Hi there! I’m Kay: an opinionated book blogger enamoured with the world of novels. Reader of Speculative Fiction (the posh word for Sci-Fi/Fantasy) and Young Adult novels. Believer in the many uses of the towel, the science of deduction and other fandom in-jokes.
This blog has been closed since early 2016. To the publishers and writers: thanks for all the support over the years. To my readers and fellow bloggers: keep in touch!
Recent Reviews
Waiting on Wednesday – The Fortune of Carmen Navarro by Jen Bryant
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.
The Fortune of Carmen Navarro by Jen Bryant
November 9th 2010 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Carmen Navarro rings up customers at the Quikmart, bored to tears. It’s a job, and she needs it. But Carmen’s true love is music: she dropped out of high school to sing with the Gypsy Lovers and land a recording contract, someday.Just a few miles away, Ryan Sweeney hunches over his books, a studious cadet with his eye on West Point. There’s not a single girl at the Valley Forge Military Academy, and that’s fine by him.
But when Ryan, on a day pass from campus, spots Carmen, with her shining black hair and snake tattoo, his pulse quickens. Carmen, who normally rolls her eyes at the stiff Academy soldados, can tell this one is different. She slips him a note: “Come hear my band.” A romance begins, unlikely, passionate . . . and quickly imbalanced. In an enthralling narrative of obsessive love, the novel builds to a stunning close.
Inspired by the novella and opera Carmen, Jen Bryant creates a strong-minded and alluring heroine in this contemporary tale of tragic love.
Okay.
1 – Books about/based on operas = FAN-BLOODY-TASTIC.
2 – Books that play on cross-culture relationships = brilliant.
3 – Summaries that mention “tragic love” = make me want to hide under the duvet and cry.
Eep, I have mixed, dark and twisty feelings about this book already! Let’s all stare at the gorgeous cover instead.
What are you reading on Monday? – (May 17th, 2010)
It’s Monday! What are you reading this week? is a weekly event now hosted by One Persons Journey Through a World Of Books where we discuss our week of reading!
Currently Reading:
- Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead – Amazing book. I am almost finished but am dreading the end as I’ve read spoilers for the subsequent book… if I don’t read it, it will never happen, right?? Eep!
- The Line by Teri Hall – Dystopian YA for the win! This has been really good so far – and not a zombie in sight!
Finished this week:
- Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase – Loved my short journey into the world of historical romance.
- Ondine by Ebony McKenna – Really funny, adorable YA/MG novel! I smiled the whole way through this!
Reviews posted this week:
- Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore – Very disappointing.
In My Mailbox (May 16th, 2010)
In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren (inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie) and explores the content of your mailbox!
I went a bit mad at charity shops this week, so despite being on a book-buying sabbatical I have a new stack on my TBR!
- The Resistance by Gemma Malley – I got this because it was £1 and I don’t have the first book! Should I run out and get it? Any thoughts, people?
- Wings by Aprilynne Pike
- Dead Men’s Boots by Mike Carey
- The Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker – Three of my favourite books of all time in one nice edition. I was very happy to find this!
- Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
- Devil’s Due by Rachel Caine – Caine’s less-read series which I am really looking forward to!
Review: Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore
Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn DolamoreSeries: Magic Under #1
Published by Bloomsbury on 2010-08-28
Pages: 256
Genres: Fantasy YA, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
Add to Goodreads
Rating:
Nimira is a foreign music-hall girl forced to dance for pennies. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to sing with a piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new and better life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets are beginning to stir. Unsettling below-stairs rumors swirl about ghosts, a madwoman roaming the halls, and Parry's involvement with a league of sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. Then Nimira discovers the spirit of a fairy gentleman named Erris is trapped inside the clockwork automaton, waiting for someone to break his curse. The two fall into a love that seems hopeless, and breaking the curse becomes a race against time, as not just their love, but the fate of the entire magical world may be in peril.Look out for the follow-up to this book, Magic Under Stone, out next year!
Thoughts: I was really disappointed with Magic Under Glass. It had been on my wishlist for so long, and when I got a copy I was really eager to dive in.
There was just so much I wanted to love – an interesting, fantastical world filled with magic, faeries and complex social divisions. Unfortunately, there is nothing here that is all that special. The universe is basically Regency England with faery foreigners and a bit of magic thrown in for the hell of it.
And the characters? Extremely one-dimensional. Leading lady Nimira felt more like a plot tool than an actual character – moving from scene to scene for the sake of it. Her love interest, Erris, was as mechanical as his automaton exterior – and needless to say their “tragic” love felt forced and unrealistic.
Magic Under Glass was supposed to be a lovely wholewheat-brown-bread guaranteed good read. But it was the literary equivalent of white bread. Very disappointing.
Bottom line? Magic Under Glass is an old-school faery tale – lots of plot, no character. I didn’t think it was a bad book, it was a bland book.
Waiting on Wednesday: Firelight by Sophie Jordan
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.
Firelight (Draki, #1) by Sophie Jordan
Young Adult – September 7th 2010 by Harper TeenWith her rare ability to breathe fire, Jacinda is special even among the draki—the descendants of dragons who can shift between human and dragon forms. But when Jacinda’s rebelliousness leads her family to flee into the human world, she struggles to adapt, even as her draki spirit fades. The one thing that revives it is Will, whose family hunts her kind. Jacinda can’t resist getting closer to him, even though she knows she’s risking not only her life but the draki’s most closely guarded secret.
I love the idea of this universe, love that the book includes dragons, and absolutely love this cover! I’m also really interested in seeing what a romance-turned-YA-writer will come up with, as I’ve only really see UF-turned-YA-writers on the shelves so far.