Twin Reviews: ALTERNATE WORLD SLEUTHS

CHANGELESS (Parasol Protectorate Book #2) by Gail Carriger Steampunk Paranormal 2010

A LOCAL HABITATION (October Daye Book #2) by Seanan McGuire Urban Fantasy 2010

Premise
1. In a Victorian Britain where supernaturals are integrated into society and government makes use of superhuman gifts, preternatural Lady Maccon investigates a baffling outbreak of forced mortality among vampires, werewolves, and ghosts.

2. Half human, half fae Toby Daye travels to a politically disputed Fairie duchy and becomes embroiled in serial murder investigation.

Cover
1. Title: perfect twin to Book#1's 'Soulless' and bullseye hit on content. Art: The good - dirigible in stormy weather, blue toned banner script, top hot and 'glassicals' (as eyewear is called). The not quite as good - in contrast to Book#1 where heroine's parasol and pose were jaunty and intriguing, here she looks stiff and unnatural, with odd facial expression and overplucked eyebrows. Hopefully Book#3 will return to an edgy profile. Overall: would make AW stop in a bookstore for a closer look.

2. Title: becomes clear late in the story why this is relevant to content; personally, AW would have preferred another botanical title similar to the unusual and memorable Book#1 title (Rosemary and Rue). Art: menacing figure is 100% false advertising, Toby's grumpy, pinched and hungry looking appearance 100% accurate. Overall: AW would walk right by in a bookstore.

What Works
1. As was the case in Book#1, this sequel is rollicking good fun. Stuffy, rigid etiquette coupled with antiquated, persnickety language in absurd contrast with the extraordinary characters, events and at times action-adventure feel make for much entertainment. Language is also noteworthy in other respects; this author rises to the heights of J.K. Rowling in terms of amusing names (servants Floote and Rumpet, business Shersky & Droop) and she has a way with vivid description:

"Lady Maccon declined with horror. Brussels sprouts were nothing more than underdeveloped cabbages."

"The handle (of the parasol) looked like something that might top an ancient Egyptian column, carved with lotus flowers - or a very enthusiastic pineapple."

"...she pulled out a small vial. 'Poison?' 'Certainly not. Something far more important: perfume. We cannot very well have you fighting crime unscented, now, can we?' 'Oh.' Alexia nodded gravely. After all, Madame Lafoux was French. 'Certainly not.' "

"This was the kind of woman who took her tea black, smoked cigars after midnight, played a mean game of cribbage, and kept a bevy of repulsive little dogs. Alexia liked her immediately. The woman shouldered a rifle with consummate skill and pointed it at Lord Macon. Alexia liked her less."

"The color scheme and general appearance (of the bedroom) reminded Lady Maccon of nothing so much as a damp, malcontented squirrel."

In their review of Book#1, Apprentice Writer's esteemed colleagues The Booksmugglers were dismayed on two levels; that one dirigible mention did not a steampunk novel make (if AW understood correctly), and that Alexia and Connall were too close in physical similarity to another literary Victorian couple, Amelia Peabody & Radcliffe Emerson (of Elizabeth Peters' superb Egyptian historical suspense series). As premier reviewers of speculative fiction, the Booksmugglers are much more knowledgable than AW about that oh-so-difficult-to-define beast, 'Steampunk' . Perhaps this was a good thing, as AW had no purist qualms about the novel's classification. But for those who read for the gadgetry, AW is pleased to say that there is much more present, applied, and sometimes copiously explained in 'Changeless'. The gadgets were all very cool and AW loved how Alexia became engrossed in how they all worked.

In terms of Alexia/Connall vs. Amelia/Emerson - if the Smugglers had not pointed it out, AW is not sure she would have spotted the potential for comparison in 'Soulless'. But with introduction of an Egyptological element and Alexia's use of a custom parasol in the way Amelia uses her many-pocketed acrchaeological clothes, it is impossible not to see this supernatural couple as an homage to Peters' iconic sleuths. AW had no problem with it, except for one detail (see below).


2. As in Book#1, the worldbuilding and diversity of fae subcultures and abilities was excellent - highly imaginative and convincing. By far the most compelling characteristic of this series.

The author also has a way with one-liners:

"I was under the impression that things were stable. That could change at any time, of course, and there's always a risk of small-scale civil war in Faerie - it's something to do when you're bored and immortal."

"....'You even scare the landscape.' 'It probably remembers us from yesterday and doesn't want to be enchanted again. The inanimate can have a surprisingly long memory.' "

"...We could probably have done without our (human) disguises...(if) the desk clerk saw us undisguised, he'd think he was looking at a kid playing Star Trek games and a giant Tinkerbell knockoff with PMS."

"...sometimes the best way to deal with the Luidaeg (was to) just keep saying the same thing over and over until she gets fed up and gives you what you want. All preschoolers have an instinctive grasp of this concept , but most don't practice it on immoral water demons. That's probably why there are so few disembowelments in your average preschool."

AW's favorite character from Book#1 - Tybalt, King of the Cats - showed up again to her delight, but not enough to satisfy. Hopefully he'll have more presence in the next installment. AW liked him not only for himself, but because she got a good laugh out of the inversion of the stereotype. One of the most cliche yet ongoingly, frequently used metaphors used in romance novels of all persuasions is to liken the hero's graceful/muscular/silent/deadly/(insert adjective) movement and/or appearance to that of a big cat. It struck AW as funny to have a character flat out be one.

What Doesn't
1. One of AW's most pet of all peeves is for dialogue of characters whose first language is not English to be written 'in accent'. Her reasons:
- puzzling out what they're saying rips her out of the story,
- it is NEVER successful, as AW has never heard French/German/Italian/etc. people speak precisely in the cliched manner accepted for those language groups,
- it is lazy, because a person speaking English as a second language usually doesn't just pronounce words differently but uses different sentence structure and conventions as well, and more often than not this isn't reflected in their literary speech when the 'shortcut' of abysmal accent cliches are applied,
- the ONLY reason that AW can come up with for an author to choose to have a character speak in language accent cliche is to make that character look slightly ridiculous, and/or to have a recurring opportunity to emphasize their 'differentness' from the protagonist. The underlying motivation for both potential reasons have an ugly xenophobic feel to this reader. No matter how good the book, inclusion of accent-speak automatically lowers AW's Goodreads grade by at least half a star, even if the non-accent-speaking characters are, for the purposes of the story, xenophobic.

How to handle a non-native speaker character instead, then, the Gentle Reader may ask?
Simple: The first time the character is introduced, describe him or her as having a (insert language) accent, and then either remark that the character's sentence structure otherwise follows English patterns, or else write the characters subsequent dialogue in the applicable sentence patterns. For an example done well, look at Joanna Bourne's 'The Spymaster's Lady'

//general rant over

It was AW's unpleasure to find accent speak not only for French, but with an occasional dollop of Scottish as well. In the case of the French characters, the icing on the cake was its complete redundancy since almost every (!) mention of the two characters involved included an explicit reference to their nationality. This endless repetition of defining attributes and adjectives occured in matters of dress, personality, and speech patterns as well (i.e. not just the speech pattern in natural dialogue [which is fine] but the protagonist remarking upon the particular speech pattern). It reached the point where this reader seriously asked herself if the author truly felt her audience had memory deficiency problems and needed to be 'helped' along like this. If it weren't or the at times intricate machinery explanations, this style would have felt too close to insulting reader intelligence for comfort.

Finally, there was a disconnect between the secret strategist role assigned to the heroine and her poor performance as a sleuth. Repeated assassination attempts are made with almost no effort made to investigate who would have had the means or motive and who could be excluded from suspicion, and went against the image built up of the heroine being unusually intelligent.

2. Toby, likewise, did not impress this reader with her sleuthing abilities this time around. She enters a closed community, and does not figure out what is going as bodies pile up left and right until there are a total of 3 of the original group left. Apprentice Writer thinks that even with her complete lack of detective ability, she would probably have been able to figure out the culprit once only that few remained. It was not a good reflection on the competence of someone designated a Knight and sent on the mission specifically due to supposed investigative skill.

But this reader believes there an extenuating circumstance, if somewhat dubious. The Gentle Reader who saw AW's review of Book#1 will recall her credulity being strained by Toby performing all kinds of physical feats (including bleeding vast quantities) while eating a total of two marshmallow sandwiches over the course of about three days. Toby's eating disorder appears even more pronounced this time around; though practically every page seems to mention her drinking coffee, her actual ingestion of food was, IIRC, one donut. If AW's total caloric intake over several days consisted of coffee and one donut, she' be grumpy and not her best at making logical deductions either.

Overall
Sequels to highly original debuts both show continued author skill at worldbuilding and deft turns of phrase, while leaving room to hope that protagonist sleuthing skill will rise with experience.


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Twin Reviews: FOODIE MEMOIR

JULIE & JULIA: MY YEAR OF COOKING DANGEROUSLY

or

JULIE & JULIA: 365 DAYS, 524 RECIPES, 1 TINY APARTMENT KITCHEN

Julie Powell
Memoir
Back Bay Books, 2005


SUCH A PRETTY FAT: ONE NARCISSIST'S QUEST TO DISCOVER IF HER LIFE MAKES HER ASS LOOK BIG; OR, WHY PIE IS NOT THE ANSWER
Jen Lancaster
Memoir
2008

Premise
1. Urbanite finds purpose in goal to recreate every recipe in legendary gourmand's cookbook within a year and blogging about it.

2. Urbanite finds insight in goal to lose weight, gain health, and discover how her own and other people's attitudes towards food and bodies help and hinder.

Cover
1. The current edition sacrificed the subtitle in favor of showing the actors portraying the characters in the movie, and is done in attractive green and gold tones. The cover that Apprentice Writer prefers is the original teal background with bowl of either whipped cream or egg white and a little egg beater lying down in exhaustion from the endurance sport that is whipping by hand. She also prefers the mathematical subtitle which captured the essential content of the book.

2. This is the author's third book, and the cover follows the precedent set by the first two of a cartoon-like color-blocked icon from the story on white background, with the title in what looks like hand-written cursive script. The pattern has become an eye-catching trademark for the author, as have the multiple subtitles.

What Works
1. The author was one of the first bloggers to get a book deal (followed by a movie deal). That is an accomplishment, but it was built on a bigger one - achieving the goal of recreating every dish in Julia Child's legendary cookbook. AW is a basic-to-lower-end-of-middling cook, able to mash potatoes from scratch, bake using live yeast and rolling pins, and invent her own soup recipes. But the sheer amount of technique, muscle power, and gross tonnage of plain old dishwashing this project involved was staggering. Also, bravery: though AW often felt hungry reading the book, some dishes - the lamb deliberately left to decay for a specified amount of time, for example, or anything involving aspic - called for just as much intrepid explorer sense as slashing through a jungle per machete. The author brought it all skillfully to life, weaving together a tale that was equal parts culinary feat of strength, reflection on the nature of marriage and friendship, and personal diary. Her timeline was interspersed with anecdotes from the life of her idol, a nice touch, and AW enjoyed many of the descriptions such as Julia Child being like '....an ebullient golden retriever'.


2. In contrast to Julie Powell, Jen Lancaster's story never once made AW feel hungry. This makes sense, given that the author's goal was to make food less alluring, more managable. She writes in a very easy to read, conversational style, detailing the environmental, philosophical, and psychological pitfalls a person trying to lose weight battles with. Her observations are by turns thoughtful, funny, exasperated, aware of the odd logic dieters may employ, and (for the purposes of the story) trapped in the odd logic dieters may employ. She tries and rejects a series of diets and weight-loss methods on the search of the one that will work for her, showing how different each dieter can be from another. The part that AW liked best was the author's decisive rejection of pressure on plus-sized women to feel badly about themselves due to weight, and her refusal to let her self-esteem sag because of her pounds. You go, girl. AW also liked the fact that loss motivation was health-driven rather than guilt- or appearance-driven. The author recognized that her 'healthy self esteem' might be contributing to ill health, and decided to do something about it. More power to her. Because thin does not automatically equate with healthy. No matter our weight, we can all do something to work towards a more healthy personal future.

The multiple titles hint at a stylistic idiosyncracy; current 'Rules of Writing' fashion dictates that parentheses are out, out, out, and that if something is not important enough to be included in the main body of the sentence, it is not important enough to be included at all. The author seems to have taken a tongue-in-cheek literal application of this 'rule', and spun it. She eschews parentheses - but it is a rare page that doesn't have a footnote or two. After AW got used to it, it became kind of entertaining.

What Doesn't
Writing a memoir is a brave thing to do. The writer is essentially allowing flocks of strangers to look into his or her mind, emotions, motivations, actions, choices, mistakes, etc. etc. and leaving him or herself wide open to after-the-fact backseat driving. So kudos to memoir-writers for their inherent courage.

Having said that - a person who chooses not only to lay their life open to public scrutiny, but wants other to pay for the priviledge of reading about it, should not be surprised if readers indulge in after-the-fact backseat driving of those lives.

1. At various points in the story, Ms. Powell describes herself as emotional, neurotic, weepy, and with the mouth of a sailor. At various points of the story, events support those descriptors. All of which served to throw the author's husband in high relief, as a person who seemed extraordinarily supportive and praiseworthy. In terms of 'mouth of a sailor' - cursing is something AW is not especially fond of, in real life or her reading material. She tolerates it in books on the basis of 'to each his own', and in recognition that it can genuinely contribute to characterization and mood setting. However, she didn't get why it wouldn't be obvious that speaking about literal and figurative excrement in the same context or sentence as FOOD is distasteful. Killed the nicely building appetite factor mentioned above in a right hurry.

2. The novel subtitle refers to 'narcissist', Ms. Lancaster signs email 'judgmentally yours', and refers to herself taking a long time to grow up. Again, events at various points of the story support these descriptors. Given the author's own upfront acknowledgment the reader can't be surprised they are there, nor fail to give the author credit for self-knowledge.

But the aspect that struck AW as bizarre was the oft-repeated refusal, with much hyperbolic and condescending variation, to consider moving out of the city and into the suburbs. AW has lived in a world-class city and understood the author's love of urban opportunities. But taking advantage of museums, art galleries, architecture, theatre, opera etc. is not how the author spent her time. Shopping at big-box stores, eating at fast-food outlets and coffee chains, watching cable television, surfing online, and going to the gym was. Does she truly believe these things can't be accomplished in the suburbs?

It is a rule of general social etiquette that new parents should stop themselves from discussing their babies' digestive process, since NO ONE else is interested. In AW's opinion, this is a good rule. In AW's further opinion, it applies JUST AS MUCH to pet owners. There is no reason on earth to inflict graphic information about pet digestive maladies on hapless readers. And in AW's strongest opinion yet, authors who talk about their own and sibling's penchant during adulthood for urinating in their parents' pool due to not being bothered enough to get out all day, every Fourth of July, should not be surprised when readers are disinclined to read futher titles.



But does the book make you laugh? YES and YES

Both authors have a keen sense of the absurd in everyday life, and are skilled in conveying their observations in a way that lets the reader share that appreciation. 'Julie and Julia' and 'Such a Pretty Fat' are entertaining looks at a part of life no one can escape.


Learn more about Jen Lancaster here . The fact that the website is titled 'Jennsylvania: Land of the Free, Home of the Bitter' gives a taste of what to expect.

AW could not locate a website for author Julie Powell, and the blog maintained for the duration of the Julie/Julia Project seems to be inactive. Learn more about her second book, 'Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat and Obsession' here.

The Fine Print: AW checked one book out of the library, and won the other from a blogsite.

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Twin Reviews: DEBUT URBAN FANTASY

ROSEMARY AND RUE
Seanan McGuire
Urban Fantasy
Daw, 2009


THE BETTER PART OF DARKNESS
Kelly Gay
Urban Fantasy
Pocket, 2009



Premise:
1. Half human, half fae private investigator overcoming personal loss is forced to sleuth a magical murder among the fairy races living hidden in plain sight with people.

2. Human cop partnered with siren cop investigates magical narcotics among otherworldly races living openly with people.

Cover:
1. Standard UF blue tones and leather, but in a twist on the usual the leather is a jacket instead of pants, and the heroine looks remarkably covered, untatooed, and visible-weaponless. Even so, uncertain this would have caught Apprentice Writer's eye in the store on its own. Unusual and intriguing title, though, which is not explained until almost the very end. Too bad the next titles in the series don't follow botanical precedent.

2. Blue tones again, with cover girl back to regular UF uniform and pose. Pretty enough overall look, not quite memorable title. The aspect of the cover that stands out the most to AW is hard to see in this small image; the light-and-shadow background suddenly snapped into focus like one of those optical illusions where you first see one image and it suddenly switches around to something else. Whenever AW looks, she now sees the head and shoulders of a samurai type figure in the upper right corner, staring down the heroine's cleavage. Kind of funny, and maybe not a smart thing to do to a girl with a gun in her hand.

What Works
1. So much, starting with the name of the heroine (October Daye) and continuing on to the heroine herself, a so-called Changeling (as opposed to Pureblood Fae) who has suffered multiple losses and is engaging and wry, choosing to tough it out rather than feel sorry for herself. An excerpt that typifies Toby's persona, spoken after finding a mysterious object:

"Pandora was an idiot. I dropped (it), shuddering from cold as much as from temptation; as soon as (it) left my fingers, the burning died. Whatever it was selling, I wasn't in the market. I had enough to deal with without being pushed around by magical items that shouldn't exist."

Pluses continue with the rich worldbuilding. Apprentice Writer was fascinated with the complex descriptions of the various fae races, their kingdoms and territories, and most of all, with the concept of how they adapted to live invisibly to humans in tiny pockets of nature in the urban environement. AW's familiarity with fae elements to this point was extremely narrow, and limited mostly to Tinkerbell type images or possibly Elvish ones a la 'Lord of the Rings'. Very soon into the story, she realized that the fae inhabiting Toby's world are no laughing, benevolent forest creatures flitting happily about in the sunlight. They are stark, demanding, frequently tyrannical beings with very little tolerance for weakness or departure from their customs and expectations, beautiful and terrifying at once. Each inhabitant of this fae world has certain special gifts and the varying intensity of ability to perform magic; Toby is constantly challenged by the fact that she is relatively weak in magical ability, and so must compensate in smarts and sheer personality when dealing with those who hold stronger hierarchical and/or magical power. The combination of heroine, world, and utter originality (how many stories has the Gentle Reader read lately with the protagonist being turned into a fish for fourteen years?) won AW over, and she impatiently waits for the day the second novel in the series will be released.

A common development in UF stories is for the female protagonist to encounter a male character who antagonizes her yet with whom she must co-operate to resolve the external conflict, and in the process sparks fly between them. Another plus of this story is that something else happened with Toby instead. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next book in this regard.


2. Again, so much.
Kickass female cops abound in urban fantasy land, but Charlie Madigan is the first AW encountered who is also a parent. Not to mention, recently returned from the dead. Throw in a partner who is a siren (he wears a gadget on his throat to prevent people from hearing his real voice, which would make them powerless to resist him if left unmodified), plus various characters representing the races found in alternate levels of the universe (both Heaven- and Hell-like, if AW understood correctly) and we are back at the combination of heroine, world, and originality that AW loves so well.

And in terms of heroine love interest - again, this story didn't follow the usual formula. There were at least three characters who looked like they might be setting up for that role, but in each case matters went down a different road than expected. AW was happily surprised.

What Doesn't
1. AW has often mentioned her love of secondary characters and complex, layered stories. This story delivered in droves. Perhaps - a little too much. There were so many different types of creatures, each with their own appearance, culture, hiearchy, and individual behaviour, it was hard to keep track of. Some of those mentioned only briefly created frustration for those of us who would have liked to find out more about them (e.g. the alluring water horse, the troll). Similarly, the protagonist's backstory is complicated, to say the least; there were many points where AW became confused about what had happened when and why as Toby remembered bits and pieces. A little more clarity would have been desirable for this reader (though it is possible that readers who have more knowledge of the type of folklore involved may have had no problems).

That being said, this was the first in a series so it was to be expected that world building would be extensive, and it's possible to hope for more explanantion in volumes to come.

In the suspension of disbelief department, a couple of recurring and related themes grated: the heroine is repeatedly wounded (par for the course in UF) and keeps bleeding. And bleeding. And bleeding to the point of ludicrosity (yes, that's a word. AW just invented it). Which was made worse by the fact that through the whole book, which covers a period of three or four days minus the prologue, if AW recalls correctly, she eats a total of two sandwiches. At one sitting. Containing marshmallow fluff. There is mention of a lot of coffee, and two instances of magical healing potions, but please: if an author wants AW to believe her heroine can run, jump, sleuth, take a beating and bleed vast quantities, she/he better be providing more fuel than marshmallows or else explicitly writing in that changelings only require a tiny fraction of the calories an active human needs per day.

There were some other 'Why are you doing this the hard way, i.e. alone?' questions, but AW was willing to let these ride in the hope that they might sort themselves out in volume two.

2. Like October's world, Charlie's is highly complex. Which was all to the good, right up until AW became befuddled. This could still have been taken in stride, but was saddled with the fact that Charlie seems to have a heavily conflicted relationship with everyone around her. It became a bit much for her to reflect on problems relating to her ex-husband, partner, daughter, sister, parents of daughter's schoolmates, individuals involved in her medical history....to the point that AW wished for a single calm, angst-free relationship, even if it was with a pet or gargoyle. Her difficulty with people in general reached the point of ludicrosity (hey, if a word is newly invented, it should be used at every opportunity) in her relationship with her partner. Repeatedly, she neglected to speak to him about concerns and events, and took independent action instead of waiting for or informing him- which made no sense. When you are puzzled about behavior and meaning of otherwordly races and events, why in the world WOULDN'T you make use of the tremendous resource at your disposal that is an otheworldly being who knows about those others and is positively inclined towards you? In this blind and self-injurious insistance on going it alone, Charlie made AW equally as crazy as October did.

In minor but jarring 'What??' instances, there is Charlie's description of how the otherworldly beings chose to immigrate to Earth and mingle with humans in the major cities. So far so good. But then she specifies which ones - and they are all in the United States. Meaning what - that, say, Singapore, Mexico City, Paris, Tokyo, Bombay, Shanghai, Rome have all vanished? Or perhaps otherworldly beings for some obscure reason prefer English speaking environments? But then, why no Toronto, London, Sydney?

To go from a larger-than-planetary perspective, with beings from realms beyond Earth, down to such a localized one, was inexplicable and threw this reader out of the story. The inexplicability continued in a later scene when Charlie describes a nightlife happening street where music of all sorts beckons humans and other alike. Again, so far so good. But when she specifies the various music styles on offer, they are one and all currently existing human ones. No mention of a style brought to Earth by the newcomers, or of human music influenced by off-planet styles. AW wasn't sure if this was supposed to demonstrate that Charlie has a narrow perspective, or maybe if she is not as open to other beings as she believes. Perhaps the second volume will clear this up.


Overall
Are Seanan McGuire and Kelly Gay twins separated at birth? Although these stories were very different from one another, there were nevertheless similarities in feel, pluses, and question marks in their debut works.

AW sought these titles out due to mega buzz.

She now agrees that these two authors are destined for a whole lot of well-deserved attention as rising stars on the UF horizon. AW was completely sucked into their worlds, and will most definitely read the next books in each series.

Also: she can't wait to get hold of the third debut author buzzing in what she thinks of as the New Wave in Urban Fantasy. Hooray -Kelly Meding's 'Three Days Till Dead' is winging its way to her as she cyberspeaks. These are happy times for fans of debut authors and creative new twists on the genre.

Learn more about the authors here:

http://www.kellygay.net Next up: Book 2, 'The Darkest Edge of Dawn'

http://seananmcguire.com/toby.php Next up: Book 2, 'A Local Habitation'


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Triplet Reviews: ANTHOLOGIES, Part 2

Hello and welcome to Part 2 to of the Anthology Triplet Review. For Part 1 ('Must Love Hellhounds' & 'Queen in Winter') please scroll down.

Moving on to the third antho in the bunch:


FOUR DUKES AND A DEVIL (Historical Romance, 2009)
Cover: Liked the small details that came together to make something more than the first impression of somewhat bland house at twilight suggested. The devil's tail in the title was nifty, the red color contrast with deep blue twilight eye-catching, the smoke in the sky kind of cool.

The Irish Duke, Cathy Maxwell
Premise: Spinster who makes her living advising ton families on matches warns against suitability of Irish dukes, and is taken to task by one such.
Writing Style: Did not appeal to this reader.
World: Didn't engage, therefore didn't care to make an effort to suspend disbelief.
Prediction: Probably wouldn't seek out more from this author.

Catch of the Century, Sophia Nash
Premise: Governess travelling with three young charges is stranded on the road; passing Duke acts as Good Samaritan.
Writing Style: Drew AW in.
World: This story was trundling nicely along, looking to be AW's favorite in the bunch, when disaster (readerly speaking) struck. WARNING! SPOILERS!
Hero and heroine are chugging away in their mutual but unacted-upon attraction, when she leaves the ducal manor to go in search of the boys who are exploring the grounds. The Duke happens upon her (quelle surprise) and agrees that it would be good to find them given that there is a lake nearby. Then the pair of them in effect say to themselves "But oh, wait, before we go check if they are busy drowning themselves, we have just enough time for our first nekkid encounter!" END SPOILER WARNING!
These are people the reader is supposed to relate to, sympathize with, root for? AW thinks not. Clearly the heroine is an abysmally bad governess, and he apparently believes in some version of "I'm a Duke, so above other people that I needn't concern myself the potential of contributing to three premature juvenile deaths by negligence since I did my duty earlier in not leaving a young lady by the side of the road." This little bit of 'What the hell???' made this book almost turn into a wallbanger right then and there, but that would have been unfair to the remaining authors whose stories were not yet read.
Prediction: AW is utterly conflicted about this. On the one hand, the egregious plot development. On the other, she had enjoyed the story up to that point. On a glass half full basis, AW would do a ten page test of another work.

Charmed by her Smile, Tracy Anne Warren
Premise: Debutante seeks the assistance of one man to manipulate another.
Writing Style: Didn't engage.
World: Wasn't drawn in, felt impatient both with the heroine's manipulativeness and the hero's being attracted to her.
Prediction: Will probably not seek this author out again.

The Duke Who Came to Dinner, Elaine Fox
Premise: Island resident and newcomer are brought together by canine antics.
Writing Style: Pleasant, easily readable.
World: Was refreshing to have a contemporary thrown in the mix (the Duke in question is a pet), and the story was sweet, but ultimately, not especially stand-outish enough to make AW rush off to her local bookstore to keep the reading experience going.
Prediction: There was enough here to warrant a ten-page test in a longer work to see if it compelled more.

Devil to Pay, Jeanine Frost
Premise: Loner vampire comes to the aid of a human trying to commit suicide to protect others from his actions when he is demonically possessed.
Writing Style: Flowed well enough.
World: Though the trouble the hero finds himself in was certainly compelling and roused sympathy, somehow, didn't quite believe in how fast the couple made a connection and didn't quite get drawn in to the story. As with the Singh story in MLH, this was a case of writing that was good but not good enough to surmount AW's aversion to vampire stories. Fans of this genre would probably like it a great deal more.
Prediction: Will probably not seek out more from this author unless she were to begin writing about another type of character.

TALLY
# of authors AW will definitely seek out based on these short stories,
(in brackets, # AW would give benefit of the doubt in form of a ten-page test of another book)

Must Love Hellhounds - 2 of 4 (plus 1)

Queen in Winter - 2 of 4 (plus 1)

Four Dukes and a Devil - 0 of 5 (plus 2)




Read an anthology lately that AW should try next?

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Triplet Reviews: ANTHOLOGIES, Part 1

Alpha Heros and Literary Escapism decided to hold a Short Story/Anthology Reading Challenge.

Since Apprentice Writer recently powered through three of those babies, she decided to give it a whirl.

Here's AW's idea about anthologies: they are supposed to give readers who are unfamiliar with an author's work a taste of his/her writing style, and whether the subgenre or fantasy world appeals. So in theory, if the reader likes a specific new author he/she will be motivated to go out and buy a full-length novel, and if he/she doesn't like that new author - no harm done, it was a small page commitment. So the test here will be: was the story enough to make AW seek out more?

Of the THIRTEEN author collected here, AW had previously read a total of TWO. An almost perfectly clear anthological landscape. Here we go:

MUST LOVE HELLHOUNDS (Paranormal/UF, 2009)
Cover: Did nothing for AW. Apparently, hellhounds are particularly unattractive Rothweilers, and the women who take them for walks have spotlights shining out of their crotchal areas.

The Britlingens Go To Hell, Charlaine Harris
Premise: A pair of elite female bodyguards escort a thieving client to hell and are caught.

Writing Style: Didn't appeal.

World: Some imaginative details (loved the dust monsters) and the idea of elite female bodyguards was intriguing, but ultimately some parts of the story torpedoed willingness to suspend disbelief and left no desire to explore this author's world(s) further. Hellhounds played very minor role.

Prediction: Probably won't read this author again.


Angels' Judgement, Nalini Singh
Premise: Guild hunter about to be promoted teams up with loner hunter sent to terminate serial vampire murderer.

Writing Style: Zipped along effortlessly, showing the author's practice at the short story format. Yet despite story tightness and good alternation between action and quieter moments, AW didn't feel drawn in or engaged with either main character. This may have been due to:

World: AW really isn't much of a vampire person. There has to be something else compelling about a story for her to become interested if they form a large part of what's going on. In this case, the angel aspect just didn't make up for it. Hellhound was irrelevant to the plot.

Prediction: From this story alone, wouldn't read this author again. However, she is incredibly popular, especially with other authors who praise her worlds, characters, and writing skills. On that basis, Probably would read this author again.

Magic Mourns, Ilona Andrews
Premise: Shapeshifter with childhood issues teams up with shapeshifter with partner issues to investigate who is controlling a hellhound (among other things).

Writing Style: Loved it. Was rooting for the heroine on multiple levels from page 1. Was so engaged didn't care about the author apparently giving in to the temptation of overpacking the suitcase so it bulged to point of bursting. Whole lot of characters and things going on here, but forgave all and trusted that things will be better integrated with each other in full-length format.

World: Fascinating.

Prediction: Definitely yes. The first volume in this series is already on AW's night table.

Blind Spot, Meljean Brook
Premise: Former CIA-operative turned butler seeks kidnappee with employer's seeing-impaired nephew.

Writing Style: Loved it, but AW already knew that, this being one of the two authors whose previous work she had read. Very nice to be confirmed in belief authory goodness.

World: Consistent, not overwrought, a very imaginative and convincingly written bit about how the hero's special ability is applied. Good example of how other elements make up for presence of vampire characters. Best story of the bunch, not least because the hellhound has some truly hellish qualities and plays a central role.

Prediction: Definitely, AW will keep reading this author! She is quite excited about the upcoming steampunk debut.

QUEEN IN WINTER (Fantasy, 2006)
Cover: Very compelling. Beautiful color combos, lovely arty image, great use of snow. Best cover of the bunch.

Whisper of Spring, Lynn Kurland
Premise: Elf princess is abducted, her brother and non-elf prince mount rescue mission.
Writing Style: Didn't engage.
World: Didn't believe.
Prediction: Probably won't seek this autor out again.

When Winter Comes, Sharon Shinn
Premise: Sisters must flee their home and evade pursuers when one gives birth to a baby with magical powers in an anti-magical world.
Writing Style: Compelling. The reader could sense the characters pain, anxiety, and yearning for a better place and emotional connection.
World: Believable. Felt like the story grew naturally, wasn't forced into premature shape due to short story contstraints.
Prediction: Definitely will read again.

Kiss of the Snow Queen, Claire Delacroix
Premise: Seer sets out to rescue a sorcerer and is aided by a spirit voice from another time.

Writing: Was the most experimental, in that the story starts out in fairly classic high fantasy style, very historic and fairy-tale feeling, and the spirit who speaks to her sounds contemporary.

World: Interesting, with the split in 'era sense' perhaps making it not as easy to fall into the world as would be the case with a story that was either purely modern or classically fantasy.

Prediction: Would read this author again based on interesting approach. (Actually am doing so at the moment - the dystopian 'Fallen' series).


A Gift of Wings, Sarah Monette
Premise: Bodyguard and recuperating wizard are stranded in a mountain inn during a snowstorm and solve a murder.

Writing Style: Loved it, again not a surprise as AW picked up this antho due to this author's inclusion.

World: Similar to and yet distinct from the world created in the 'Doctrine of Labyrinths' series. It was intriguing how gender role reversal was worked in, with the female character, a professional soldier/mercenary, the physically and mentally strong one, and the male character still suffering from psychological abuse inflicted on him.

Prediction: Definitely will continue to read this author.



Please come back for Part 2 of this Triplet Review tomorrow.

In the meantime - is the Gentle Reader familiar with any of these anthos? Agree? Disagree?

m.

Twin Reviews: THE GLARING ABSENCE

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Julie James
Contemporary Comedy
2009

NOT QUITE A HUSBAND
Sherry Thomas
Historical Romance
2009

Premise
1. Colleagues vie with one another for a single partnership position in their law firm.

2. Estranged spouses making their way from India to England are caught in the midst of a bloody uprising.

Cover
1. Very nice. Playful, colorful, the protagonists shown a equals and clothing giving the sense the story will involve the workplace. Alliterative title does the same. Well done.

2. Meh. Seen this type of thing countless times before. The title works, though.

What Works
1. Apprentice Writer came into this story with high expectations after enjoying the author's debut effort a lot. She was not disappointed. The story of how the perfectly matched protagonists (who, of course, see each other as perfectly matched antagonists) play a game of legal tennis with ever rising stakes that was very entertaining. The reader has no doubt how the story will end - it's the way it gets there that captures one's interest.

2. This author has a gift of creating unusual characters who are drawn to each other precisely because they stand out from their peers, but who are kept apart for large and convincing reasons. No misunderstanding an eavesdropped conversation between the second under-butler and the disgraced scullery maid who is really a duchess spy, no attempt to sacrifice one's own happiness because one is not Good Enough to be the partner of the eighth-in-line-around-three-corners heir of Bottomsup-Hippowich-Lowerrubberboot. The issues the protagonists have are squarely with one another, and resolving the problems in an authentic way, for the story and for the contemporary reader temporarily sent back through time, is an art at which this author excells. The reader suffers emotionally along with the characters in the most wrenching and enjoyable way.

At a talk AW was fortunate enough to attend, 'Desperate Duchesses' author Eloisa James spoke about her fascination with what happens after the wedding, and writing about marriages in trouble. AW agrees. Vast quantities of novels follow the couple on the way to the wedding, and end the story when vows are spoken. Those kinds of stories can certainly be entertaining and fulfilling, but so can stories about how the couple goes about keeping the love alive year after year, or fighting their way back to it after it has suffered a devastating blow. This seems to be developing into a theme for Ms. Thomas. None of the three couples in her published work to date stayed together after first getting together. It is a topic on which she writes tremendously well.

What Doesn't
And here we arrive at the reason for this post's title.

WARNING! MODERATELY SPOILERIFIC!

The Gentle Reader will have gathered that Apprentice Writer is a huge fan of both these authors. Here's the "but":

When you love, love, love an author, it hurts much more to find a flaw than would be the case with an author you merely like.

There is an early scene in PMP where the hero tries to gain an advantage by excluding the heroine from a meeting with a star client. He does this by holding the meeting at a golf course which bars female members. AW thought this foreshadowed a later plot development where the hero and heroine would join forces to take legal action against the misogynistic dinosaur.

NEVER HAPPENED.

What kind of a 21st century hero belongs to a gender-exclusive golf club? What kind of 21st century heroine - specializing in gender discrimination cases, no less - doesn't have a problem with this? For that matter, how did the senior partners at the law firm, who make their money on reputation for handling gender discrimination cases, not have a problem with this?

The disconnect between the hero's action and facing no consequences colors the way AW looks back on the whole story.

In NQAH, hero and heroine are enroute from a remote location in the Indian highlands as the attention of local people grows increasingly hostile, until the point they are forced on a panicked horseback dash through a gathering army to make it inside the gates of a British fortress. They then spend the next few days in fear for their lives, the wounded hero acting as sharpshooter while the surgeon heroine patches patients up round the clock. As regular readers of this space know, AW is sensitive about various pitfalls related to India as a setting; while there is no significant individual character of Indian descent in the story, thankfully, the protagonists don't act or speak in a patronizing way towards the local people, and the heroine makes no class- or ethnic- distinctions in the manner or promptness with which she treats her patients. So that was all good. Here's the 'but':

Neither during the long siege, nor after, does either character spend even a moment thinking about the motivation for the attack and whether it was justified.

AW is not asking for a complete analysis of all the economic, political, social, and cultural antecedents. She also recalls the hero pointing out to his politician brother that he himself is not cut out for politicking. Fine. But, come on - not even the tiniest little observation or question? "There are hundreds of people outside these walls dedicated to ending my life to prove their unhappiness. I wonder what made them so angry, and if I would be as passionate in their place?"

But nothing, neither from him nor the heroine, who are both supposed to be extraordinarily intelligent, educated, thoughtful people. It reached the point, when the heroine resolves to be less of an emotional automaton, to engage more and be interested in others, that AW found herself talking to the character (never a good sign), as in "You missed the boat, baby! Had the most perfect opportunity, and walked right by!"

Perhaps the Gentle Reader thinks this concern is exaggerated. Try this: separate the word 'Indian' from 'Highlands' and insert 'Scottish' instead. Can anyone imagine a novel with Scottish protagonists and British army forces in which the Scottish quest for independence and freedom isn't depicted as tragic, noble, justified? In which these sentiments aren't even mentioned? Could a novel be set in Revolutionary America with opposing British forces where the sentiments of the subjugated people aren't mentioned? AW doesn't think so.

END SPOILER WARNING

Overall
Will AW continue to read books from these authors?
Of course. It's Julie James and Sherry Thomas. Who not only possess compelling novel voices, but great blog voices as well. See Ms. Thomas' thoughtful piece on the state of the publishing industry here, further to AW's earlier posts on Drama, Freshly Squeezed.


But does it make you laugh?
1. Yes! The reader can rely on this author for laughs.

2. Question needs to be rephrased as: But does it keep you entertained?
Yes! Apprentice Writer usually reads half a dozen books at a time. She abandoned all others without a second thought when she began NQAH, and powered through till the end, transported by this author's reliably gorgeous prose and bullseye skill at touching the heart.

Learn more about Julie James and her upcoming title 'Something About You' here.

Learn more about Sherry Thomas and her upcoming title 'His At Night' here.


m.

Twin Reviews: LATINA HEROINES

B as in Beauty
Alberto Ferreras
Literary Fiction? Chicklit?

Hungry Woman in Paris
Josefina Lopez
Literary Fiction? Autobiographical Women's Fiction?

Premise
1. Big beautiful career woman with self-esteem issues learns to capitalize on her unusual look.
2. Grieving, romantically-conflicted and family-challenged first generation American woman
seeks answers in French haute cooking school.

Cover
1. Very beautiful, with eye-catching colors and relevant title. Would have snared Apprentice Writer's attention if walking by in a store.
2. Gorgeous colors. Unusual, striking, and symbolic image which perfectly captures a key moment in the story. Fantastic title which reflects content exactly. One of the best covers AW has seen this year.

What Works
1. B, short for Beauty, is an appealing young heroine. Of Cuban-American descent, she is in an ongoing struggle on three levels: to navigate her way between her family's traditional expections while in the 'new country', to get ahead in her job in advertising, and to make peace with the fact that despite her best efforts, her body does not conform to current notions of feminine body ideal. Following a few chapters establishing the baseline of her life, she meets an enigmatic older woman who offers her the opportunity to see her body in a new way; through the eyes of men whose thoughts and needs regarding love are highly specific and out of the norm. Offering her services to these men sets B on a gradual transformation process. Watching her growing self-esteem touch off changes in her personal and professional life was enjoyable, with the reader rooting for her along the way.

2. Who (apart from Parisians) hasn't entertained a fantasy or two about leaving all one's troubles behind to run away to Paris and recreate one's life? And who (apart from - OK give AW a minute here, she's having trouble coming up with an exception) doesn't equate Paris with exquisite food and passion for eating? This reader was more than ready to vicariously live out her dream through the heroine's actions, and eagerly explored the legendary Gallic capital through Canela's eyes.
As a visible minority member in France, Canela lives through the immigrant experience all over again after doing so the first time following an immensely difficult transition to the United States from Mexico. Her descriptions and flashbacks to key childhood scenes are vivid, and show what she means by hunger, of the body and the soul. This is the author's first novel, and there are sudden, small moments peppered throughout the novel that seem gem-like in beauty and clarity. One such is the scene where Canela recalls the exhausting work of picking grapes with her entire family, holding a cluster of fruit in her hands as though it were a heart, and having this memory abruptly tainted by arrival of authorities to conduct a raid on illegal workers. All panic and flee, so that fear of discovery, physical hunger while waiting till it's safe to emerge from the hiding spot, blood from an injury, and sweet grape juice all mingle together in the child Canela's mind. A shining moment in the narrative, and one that shows the author's screenwriterly and poetess roots.


What Doesn't
1. For some reason (the trade paperback size? the artistic cover? the reading group guide?) AW began this story under the impression it was literary fiction but as pages turned, it felt more like Latina chicklit. To wit: first person (check), young, urban, single, female protagonist (check), label-conscious (check), works in publishing/marketing/some such field (check), relies more on friends than family (check), has evil ex-boyfriend or evil boss or both (check). All that was missing was the gay best friend.

Gentle Reader, don't misconstrue. AW does not dislike chicklit. To the contrary, she has been diligent in her efforts (recorded in this space) to track down the increasingly endangered beast in its natural habitat. It's simply that she could do without the more strident tropes of the genre. Simply inserting a Latina heroine where, say, a standard-issue British one would usually be, does not alter the fact that a genre stereotype remains a genre stereotype. Specifically, the evil, ultra-onedimensional boss seemed overdone.

At multiple points throughout the story, B feels the need to repeat to her employer that she does not agree to have sex with the clients, and the employer assures her that she need not do anything with which she is not comfortable. Given the facts that the meetings with clients take place at night, that B is paid handsomely (by the employer after being given cash by the clients), that she is expected to devote large amounts of time and money on appearance, and that she is taken to and from appointments by a male driver who assures her that he can extract her from situations just as soon as she signals she is uncomfortable, it is understandable that B finds the lines blurry at times. Little tip: if you are in a frequent state of anxiety due to constant checking where the line is drawn, YOU MIGHT WANT TO STEP BACK AND RE-THINK THE WHOLE SITUATION.

2. There was much to enjoy in this story. There was also much to stub one's reader toe on. First, the character of Canela herself. The story opens with her behaving badly during a funeral. Grief can take mourners in different ways so it was not difficult to overlook this opening , however Canela continues at times to act in ways that seem oddly young and/or ego-centric for the stage of life she has reached. This is not the same as acting selfish; a recurring theme is her despair that she felt unable to help her beloved cousin in a difficult life situation, and when presented with an opportunity to make a difference for another woman in dire straits, she jumps in with both feet. It was more a matter of not grasping her hypocritical actions (e.g. she remarks more than once that she hasn't heard from a friend who had to leave France abruptly, yet she herself took off for France without telling anyone where she was going and takes a very long time to communicate with family members to let them know she is alright, avoids talking to parents directly so as to avoid lectures, etc.) and also, disappointingly, the schoolgirl level at which the cooking experience seems to remain.

Being a fan of HGTV, and having recently read 'Julie & Julia' (in which an amateur chef chronicles attempts to cook all recipes in a classic French cuisine cookbook in a year), AW has this preconceived notion that people who go into the profession are filled with passion and creativity where food is concerned. And though there were a few times where this came through it mostly was when gastronomic and romantic (or perhaps more accurately, lustful) passion intersected. Canela doesn't enrol in cooking school because she loves food an admires French cuisine; she does so to obtain a legal document that will allow her to stay longer in France because she doesn't feel ready to go home yet. Consequently, it should perhaps have been no surprise that the school scenes describe worry about tests, jostling with fellow students, time running out - all things that could take place at any kind of school. AW missed the zing that goes along with people for whom food is art, who train themselves to heighten their senses in service to providing new taste experiences for their clients and families. In this context, she was taken aback at the sheer number of men who appeared to seek employment at the school for the purpose of gaining access to a never-ending stream of foreign student bedpartners (since emphasis is made on the fact the French cooking students don't enrol). Perhaps she should be more cynical?

She also missed smooth writing. The author's style felt choppy and confusing, with details and characters mentioned that at first were assumed to be designed to further the plot but then led nowhere. Like Canela, the author spent time in France at cooking school. It made this reader wonder if the writing style could partly be explained as autobiographical memory, with scenes given straightforward description of what took place at the time, rather than deliberate fictional build-up of one detail logically upon another so as to achieve a particular effect in the reader. Yet - the parts that worked, worked very well. Often in short snippets, such as clever chapter titles: 'Like Water for Canela', 'Last Mango in Paris', 'A Chicana in Paris'.


Overall
Apprentice Writer has read very little Latin-oriented fiction. She won these titles as part of a Hispanic Literature Appreciation Month prize, and eagerly dove in. Though she didn't click on every level with these particular stories, without question, the background of the heroines added depth and interest to tales of universal struggle of young women trying to find their place in the modern world. AW greatly looks forward to reading further titles exploring the Latin diaspora.

Learn more about the authors here:
Alberto Ferreras

Josefina Lopez

Twin Non-Laughter Twin Reviews: UF / PARANORMAL

BLOODY GOOD by Georgia Evans (Paranormal)
Book 1 in Brytewood Trilogy

DOOMSDAY CAN WAIT by Lori Handeland (Urban Fantasy)
Book 2 in Liz Phoenix Chronicles


Premise
1. Vampires collaborating with the Nazis parachute into rural WWII Britain, and it falls to the supernatural among the villagers to thwart their plans.

2. Bartender turned epic supernatural warrior seeks to avert the Apocalypse with help from like-minded beings.

Cover
1. Folkloric art reminiscent of Marc Chagall's style is oddly appealling. Title is a pun as well as pointing to British setting; Books 2 & 3 in the trilogy are 'BloodyAwful' and 'Bloody Right'.

2. Typical urban fantasy female protagonist cover: seen partly from the back, skin-baring top, jeans, equipped with a weapon, only thing missing is a tattoo. Nothing wrong with the art, but nothing distinctive, either. What is clever is the title; Book 1 was 'Any Given Doomsday' and Book 3 'Apocalypse Happens'.

What Works
1. Apprentice Writer has read a great deal of non-fiction about WWII; for obvious reasons, educators take the topic very seriously in Germany, where AW went to high school. She has not read much fiction, though, and that was from the civilian German population's point of view. So a story from a fictitious British civilian POV captured her interest. The descriptions of village life, with people pulling together to combat bombing damage, disruption of regular life due to influx of city dwellers escaping urband danger, and deprivations calling for a black market were evocative. Also enjoyable was the diversity of Others (as they are called in Brytewood) and how they are both forced to recognize their Otherness and reach out to one another despite ingrained habits of either denial or secrecy for the sake of self-preservation. Apart from the Teutonic vampires plus a homegrown one, there is a Dragon, a were-fox, a fairy, and some Pixies. How pixies are different from fairies, elves, or imps she still does not know; perhaps this is explored in future volumes.

2. AW is not very widely read in urban fantasy, and she enjoyed getting her feet more wet in the subgenre, getting to know the various beings, and learning how their individual gifts applied. In AW's opinion, UF authors are among the most imaginative people of all. Her favorite character in the story was a young lionesque shapeshifter whom the heroine hopes to recruit into her army of evil-opposers. His backstory is tragic and lonely, and the theme of oppression experienced due to otherness which he can't help meted out by closed-minded 'regular' people threatened by anyone different from them lent a kind of X-men flavor to the story.

What Doesn't
1. AW won both these titles through the collaborative generosity of Writerspace.com and the authors. It is ironic that of all possible people, 'Bloody Good' went to someone who caught the German errors. Not a big deal, and AW actually gives full marks for effort of inclusion of the German snippets, but she made a mental note to herself to always (ALWAYS) have a native speaker check the complete sentences in future manuscripts because in many foreign languages, it is not enough to know the straight translation of the root word. It's correct conjugation may depend on grammatical context, identity of the speaker, and relationship to speakee.

There is much introspection on the part of the vampires as to their innate superiority. Consequently, it was puzzling why one would be defeated by an electric fence (given ability to fly) and the final battle seemed somewhat anticlimactic. Perhaps the battles in future volumes will progress in intensity.

Finally, readers who like loose ends tied up may be frustrated that the explanation of why vampires would ally themselves with a political party is not answered in this volume.

2. This is Book 2 in the series. Though enough backstory was provided for AW to be able to follow along, there is one significant aspect where it is possible that beginning with Book 1 may have made her more willing to accept the worldbuilding altogether. As it was, disclosure of how the heroine gains additional powers released a near fatal 'Oh, come on, now' response.

MODERATE SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!!(for Book 1; if you've read it you're safe)

Imagine, if you will, the standard methods of infection: airborne (as in the common cold), congenital (as in a mother passing HIV on to her unborn baby), introduction to bloodstream via transfusions, wounds, or needles inserted into veins (as in hepatitis), and sexual transmission. One guess as to how things work for Liz Phoenix.

Released all sorts of incredulous questions: does the power transfer still work if a barrier method of contraception is used? Does any type of sexual act qualify? What if the person hoping to gain powers is attracted to others of their own gender?
In the end, AW decided the answers didn't matter to her; willingness to suspend disbelief had been well and truly punctured.

END SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The heroine also tends to go on about her irritation that a male character (who is in himself fascinating) is involved with so many women. Not a characteristic AW finds appealling in a man, however at the same time that Liz is grousing about this she herself is involved with him as well as another supernatural male character. If it hadn't been for The Big Turnoff (described in spoiler), AW may have simply accepted Liz' blindness to her own hypocrisy as a human flaw. As it was, the combination proved too much for this reader.

Overall
1. An entertaining tale set in a fictitiously unusual time period.

2. For readers who can live with the heroine's method of self-improvement, this could well be an entertaining, action-packed series. Readers who can't may wish to seek urban fantasy set in other worlds.



Learn more about the authors here:

http://aftermidnightfantasies.com/georgia.htm

http://www.lorihandeland.com/

Twin Reviews: Mystery on the Light Side

TROUBLE IN MUDBUG
Jana DeLeon
Paranormal Mystery


&


ANCHORS AWEIGH!
Kathleeen Bacus
Comedic Mystery


Premise:
1. Louisiana scientist helps newly-deceased and non-lamented ghost mother-in-law identify her murderer while trying to divorce her husband and remain unattracted to a colleague.

2. Iowa cowgirl/investigative reporter overhears plot to kill a spouse and spends her weight-watching cruise trying to foil it while choosing between two men pursuing her.

Cover:
1. Vintage truck hovering in the air like the American cousin of Harry Potter's flying car, a title that points to quirky small town, wibbly wobbly font - for this reader's money, a fantastic cover.

2. Bikini top tossed (presumably) overboard by a female hand for seagull audience. Relevant in the sense that there is a bikini top scene included, though not in the 'naturist' lifestyle way the cover implies.


What Works
1. Apprentice Writer does not recall reading a story set in Louisiana before, and swampy landscape, flora, fauna and heroine's habit of going everywhere in her boat as naturally as AW would jump into her minivan were very appealing. The heroine is a woman torn in many directions: urgently wishing to divorce her whereabouts-unknown and good-for-nothing husband, irritated beyond belief that being able to see and hear her mother-in-law means being roped in to help her, grieving the loss of her cancer-stricken father, trying to be a supportive friend to the local sham-psychic, and resisting attraction to the zoologist who's commandeered space in her tiny bayou office. It's no easy balancing act and was generally well depicted, with all-too human frustrations and grouchiness sometimes taking their toll. Also nicely done were her gradual realizations that there there was more to her mother-in-law, her spouse, and her zoologist than she first gave credit for. Loved the name 'Mudbug'.

2. AW has never had the good fortune to go on a cruise. Being vicariously on board with the heroine, taking part in wacky holiday life, and going ashore at a beautiful Caribbean destination, were all fun.

What Doesn't
1. This book is the first of a series so not all questions are answered at the end, possibly leaving some readers with a sense of dissatisfaction. In terms of character interaction and motivation, the heroine seemed overly and undeservedly antagonistic to her eventual love interest for this reader, to the point that she questioned why he was so attracted to her. Similarly, she goes on and on (and on) about how worthless her flown husband is - begging the question of why she married him in the first place. There is eventually some degree of explanation, however by the time it rolled around it was too little, too late for this reader. Still, these points were not dealbreakers, and AW was easily able to chalk them up to human flaws of the character.

2. *Sigh* AW wanted to like this book. Travel, zaniness, eccentric primary and secondary characters - should have been right up her alley, right? But then, the puns and popular culture references and spun-out-till-they-were-paperthin similes and metaphors and word associations set in, and never, ever stopped. It is a very specific type of writing style, and one AW found confusing and tiring. Still, this could have been surmounted, if it hadn't been for additional factors such as the characters who always spoke of themselves in the third person (yes, AW is aware of the irony in making this statement! In her defence: a blogpost is not equivalent to a WHOLE BOOK), the tediousness of the heroine running back and forth literally and figuratively between two men for the length of the story, the heroine talking about having a 'blonde moment' (AW has never been naturally blonde or with assistance, but she can't help but think blond people deliberately perpetuating the dim stereotype can't really be a good thing), the weight-watching element never really figuring into the crime as far as this reader could tell and so feeling a bit gimmicky, and, the straw that broke the camel's back: The villain who goes on, paragraph after paragraph, explaining actions and motivations in minute detail to the heroine - rather than the heroine figuring out more of this for herself.

It is possible AW could have lived with all of this better if she had been with the series since the beginning. This story is the sixth, and maybe the heroine would have grown on her more naturally if she was aware of the full story. As things stand, AW is not much tempted to go back and start from the beginning. Gentle Reader - if you have read the first book(s) in this series and think AW should reconsider - please advise.



Overall
Jana Deleon and Kathleen Bacus both blog at 'Killer Fiction', together with fellow 'light mysterians' Christie Craig, Leslie Langtry, and Gemma Halliday. Having visited a number of grogs whose common theme remained a mystery (ha!) to this cyberspace traveller, it is a relief to find one where it's clear why the participants got together. Even if every author's personal style does not fit all readers' tastes, there is certainly enough variety available to find one or more who will entertain. Apprentice Writer will continue working her way through the members, shall look forward to Ms. DeLeon's next title ("Mischief in Mudbug") and peruse what Ms. Bacus' next title to see if it draws her in more.


But does it make you laugh?
Mildly (but that's OK!) & Not Me Personally (YMMV)

1. For AW, the milder funny moments in 'Mudbug' (such as when the heroine has moments of insight at the absurdity of what she's doing in between all the running around) worked better than the ones that seemed to be intended as the 'big' ones (such as the way the mother-in-law's difficulties in learning how to be a ghost manifest themselves), which felt a bit like they were trying too hard. This reader recommends that others approach this book simply as a paranormal mystery, and enjoy the occasional amusing bit, rather than approaching it as a comedy per se.

2. The Calamity Jane series has a style which readers will immediately like or dislike, with no inbetween. AW suspects that those who like it, like it a LOT and would laugh long and often at the situations the heroine gets in. For this reader, it was all a bit too much, but since this is the sixth book in the series it means there are certainly many Calamity Jane afficionados out there. AW recommends the back blurb as a fairly reliable test on whether a reader will like the story or not, as it is quite typical of what's in store.