not hesitate at times to get rid of her enemies.

To my mind, the common thread connecting all these diverse and seemingly contradictory elements of Catherine’s life and character was her unswerving desire to survive, in the face of singular hardships and trauma, and to ensure the survival of her dynasty. Pagan magic, darker spells, poison, plotting and intrigue, were all utilised and adopted to maintain her life and her line. She was strong, powerful, magical, ruthless, yet she was also a woman subject to her emotions – jealousy, fear, longing and resentment. And so there was a rich seam of irresistible references which drew me to her as a character. Perhaps she was a scourge, a sorceress and a slighted woman, but beyond all of those things she was a survivor, a true product of her life and times. And she became one of the strongest, most powerful and fascinating women of the sixteenth century.

Follow Melissa on Twitter: @medicimirror

Guest Post: Alma Katsu on Saying Goodbye to The Taker Trilogy.

The Descent (The Taker #3) by Alma Katsu || Release date: January 2nd 2014

Click for US Cover Art

 The stunning conclusion to Alma Katsu's gripping supernatural trilogy that began with The Taker.

'We had a tangled history, Adair and I. He had been my lover and my teacher, master to my slave. We had literally been prisoners to one another. Somewhere along the way he fell in love with me, but I was too afraid to love him in return. Afraid of his unexplainable powers, and his furious temper. Afraid of what I knew he was capable of and what even he himself didn't know he could do. I ran away to follow a safer path with a man I could understand. I always knew, however, that my path would one day lead back to Adair...'

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Guest Post: Alma Katsu on Saying Goodbye to The Taker Trilogy 

As happy as I am to be ending The Taker Trilogy with the release of The Descent—I’m well aware that in the current publishing atmosphere, not every writer is fortunate enough to have a series run to its conclusion—it also means saying goodbye to characters that I’ve known for a long time. Thirteen years, to be exact. Longer than I’ve known some of my flesh-and-blood friends.

My entire professional writing life has revolved around this characters: Lanore, the headstrong young woman who—after a disastrous mistake that takes her to the brink of eternal torment—learns the true meaning of love; Jonathan, unattainable object of her affections; and Adair, the beast who tries to turn over a new leaf in order to win her heart.

The fact that I’d have to give these characters up hadn’t sunk in until recently because—cold-hearted as it sounds—I’ve moved on. Being a writer is a little like being an actor: by the time the book or movie comes out, you’re already working on something new. Oh, you dipped your toe back into the story, what with revisions and page proofs, but then there’s a long gap between the last round of copyedits and publication day and if you’re lucky, by then you’re working on a new story with a new plot—gulp—new characters.

                         

I have the feeling that it will hit me in a few months and then I’ll realize how much I miss them. I can admit that as I’ve been working on the next book, I’ve already missed Lanore’s and Adair’s ready familiarity. New characters feel shy and tongue-tied by comparison, not yet ready to share their deepest secrets with me. And, of course, I need to be extra-vigilant to make sure they don’t sound too much like Lanore, Jonathan or Adair.

The strangest part is that, to me, the story isn’t over. Storyteller that I am, I came up with an idea for one more book, going into what happens after the events at the end of The Descent. I don’t mean for this to sound like I’m trying to draw it out because I don’t intend to write this book. It would be a really sad story and I don’t think readers would want that. I’m happy to end the story here and give The Taker readers the happily-ever-after that they want. After all the amazing, desperate and sometimes downright terrible things they’ve been through with Lanore, it’s the ending they’ve earned.

Follow Alma on Twitter: @almakatsu

Reviewed by Arianne: The Legend Series by Marie Lu.

In the world of literary expectations, there are two types of book. Type A: the books you have huge expectations for and which sadly let you down. Type B: the books you have little or no expectations of, but which completely blow you away. 

I am proud to say that Legend falls into the second category. 

Of course, for many other readers, Legend was Type C - a book that came with a loaded hype-tag and which still exceeded their expectations.  I'll admit I heard vague wisps of praise for Legend around the time of its release, but as I didn't read it right away, I didn't really register those. By the time I got around to Legend, it was a story that felt totally my own.

June and Day were born to oppose one another. Brilliant and capable, they would have been made for each other if they hadn't ended up on opposite sides of a very divided, often violent, society. June Iparis is the Republic's golden girl, but she's not destined for red carpets or movie premieres. She's been head-hunted for a career in the Republic's ruthless and revered military. Day's the rebel; born into the ranks of the poor, the valueless, pushed to the very fringes of the Republic's line of vision, all he wants is to look after his family. He's daring and he's desperate and he's a known vigilante-criminal. 

Legend is written with its alternate narration in mind. The writing pulls no punches and it sings with clarity, honesty and an inescapably beautiful style you can't help but fall for. There may be similarities to how June and Day speak but the worlds they live in are very different and I loved the spiralling tension as their actions and orders brought them closer and closer together. They're talented and they know it; they have work to do and they get on with it, though it inevitably leads to their paths crossing in the most teasing and brutal of ways. Their stories are woven with the dexterity and skill of a writer who will go down in the history books as the woman who made Les Miserables into a futuristic hero novel and got away with it.

June and Day may be attracted to one another, but with mutual death sentences hanging over them and the ones they love, there's not much room for declarations of undying love in this novel - and it was absolutely the right choice on the author's part. The simmering, confusing, heart-torn moments they spend with each other are some of the best in the whole book. The romance is drawn out delicately, carefully, and I never felt as if their potential relationship was getting in the way of the plot. Besides, they're far too busy being intent on killing each other to notice it, much.

Make no mistake, however; there are no pantomime villains or heroes in Legend. There are cold-blooded killers and icy-eyed ruling classes, but this isn't just a game between good and evil or characters who have seemingly impossible abilities. The story which springs from Legend is washed in grit and urban struggle, giving it a very real kind of edge.

When I search for criticisms of Legend in my notes, all I can really come up with is the slightly vague portrayal of its minor characters. I didn't understand Metias and I wanted more of Day's allies from home and from the street; Tess is painted well but I wasn't endeared by her. I'll definitely need to see an improvement on this in the next book. There's also a sense that between the amazing action sequences and the subtly thematic crises of conscience, and despite being so concise (for its genre), it lacks the focused destination point of a book that really delivers on its premise. 

In short: Legend is thrilling and unpredictable, twisting and turning until you don't know which way to look next. Its setting is fantastic, its concept original and its characters truly unforgettable.

 

Arianne's Rating:  4½ out of 5

 

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I think I may have to consider my rating for Legend. The first book was awesome, but as a sequel? Prodigy was incredible. And I just don't know if that spark - which I'll admit may have been the teensiest bit missing from my later re-readings of Legend - can be adequately described in the difference of half a star. 

Legend is good, but Prodigy blows Legend out of the water. Everything just becomes so much magnified. The scale, the stakes, the drama - it's all there, and it's all just so much better.

When we last saw June and Day, they'd just escaped death by very public firing squad. Seven days later, they're on the run and they're top of the Republic's hit list. They barely have time to catch their breath - scratch that, they don't have any time to catch their breath - before violence and agony come knocking on their door again. The Patriots are a notorious group of elite revolutionaries, feared and respected, dangerous and dirty. Their guerrilla warfare is making life very difficult for the Republic and it will make them even more of a threat if they get June and Day on side. They offer our heroes shelter and healing - but it comes a price.

I have never found it so hard to describe a fictional relationship as I do with June and Day. As fans we want to see them happy - but coming from such dark places as they do, knowing what they know and having little time or energy to console one another, there simply isn't reason to give them more than a few stolen moments together in the entirety of Prodigy. They don't have time to begin feeling safe in their relationship. All they can do is believe in themselves and in each other, hoping they've made the right choice. They haven't forsaken the people who need them for the sake of being together, even though they've already loved and lost some of those they swore to protect. 

And there are new figures in their lives to contend with. Just when things are looking up for June and Day's cause, in walks Anden. Gorgeous, groomed, upfront Anden, who makes his feelings for June perfectly clear - despite the fact that he's the new Elector Primo following his father's sudden death. Anden is Day's anti-thesis, and I know we're supposed to hate him, but at times I admit I actually liked him. He's not exactly offering total security what with all the plagues and the wars and the fact that he's the leader of a vulnerable and deeply rotting state, but there are genuine reasons he and June could work. I'm not a huge fan of love triangles, but in this series the emphasis is on a relationship which must develop slowly and organically in the face of terrible dangers, so once you've got past the momentary reaction of shock/disgust/violation, it stops being an intrusion and becomes interesting.

(I've seen others describe the love triangle as a square, but I don't really count Tess as I just couldn't take her seriously.)

Other characters re-emerge from the mists of Legend, too. Commander Jameson and Thomas continue to need taking down a peg or two (or, you know, a casual stabbing out of their eyes or something); Eden never fails to try and break my heart. Gloriously visual action-sequences take pride of place as well. In writing this series, Marie Lu has truly raised the bar for plot-driven action in current YA. 

Oh, and it has an ending that will leave your jaw on the floor and your eyes so wide anyone around will think you've spontaneously turned into ET. 

In short: Legend may have been good, but Prodigy is stellar. It ticks all the boxes - character development, a blossoming central romance, a thrilling storyline and plot twists that completely blindside you in the best way - and then it ticks some more - great bad guys, visceral world-building, truly heart-wrenching choices - just for fun. Amazing.

Arianne's Rating: 5 out of 5.

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When I found a surprise copy of Champion waiting for me in my local library, I felt like Christmas had come early! I've spent a little over a year pining for this trilogy, so there was a part of me that yearned for an ending - and a part of me that didn't. 

The world of Champion is one we think we are familiar with. The war with the Colonies, the reformation of the Republic, the introduction of the Antarcticans – they’re all things we'd like to say we could have predicted but in truth Marie Lu creates as breathtaking a story as ever within these pages. The chapters flow by like the draining of sand through your fingers. It pulls you in and wraps you up in a cocoon of tenter-hooked awe.

June and Day don't suddenly transform into different people in Champion. They are not saints. They are not and probably never will be perfect. Even with all of Day's good intentions and June's fiercely strategic nature combined, they're not a wonder couple. This is not a finale with rounded edges or seamless sheen. They can't just forgive and forget. They don't have time to reconcile themselves with their actions because they're too busy fighting off the next wave of enemies who'd like to see them suffer. It's dystopian, but not as we know it - there is so much ferocity, so much hope, such a feeling that something very real is on the line here.

That's the thing about the Legend trilogy. Its dystopian label doesn't do its justice. Dystopia has, in the last year, become more of a symbol of a dread for me than something to look forward to. As someone who was disappointed by Divergent the first time around, it's probably fair to say that I'm hard to please when it comes to the genre. I'm the kind of reader dystopian authors must hate meeting - the kind that makes the genre a hard sell.

Champion gives me hope for the future of dystopian.

(Hold on, I think even I might need a second to absorb the irony of that statement...)

Champion doesn’t conform to tradition. It’s enchanting and frantic, raw and emotional. The storytelling is dynamic, In Champion, there is the ever-present threat of a countdown - everything is so very final, but you keep praying for it not to end. It’s like a fairytale; glorious and dark at the same time.

Of course, it wasn’t perfect. No book ever is. Knowing this was the last adventure I would get to share with June and Day, I wanted to see more personal moments between them, more of those little Easter eggs that make it all worthwhile. My attention drifted in the first quarter, maybe because I kind of saw where the plot was going or maybe because some of the returning characters didn’t seem to crackle with life as they once did, but by the halfway point I was enthralled again.

Champion is the kind of book that makes you want to forgive its faults no matter what. Marie Lu doesn't give the fans exactly what they want but she doesn't throw in the entire left field, either. There was a danger that after three books in such a high pressure series things could have gone very wrong, but I found the poise and consistency of her writing to be phenomenal. The detail and care taken with every word - inspirational.

I won't talk about the ending too much, as for me it's up to each reader to decide for themselves what they think of it, but I will say that I really, really loved it - it's maybe not the one I would have wanted, but it worked really well.

In short: Champion is a magnificent conclusion to an electrifying and intense trilogy. It really did not disappoint. Incredible. One of my favourite reads of the year by far.

 

 

Arianne's Rating: 5 out of 5

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Overall Series Rating: ALL THE STARS!

Guest Post: Joanna Wiebe on the inspiration for The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant +++ Giveaway! (US/CAN)

The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant || Release date: January 14th 2014

So many secrets for such a small island. From the moment Anne Merchant arrives at Cania Christy, a boarding school for the world’s wealthiest teens, the hushed truths of this strange, unfamiliar land begin calling to her—sometimes as lulling drumbeats in the night, sometimes as piercing shrieks.

One by one, unanswered questions rise. No one will tell her why a line is painted across the island or why she is forbidden to cross it. Her every move—even her performance at the school dance—is graded as part of a competition to become valedictorian, a title that brings rewards no one will talk about. And Anne discovers that the parents of her peers surrender million-dollar possessions to enroll their kids in Cania Christy, leaving her to wonder what her lowly funeral director father could have paid to get her in… and why.

As a beautiful senior struggles to help Anne make sense of this cloak-and-dagger world without breaking the rules that bind him, she must summon the courage to face the impossible truth—and change it—before she and everyone she loves is destroyed by it.

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Joanna Wiebe on the inspiration for The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant 

I live on a misty island. When you live on an island, you live with a sense of being one misstep away from falling off—the way the ancient Greeks must have worried their ships would simply tip over the edge of the earth. The island I live on is way too big to fall off of, but fears aren’t rational, are they? 

On this island are spectacular potholes, which are not your average tire-popping dips in the road. They’re called the Sooke Potholes, and they’re a series of natural pools, tucked away in the woods, that look like this:

Photo Credit: http://www.travelinbc.com/

After a morning swim in the potholes—or, if you’re like me and can’t swim, a read on the rocks while your family swims—you’ll walk past modern-day ruins teetering on a cliff. A ruined building. A hotel that was dreamed and planned and invested in. A hotel they broke ground on. A hotel they started to build. And then stopped:

Photo Credit: http://www.panoramio.com/

Those ruins are, to me, a dream interrupted. 

And so was born the fictional world of Wormwood Island, where half-realized lives vie for one last shot at completion… while surrounded by a beautifully destructive land. This is the setting for my debut novel The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant, which tells the tale of the sixteen year-old daughter of a mortician who’s shipped away to the Cania Christy Preparatory School only to find herself chin-deep in a tidal pool of dangerous secrets. 

I’m a huge fan of the HBO series Six Feet Under, which is one of the reasons Anne was raised by a mortician in a funeral home. I love the obvious strangeness of living in a House of Death, with all the ins and outs of reconstructive artistry, “celebrations of life”, the complex process of grieving, and what it’s like to grow up alongside death. And, ever since my beloved dad died about 10 years ago, I’ve been especially curious about the way we think about death. Is it a part of life or the end of life? Why do we feel the presence of the departed for so long after they die? Why do we cringe at the word “dead” and insist on the softness of phrases like “the departed”, which suggests the ability to return?

The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant gave me the chance to explore those questions—with a little romance and a lot of mystery. 

First, the romance. When it comes to big pink hearts, I’m torn. I Love-Adore-Need-Require a great love connection as much as the next person, but I don’t want romantic love to be the motivation for resolution of every story I read or write. I don’t want the girl to be saved by the boy. I don’t want the girl to do dumb things the boy has to correct—after all, I have yet to know a single girl or woman who’s actually had to be saved by a dude. Further, my background is in short stories, where happily-ever-after is rare; I adore Alice Munro, Allan Gurganus and Anton Chekhov, none of whom has written any stories I can recall where the boy and girl get together in the end and all is perfectly well. 

(Although, to be sure, in my book, there are references to my fave happily-ever-afters, like Cinderella, Sixteen Candles, and Pride & Prejudice.)

So I have this gnawing need to end love somewhat tragically—or at least to leave it unresolved. Is that what happens in this book? Well, you’ll have to read it to find out—but let me be clear: I don’t like to read books that leave me unsatisfied or angry, and so I’m not about to write one that would do that to you or me.

Next, the mystery. This book is shelved as fantasy, and it’s of the paranormal variety. But when I was writing it, I was thinking of it as a mystery first. Not a whodunit. But rather a whatthehellisgoingon. My inspirations here were less from books—though I was reading Robert Ludlum’s Bourne Series while writing this, so maybe a little—but rather from films like The Usual Suspects. (Can Kevin Spacey do any wrong? No. I’ve even forgiven him for K-PAX.) 

I love twists. I love wondering what’s about to happen. I love furiously turning the pages again and again and again until—just as you think you really should get to bed already—you get that OMGWTF moment and can’t even consider stepping away from it. The Usual Suspects was that, for me, in film version. And I’m hoping that The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant is that sort of book for readers like you.

K, so, now you know where the book sort of comes from. Let me close by showing you the faces of a few of the real-life people who were on my mind when I was crafting the kids of Cania Christy.

At 5’10”, Anne is a combination of every tall girl I’ve ever met who hasn’t hunched to seem like the rest of the crowd. She’s got wild, super-unruly blonde hair, like Beyonce’s (pre-pixie):

She also rocks a naturally curvaceous, muscular body, which she’s struggling to get used to. Think P!nk, sans tattoos:

Anne’s friend Molly Watso is small, but her cool toughness makes her seem larger than Anne. Molly’s inspired by the always-interesting Ellen Page, who’s a Canadian like yours truly:

Finally, Ben Zin is the all-too-perfect, entirely unattainable rich boy Anne is drawn to, for reasons that go beyond his gorgeous exterior, reasons that will make perfect sense by the end of the book. (There’s no Insta Love here!) Although all Cania kids are physically flawless, Ben has always been this way—much like Hayden Christensen:

  

Ben’s mint-colored eyes are similar to those of Damon Albarn (whom I loved back in the days when he fronted Britpop band Blur): 

So there you have it! My primary inspirations. I hope I haven’t overshared here. The worst thing, I think, can be learning too much about a character or setting before your imagination has had a chance to pump air into its lungs and shape its edges. But I think there’s still plenty for you to discover… 

The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant is the first in a trilogy published by Benbella. It hits the shelves of bookstores—real and online—in the US and Canada on Jan 14, 2014. You can read early reviews for it on Goodreads or on my website, and you should totally either friend me on Goodreads or follow me on Twitter! 

Hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading. And I’m excited to respond to any Qs you have in the comments below. 

~joanna

 

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Thanks to Joanna for writing such great and informative guest post - I really enjoyed reading this!

And thanks to BenBella books I have a copy of  The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant to give away to one lucky reader. 

Competition is open to readers in the US and Canada and closes January 17th 2014.
Winner will be notified by email.
Book will be shipped directly from publisher. 

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