Read and Reviewed

I hadn't heard about this book until I saw a listing for the third in the series. The synopsis caught my attention: spunky female secret detective with a mysterious past, set in Victorian London. I really enjoyed reading about Mary and her adventures, and absolutely loved her interactions with James. I liked the setup - Mary is rescued from a sentence to hang (due to thievery) and taken to a school, where she's educated and enlisted to join in a secret female detective agency. Her first task is to help Scotland Yard (unofficially, of course) find evidence of wrongdoing by a wealthy merchant, whose been claiming that his ships - which are suspected of carrying illegal cargo - have been sunk. Mary is plunged into a household full of secrets, and I have to say that the ending - the "whodunit" if you will - surprised me as much as it did Mary when the truth comes out. I loved James, even though he was arrogant and sure of himself and positive that he was right at all times, and adored all of their interactions. I hope that we will see more of him in the later installments. I also liked the mystery, and the truth behind Mary's past, and hope to see more of that as well. I look forward to the second book, as I think Mary learned a lot from her first assignment and will be even better at her job the next time. And I can't help but wonder if we've seen the last of the "villain" as well; maybe she'll pop up again later?Anyway, if you're looking for a plucky heroine who's not afraid to take risks and get herself into trouble, Mary Quinn is your girl. I really enjoyed reading about her, and look forward to more.

This book takes place immediately after the end of The Alchemyst, and once again finds Josh, Sophie, Flamel and Scatty on the run for their lives. Admittedly, some of the details about the first half of this book have escaped me, because I started reading it in May 2011 and just now picked it up again a week or so ago. This should probably tell you that I wasn't completely enamored with it.Personally speaking, I didn't find this book quite as enjoyable as the first one. Much of this had to do with the constant non-stop action (which is to be expected, considering that each of these books takes place in one to two days) and also Josh's feelings towards Flamel and his jealousy over Sophie's abilities. I did like the introduction of Joan and absolutely loved Saint-Germain, but am finding myself getting really tired of Josh's constant sureness that Flamel isn't to be trusted regardless of what others' opinions are of him. I also cannot understand why on earth he'd think that Dee is to be trusted. I am not sure what to think about Machiavelli; I like that he doesn't like Dee, but he's also not exactly a great guy himself, especially at the end of the book. I will be interested to see what ultimately becomes of him and his decisions, especially since the Elder we meet in this book (no names to avoid spoilers) also cannot decide what to think of him. I fear for Josh and the debt he's going to have to pay, and also the fact that I am fairly certain he's going to end up siding with Dee. I did like that we got to see more of Perenelle, though. Talk about a fierce female character!I am going to continue on with this series only because I own the other books in the series (of which six have been released). I fear that I am not going to like how many of them turn out, though, which is a shame since I really enjoyed the first one a lot.

Thank you to Annick Press (via NetGalley) for the ARC e-book of Erebos.I was surprised at just how much I liked this book, considering I am not exactly in its target audience. The story is about Nick, who is a popular high school jock, who starts noticing that his classmates are acting strangely; they're skipping school, acting secretive, and are passing around a DVD of something that Nick desperately wants to know what it is. He's finally invited to give it a try, and finds that the DVD is a computer game called Erebos, which is an incredibly realistic role-playing game. There's a catch, though, in that players of the game must adhere to some pretty strict rules, including not talking about the game with anyone else and playing the game alone. Nick soon becomes hooked, and, as with any addiction, struggles to continue to function in the real world, becoming so obsessed with leveling up his character that he fails to realize just how dangerous this game is and how it's affecting him.As someone who is neither a teenage boy (who is definitely this book's target audience) nor a hardcore gamer, I was surprised at just how gripping I found this story. Nick's addiction to the game, including the way he loses his sense of self while playing, referring to himself only by his character name, was amazingly compelling. I think any avid reader knows what it's like to lose themselves in the narrative and look up hours later to find that an enormous amount of time has passed (I know I've definitely done this), so in that respect this book was very realistic. The catch with this game is that the tasks the players have to carry out take place in the real world, and definitely stretch their morality. Thankfully Nick has enough sense to realize that he can't carry out his final orders, although I was surprised to see just how upset he was that he DIDN'T go through with it when it results in his getting kicked out of the game. It's scary to think that there are people in the world, however, that would go ahead and do anything to make sure the game didn't stop (just like with any addiction). The whole "I have to do this" desperation was very accurate in terms of how addicts often talk.However, Nick is not a terribly sympathetic character at first; he's a bully, calling those who aren't terribly attractive and/or rather nerdy "freaks", referring to others as "overweight", and generally throwing temper tantrums when people start pointing out just how much the game has affected him. I didn't think there were enough consequences for his attitudes towards those other characters, even if he does sort of redeem himself in the end. I also really disliked the fact that the author had one of the characters claim to be sexually assaulted, and then focus mostly on the fact that such a claim has an adverse effect on the guy, especially considering that so many women don't report when they're victimized for fear of being branded or having people think they're lying. I also think that something was perhaps lost in the translation from German to English, because there were some definite choices of words that were distinctly not British (this version is set in London). They don't call their secondary schools "high schools", for one, and they live in flats, not apartments, etc. But for the most part I was able to over look those.This book would be a definite hit with the teenage boy and/or gamers. I can say that the adventure and suspense was first-rate, and I was wholly engaged the entire time I was reading. I would definitely recommend it.

The second installment of the "Fables" series is more gruesome than the first, and, for me personally, not quite as enjoyable, mostly because I had trouble placing some of the characters like the fox and some of the other revolutionaries. I found it interesting that the author chose Goldilocks to be the main villain, and am interested to see when she crops back up in the storyline. I did like the ending, as it's nice to see Rose Red doing something useful instead of causing trouble. While I'm not enamored thus far with this series, I will keep reading to see where else the author takes the story.

"The circus arrives without warning." This is how this book starts, and I have to say that my attention was caught from those very first words. I was completely engrossed in the descriptions of the circus itself (especially once we realize who is behind all of the incredible attractions) to the point that I wished something like it could exist in reality. The romance between Celia and Marco was a slow-burning one as opposed to the typical "they met and fell in love instantly" trope which is getting a whole lot of page time in books today. I loved reading about the ways they worked together to turn the circus into something completely unforgettable and truly magical.Be forewarned, however, that the "fierce competition" mentioned in the summary is a bit misleading; the action in this book is extremely tempered, and you learn about it via alternating viewpoints and time periods which can be slightly confusing. The competition takes place between Marco and Celia, who go for a great deal of this book without having hardly any contact with each other. This book, to me, was more about the love story than the whole reason these two had been brought together in the first place (i.e. the competition), and it was their interactions (or their reactions to each other or the things one or the other of them did) that drove this book. I wanted to know how things would work out, and how Celia and Marco would escape their seemingly predestined fates.If you're looking for something that's nonstop action and/or breathtaking duels, you'll need to look elsewhere because that's just not what this book is. If you're willing to read something slower-paced but still utterly engaging, however, you can do no better than The Night Circus. I highly recommend it.

I feel kind of strange giving this only three stars, considering everyone else's thoughts about this book. I think my feelings upon finishing it, however, can be contributed to the fact that I already knew what was going to happen, seeing as I'd seen the film (and also because I don't live under a rock). I found myself several times thinking "okay, already, get on with it," which was a shame because I really wanted to love the book, since I enjoyed the film so much. Some of the characters also really irritated me; I found some fault or another with pretty much everyone except Jane, and even her even temper and ability to forgive and see the good in everyone got a bit trying, because I can't honestly believe that anyone is that good of a person. Having flawed characters makes them more interesting, but some of the things they said or did (particularly Mrs. Bennet and Lydia) were just so obnoxious that I wanted to strangle them. I also have problems with parents who don't take enough of an interest in their children's educations and upbringing, so didn't like Mr. Bennet's way of "disciplining" his daughters at all. Lydia and Kitty both needed a much heavier hand, and Mrs. Bennet was just so over-the-top in her absurdity and inability to realize how inappropriate her behavior was that I couldn't help but agree with Darcy's assessment, even though his actually saying the words out loud (or in a letter) were likewise terrible. I do think that my feelings on the book would have been different, however, if I'd read it prior to seeing it; then I would have been surprised at each turn in the story instead of wishing things would hurry up and happen.

Also a note on the free Kindle version of this story via Amazon: there were tons of misspellings, and also some strange punctuation. I also got REALLY tired of HOW they ACCENTED words. There's nothing wrong with italics! Also, the formatting made all the letters that are passed back and forth at the end of the book difficult to read. It's hard to go wrong with free, but it would have been best if I'd gotten that "free" version from the library.

Very simple, easy-to-use guide for beginning storytellers. The chapters are concise, easy to read, and provide useful information, not only on the dos and don'ts of storytelling but also on how to get started. Also provides some tips about mixing up your storytelling presentations, and the bibliography in the back is top notch. I especially liked the advice regarding practicing and coming up with your storytelling ideas, as well as what to do when you (inevitably) forget something. Highly useful resource for future - and present! - librarians interested in incorporating storytelling into their programs.

This was a really fast read, but I found the "heroine" of this book to be so completely and utterly stupid that I had a really hard time with her. I spent much of the time yelling at her poor decisions, not least of which concerned Patch, who, while definitely not innocent and actually quite an ass most of the time, was the strength of this book for me personally. This is not to say that I was perfectly fine with his antics throughout, because I wasn't; he's arrogant, and really not a "good" guy in the slightest. He spends much of the book putting Nora in situations that she's uneasy with, but she's such a weak character that she simply lets him manipulate her whenever he sees fit. What I liked about Patch is that he's sort of unapologetic about it, and the uneasiness with which Nora views him is supposed to be there: he's not a good guy. It was Patch that kept me reading, because I wanted to get his full back story and I wanted Nora to FINALLY figure out what was up with him (the reader is spoiled because of the cover and the prologue, but it takes Nora 250 pages to figure it out, even with all the hints available to her. Again, Nora is SO STUPID it is not even funny). There were too many villains, only one of which was dealt with satisfactorily for me personally, and so many other things about this story that bothered me, like the biology course curriculum, Nora's dealings with the police, and the fact that Nora's mother willingly takes a job that takes her out of town on a regular basis, leaving her newly-fatherless daughter home by herself for much of the time. What mother would actually do this? Not to mention how horrible of a friend Vee turns out to be once she meets Elliot and Jules. Ugh. Nonetheless, I found this story gripping and I was unable to put it down, even when the characters were acting as if they were brainless and I was yelling at them in my frustration. It gets three stars, though, simply because I have a soft spot for paranormal fiction, and the idea of a story about fallen angels sort of hits me where I'm weakest. I just wish I could find a series of books that uses this idea to its fullest extent.

In volume two of this series, you get a glimpse of some of Agamemnon and Menelaus' background, particularly the curse on their family that seems to require that they "consume" each other. The "consume" in one case - that of Tantalus, who killed his children, cooked them, and served them to the gods - is quite literal, while in all the other cases it typically means that they either killed each other, or did something that made one of them kill themselves. It's really quite the dark family that Helen married into (and we find out that there's a curse on her and her siblings as well, which says they'll marry evil men), which I hadn't realized. I'd heard the story of Tantalus - he's one of the mythological characaters in the Percy Jackson books - but hadn't realized that he was Agamemnon and Menelaus' great-great-whatever grandfather.This book gets its title from the sacrifice that Agamemnon must give Artemis - the life of his daughter, Iphigenia, as she was the "most beautiful thing from Mycenae fourteen years ago" when Agamemnon made his promise to the goddess. However, there's much hand-wringing and ideas to escape and run and everything else he can come up with to escape it, so I give him credit for that. At least it wasn't just a "eh" moment for him; he had to go through a lot before he finally consented, and then he only did consent because the army was all up in arms (literally) and would have killed her anyway. Iphigenia also decides that it's her "moment of glory", so decides she'll just submit. Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife (and Helen's sister) obviously doesn't consent at all; it's from her that we hear about her and Helen's curse, while she's railing away at Agamemnon. She's got quite the spine, let's just say that.We also get our first introduction to the homosexuality present in this story, with Patroclus and Achilles. Nothing was terribly graphic, but Achilles does say "forget you" to his wife (and son, although he has to pause a moment to think about that, at least) and run off to his father's land with Patroclus. Gotta love it. Odysseus was his normal clever, creative and amusing self, and it was funny to see him try to get away from Agamemnon and get back to Ithaka to see his wife and child (it's been four years since the start of the first volume, and he hasn't been home at all in that time). Agamemnon wasn't having any of it, which made it all the more funny. Odysseus even tells him that, since the suitor's debt (which is what has all these Greeks gathered in the first place, and is making them have to sail to Troy to try to fetch Helen back) was his idea, and as a result he got his wife Penelope out of the deal, he doesn't even have to be there. There's also a portion devoted to Agamemnon's irritation with Palamedes, who keeps undermining Agamemnon without even realizing that he's doing it. (Odysseus is also annoyed with Palamedes, and it's this irritation that Agamemnon uses to keep Odysseus in Mycenae.) At one point, all of the men are playing this game, and are content, not fighting, etc. Agamemnon, who's been caught up in the whole "I must sacrifice my daughter" thing, hasn't realized what's been keeping them busy, but it turns out that Palamedes invented the game, which just further irritates Agamemnon, even though he was the one who'd told Palamedes to find something to keep the men occupied. Poor Palamedes just can't catch a break.There were some really LOL moments in this volume, particularly when Odysseus tells Agamemnon that he needs to promise all the soldiers that they'll get Helen, and that they need to advertise just how beautiful Helen is in order to motivate them. So there's a picture of Odysseus standing on a ship yelling out, "And wait until you see the breasts on her!" which made me crack up, because of all the men there, Odysseus (and possibly Achilles) is the least interested in Helen. And, of course, Menelaus' reaction to this is basically a *facepalm*. Also, when Agamemnon refuses to sacrifice his daughter, Odysseus basically says, "Well, screw you and your popsicle stand, I'm going back to Ithaka!" And of course Agamemnon can't have that - Odysseus is so clever that he pretty much saves Agamemnon's butt throughout this volume - so in order to keep Odysseus from leaving, he has to write to Clytemnestra and ask her to send Iphiginia to the camp so they can get on with it. Odysseus is really too clever for his own good.My favorite part was probably this bit below. Menelaus throws this giant tantrum because Agamemnon has decided that they won't sail for Troy until after the winter, and runs off screaming into the hills in anger,Odysseus: What's the matter with Menelaus?Agamemnon: Odysseus, don't ever fall in love with your wife.And right after this is when Palamedes accidentally undermines Agamemnon by saying that he's going hunting to find his men some meat, and won't they do the same? So, grumbling, Agamemnon and Odysseus head off into the woods because neither one of them can stand Palamedes and certainly can't have him one-upping them.Agamemnon: Hunting hedgehogs in the dark...Odysseus: I hope he trips and breaks his neck.I also enjoyed the bit where Agamemnon basically called Helen a whore and told Menelaus that he should have kept a closer watch on her and not left her at home with Paris, and then none of this would have happened and they wouldn't HAVE to go to Troy or wait out the winter, or any of the other things that they've gone through just because Helen ran off. Gotta love that older brother irritation with his younger sibling. Only Clytemnestra has a clue that perhaps Helen wanted to run off with Paris; it just shows how arrogant Menelaus and Agamemnon are. Of course, Agamemnon might have a clue, of course, but hasn't said anything to his brother, while Menelaus remains convinced that Helen was kidnapped. Honestly, if I were Helen, I'm not sure WHICH guy I'd choose. Menelaus has no backbone, but Paris is basically nothing but a good-looking, arrogant ass. In my opinion, Helen would be better off on her own!

This was a title I included on my Greek Mythology Reader's Advisory (which was an assignment for my Fantasy Lit course in Grad school), because I wanted to try to incorporate titles for both girls and boys, and this one fit the bill for something that would be suitable for both. I still intend to read Homer's The Illiad and The Odyssey, so this was a nice introduction to Homer's works.Because the story of the Trojan War is basically history that everyone learns about at some point, I'm not going to worry about marking spoilers. If you don't want to know some specifics about this particular adaptation, however, feel free to avoid the rest of this review.The pictures are done in black and white, but are exceptionally well done. This version also told me something new about a story I thought I already knew, so that was fun, too. Volume 1 ends prior to the start of the war; Agamemnon and Menelaus are talking about the fact that, in order to succeed in this ten-year campaign against Troy, there will have to be a great quarrel among the Greeks (or Achaeans, as they're called throughout), and Agamemnon is not sure he wants to deal with that. The story starts with Paris herding cows on the hillside of Mount Ida (apparently it was actually sheep in the original version by Homer). I hadn't actually realized that Paris wasn't always a Trojan prince (or rather, he IS, but he wasn't raised as a prince, and doesn't realize his parentage/lineage), because the film versions I've always seen start with Paris either already in Menelaus' palace or in Troy. In this version you get a very good look at Paris, and he isn't at all attractive, at least personality-wise. He's arrogant, rash, and uncaring about the consequences of his actions. He is not at all sympathetic; I mean, I know that his taking Helen was the cause of the war, but I for some reason was always able to find some sympathy in that because they were in love (thanks to Aphrodite) and were unable to ignore their feelings. But this Paris is a hothead who wants what he wants when he wants it, and doesn't care that anyone tells him he ought not do what he wants to do (poor Aeneas gets dragged into the whole affair, as he was sent to accompany Paris - who was SUPPOSED to steal Hesione, Priam's sister, away from her abductor - and as a result gets Priam thinking quite unfairly about him). Helen, likewise, isn't very sympathetic, either, although I felt more sorry for her than I did for Paris.I did enjoy the look into Trojan society; since Paris is on his journey to bring Helen back to Troy for most of this volume, you get a look into the inner workings of Priam's house, including his multiple children. His daughter, Cassandra, tries to tell him repeatedly that Paris will be the downfall of Troy (which is why he was sent to Mount Ida; he was supposed to die on the mountain but didn't -- divine intervention, of course), but they ignore her, thinking her visions are nothing but nonsensical ramblings (she was cursed by Apollo, if I remember correctly, so that no one would believe her when she tried to give them prophecies, although I can't remember off the top of my head what exactly she did). Shanower also based the Trojans off of the Hittites, so their dress, hair and looks are significantly different from the Greeks, which helped spice up the black and white illustrations.I also felt a great deal more sympathy for Menelaus (he's pretty torn up about Helen's "abduction") and Agamemnon, who doesn't exactly want to go to war, although he DOES want his name to be the one in the history books to have destroyed Troy. It also explained why Agamemnon was able to call all those Greeks - one thousand ships - together to basically fight simply because Helen was taken. (The amusing thing about all of this is that NONE of them ever even have the thought that Helen perhaps WANTED to go to Troy, not that it likely would have mattered either way.) You also get to see the story of Achilles, who, despite his mother's attempts, simply cannot wait behind and let his name fall into obscurity. He's not exactly sympathetic in this volume, either.One thing I will mention is that there's a lot of sex in this one volume, which is not surprising given the Greeks' propensity for lovers of both sexes. The sex is decidedly heterosexual at this point - Paris and Oenone, Paris and Helen, Achilles and Deidamia - but apparently later volumes deal with Achilles and Patroclus' relationship in rather great detail. I aso liked the glimpse of Penelope and Odysseus. Now Odysseus I liked quite a bit, because he was incredibly clever and witty, even if he DID try to fake his way out of fighting for the war by pretending to be mad (he simply didn't want to leave his wife and new son, and who can blame him? He also knew the prophecy that he would sail to Troy and end up returning several years later where no one would recognize him, missing his son's entire childhood). Anyway, this was engaging enough that I will most likely read the second installment. There are apparently going to be seven volumes, but only three are released as of right now. Of course, the library system that I normally use doesn't have a copy of the second volume, but I was able to request one through the small library near where I work; the problem with that is that requests take absolutely FOREVER to move through this system, so it very well might be summer before I get to actually get my hands on the book.