... which brings us full circle to Hidden Away, the third book in Maya Banks' KGI series. And no, we cannot call it a "trilogy", as Ms. Banks' website has further installments set for next year. And no, I have no idea what brings us around to this particular discussion.
As far as expectations for this book, I'd like to be perfectly clear: The KGI books are for me, at this point, pure crack. Is it good for me? No. Do I want it anyway? Yes, yes I do. Thanks for asking.
Garrett Kelly (Does it really matter where he falls on the Kelly brothers' age spectrum? No? Good, because I haven't had a handle on that info since book one.) has been tasked with surveilling Sarah Daniels, the previously unknown half-sister of the notorious warlord/terrorist (or something) Marcus Lattimer. This is personal for Garrett; something something something about a failed terrorist plot, Lattimer turning on the US Government, and Garrett getting shot in the leg. You'll forgive me if the details are fuzzy. They're about that well expounded in the book.
It's personal for Sarah, too. She's on the run because her half-brother (who she has not known all her life) murdered the man who raped her. Pretty much in front of her. She's not running because she's afraid of Marcus, though, she's running because she's afraid of being forced to testify against him.
Which I guess would concern me, too.
It takes all of a minute and a half for Garrett to realize that There is Something Special About Sarah, and that She Has Been Traumatized in Her Life. He doesn't press her for details until later, and that's OK. They get hot. They get sweaty. They eventually have rockin' jungle sex, but only after she runs away and they are put in Great Peril.
The nice thing about Hidden Away is the chance to check in with everyone again. Sophie of No Place to Run has her baby, we learn that Ethan and Rachel of The Darkest Hour are still working through their issues. I can't decide if I'm psyched by the realism or annoyed by the annoyingness of the men's non-treatment of the stray Rusty, the teenage girl taken in by Mama Kelly in book one. I'm actually hoping that one of the books next year will skip ahead a little (she's only 18) and give her her own story. There's definitely something there to explore between her and the sheriff. Oh, and we caught up with the rest of the squad, and I am really intrigued by anything involving girl-sniper PJ and separately, team leader Steele.
In any case, Hidden Away was exactly what it needed to be and did exactly what it needed to do: it gave me something to read while Boy Scout was being a Boy Scout, I finished it in a day (a day that included a ride back from Scout Camp and a detour to this restaurant), it caught me up with some folks I am vaguely attached to. And it entertained.
And that's all I have to say about that.
16 March 2011
15 March 2011
In Which I Review One Night is Never Enough
I ordered One Night is Never Enough by Anne Mallory based on this review from Dear Author.
I was intrigued by the premise, and considering that the review was favorable (and I am always on the lookout for a new favorite author), I pretty much didn't hesitate.
Charlotte Chatsworth's father is nothing short of a jackass. He's an alcoholic. He gambles. He's in serious debt. As things stand now, he's basically auctioning his eldest daughter (considered to be one of the most, if not the most beautiful woman in London) to the highest bidder, exchanging the perfect wife for monetary compensation and protection.
Lord Chatsworth finds himself in a perfect storm of a situation one night when Mr. Trant wagers ten thousand pounds against a single night with Charlotte. Because he's the worst parent in the history of the world (Lohans included!), Chatsworth accepts. The problem is the other man at the table, Roman Merrick, owner of the fine establishment where the wager takes place. Merrick has seen Charlotte around and had spoken to her that very day. And he decides he wants a night with Charlotte too, enough to cheat and compromise his gaming hell's reputation.
Charlotte is a very noble character. She lives a life in which she knows she's nothing but (very expensive) chattel, but she also knows her worth; she knows she's beautiful, she knows she's liked, and she knows she'll make one helluva wife. If she's a little "I'll-sacrifice-myself-so-nothing-happens-to-my-family (even if they are all a-holes)," it's vaguely acceptable because she never whines about it.
Roman, on the other hand, is a more elusive character. He calls forth memories of another boy-from-the-streets-turned-uber-successful-power-magnate, Derek Craven, but without the outward shows of emotion. And if you know Derek Craven, you know that's a seriously stoic dude. Roman owns the club with his "brother" (read: not his brother) Andreas, who is annoyingly dour and grouchy. Roman at least has a sense of humor (and of honor- all he does on his night with Charlotte is talk to her and play chess), but we're not given much by way of character description.
Which brings me to the major frustration with the book. The Dear Author review says this:
It is indeed uncommon. And in my not so humble opinion, it should stay that way. I found the lack of perspective totally disconnecting. We have no idea what propels Mr. Trant to make such an offensive bid for Charlotte's person. If he wants a respectable wife, why would he risk ruining her reputation? There is very clearly a rival gang/club to Roman and Andreas' motley crew. In fact, they attack the club and almost kill Andreas. And we have no idea who they are and what their problem is. Andreas has family issues that follow the men around and cause problems. We never know what those issues are, or why there is such a cause for concern.
Hell, most of the time I couldn't even tell whether or not Roman and Charlotte wanted to be together beyond their super sexy secret affair. It seems to me that they both spent most of the book preparing to part ways (Or carry on after she's married? Uh... Not awesome.) and only decided at the last minute that all of the social problems went away they could try to make it work.
I certainly appreciate the thought behind telling the story from a limited perspective. Why should the reader know more than the characters? Very little is explained to us because very little is explained to Charlotte. And I get that. But for myself, I found that it only served to remove me from the story and the characters to the point that in the end, I honestly didn't care what happened one way or another.
I was intrigued by the premise, and considering that the review was favorable (and I am always on the lookout for a new favorite author), I pretty much didn't hesitate.
Charlotte Chatsworth's father is nothing short of a jackass. He's an alcoholic. He gambles. He's in serious debt. As things stand now, he's basically auctioning his eldest daughter (considered to be one of the most, if not the most beautiful woman in London) to the highest bidder, exchanging the perfect wife for monetary compensation and protection.
Lord Chatsworth finds himself in a perfect storm of a situation one night when Mr. Trant wagers ten thousand pounds against a single night with Charlotte. Because he's the worst parent in the history of the world (Lohans included!), Chatsworth accepts. The problem is the other man at the table, Roman Merrick, owner of the fine establishment where the wager takes place. Merrick has seen Charlotte around and had spoken to her that very day. And he decides he wants a night with Charlotte too, enough to cheat and compromise his gaming hell's reputation.
Charlotte is a very noble character. She lives a life in which she knows she's nothing but (very expensive) chattel, but she also knows her worth; she knows she's beautiful, she knows she's liked, and she knows she'll make one helluva wife. If she's a little "I'll-sacrifice-myself-so-nothing-happens-to-my-family (even if they are all a-holes)," it's vaguely acceptable because she never whines about it.
Roman, on the other hand, is a more elusive character. He calls forth memories of another boy-from-the-streets-turned-uber-successful-power-magnate, Derek Craven, but without the outward shows of emotion. And if you know Derek Craven, you know that's a seriously stoic dude. Roman owns the club with his "brother" (read: not his brother) Andreas, who is annoyingly dour and grouchy. Roman at least has a sense of humor (and of honor- all he does on his night with Charlotte is talk to her and play chess), but we're not given much by way of character description.
Which brings me to the major frustration with the book. The Dear Author review says this:
What [the author] does best, in my not so humble opinion, is to narrow the scope of the story to a single, claustrophobic perspective at the beginning of the story—usually the heroine’s. From here, she slowly opens the lens of the camera, widens the picture outward, eventually zooming out to encompass a much larger scene—but one that is always imbedded in that first intense and narrow eye. The result of this perspective being rooted in that first narrow and emotional scope, gives her stories an intensity and an emotional nuance that I find unusual or, at the very least, uncommon.
It is indeed uncommon. And in my not so humble opinion, it should stay that way. I found the lack of perspective totally disconnecting. We have no idea what propels Mr. Trant to make such an offensive bid for Charlotte's person. If he wants a respectable wife, why would he risk ruining her reputation? There is very clearly a rival gang/club to Roman and Andreas' motley crew. In fact, they attack the club and almost kill Andreas. And we have no idea who they are and what their problem is. Andreas has family issues that follow the men around and cause problems. We never know what those issues are, or why there is such a cause for concern.
Hell, most of the time I couldn't even tell whether or not Roman and Charlotte wanted to be together beyond their super sexy secret affair. It seems to me that they both spent most of the book preparing to part ways (Or carry on after she's married? Uh... Not awesome.) and only decided at the last minute that all of the social problems went away they could try to make it work.
I certainly appreciate the thought behind telling the story from a limited perspective. Why should the reader know more than the characters? Very little is explained to us because very little is explained to Charlotte. And I get that. But for myself, I found that it only served to remove me from the story and the characters to the point that in the end, I honestly didn't care what happened one way or another.
14 March 2011
In Which Monday Menu Mayhem Catches Up
WELL.
After a harrowing weekend involving drying out from a minor (minor) wine spill and approximate drying times, the MacBook Pro is back up and holding together (Hear me, baby? Hold together).
Apologies for the lack of obsession last week. Between the ailing equipment and a busy week at work, there was simply no time to discuss the fact that I am indeed obsessed, but fortunately we'll be able to talk about that another time.
This week, we'll have the normal posts, as well as (count 'em!) two book reviews. That's right, bitches. I've been reading in my spare time.
However, we start back this week with a Monday Meny Mayhem, involving from-scratch Nigella brownies. Like several other recipes in the past few weeks, I have to confess that I had made this recipe previously (even if I didn't write about it), so this was my second attempt. Voila, la photo:
(Yeah, I really didn't take a photo, but read that. It's pretty funny).
I love the flavor of these brownies, I love that they're from scratch, and I love that they don't involve melting chocolate in a double-boiler (though you do make them over the stove). I'm not a huge fan of how cake-y they are. The photo in the book shows drippy ooey-gooey-ness, and Nigella herself says that they should feel squiggey. That's how I like my brownies.
When I cook these to their minimum time, they come out cakey (though soft and melting). This time I confess I set the timer to five minutes less than prescribed, but was too chicken to take them out of the oven at that time.
Next time, I'm going to go for it.
After a harrowing weekend involving drying out from a minor (minor) wine spill and approximate drying times, the MacBook Pro is back up and holding together (Hear me, baby? Hold together).
Apologies for the lack of obsession last week. Between the ailing equipment and a busy week at work, there was simply no time to discuss the fact that I am indeed obsessed, but fortunately we'll be able to talk about that another time.
This week, we'll have the normal posts, as well as (count 'em!) two book reviews. That's right, bitches. I've been reading in my spare time.
However, we start back this week with a Monday Meny Mayhem, involving from-scratch Nigella brownies. Like several other recipes in the past few weeks, I have to confess that I had made this recipe previously (even if I didn't write about it), so this was my second attempt. Voila, la photo:
(Yeah, I really didn't take a photo, but read that. It's pretty funny).
I love the flavor of these brownies, I love that they're from scratch, and I love that they don't involve melting chocolate in a double-boiler (though you do make them over the stove). I'm not a huge fan of how cake-y they are. The photo in the book shows drippy ooey-gooey-ness, and Nigella herself says that they should feel squiggey. That's how I like my brownies.
When I cook these to their minimum time, they come out cakey (though soft and melting). This time I confess I set the timer to five minutes less than prescribed, but was too chicken to take them out of the oven at that time.
Next time, I'm going to go for it.
9 March 2011
In Which I Review Unveiled
I really should have read Kresley Cole's newest, Dreams of a Dark Warrior, but between The Blades of the Rose and our girl Buffy, I have to admit a burnout in the paranormal department. So when it came time to pick out the next book from my TBR shelves, I went with a straight historical. Specifically, the SB Sarah approved Unveiled, by Courtney Milan.
If you click on the SB Sarah link, you can see that's quite a ringing endorsement. Especially this gem:
While I will not hold a recipe contest to see the number of different ways I personally can eat this book, I have to say that this was one of the more interesting and unique historical romances that I have read in a long time.
Lady Anna Margaret has been tasked by her brothers to spy on the distant cousin who has recently, and publicly, had them all declared bastards so that he can lay claim to their father's Ducal title. So she poses as her dying father's nurse within her own household when Ash Turner shows up to survey what will someday be his.
Ash, meanwhile, believes Anna Margaret (who he has never met) to be a silly, thoughtless extension of her father and brothers' cruel machinations.
As soon as he arrives, of course, Ash decides he must pursue this nurse, who he reads to be mysterious and full of secrets, but also in need of serious validation as a person. Margaret finds herself reluctantly revealing pieces of herself to Ash (including a consummated, failed engagement), and finds that the man is all but handing her information that her brothers can use against him, should she choose to pass it on. Including the fact that he is illiterate.
There is an awful lot of he said/he said in this book. Margaret's father is awful, and I don't doubt that he turned Ash away when he came to the Duke years before, seeking help and relief for his family (yes, friends, Ash's actions are motivated in large part by revenge). What is most interesting is the relationship between Ash's brothers and Margaret's brother's-- years ago fights at school, bullying, near expulsion. While some can very definitely be labelled The Bullies, no one is blameless and, in what I have to assume will be succeeding books, I look forward to learning more about Ash's brothers. Their upbringing with a crazy religious mother, and their time away from school (and Ash) seems to have shaped them into taciturn men who can be at once very bitter and very loyal-- toward the same person.
Margaret and Ash's relationship is the stuff of Old Skool romance; she's got a secret, he's got a mission, and her secret could destroy his mission. But while Margaret refuses to pick between her brothers and the man she has come to love, she never once comes even close to disclosing the case-destroying information she has against Ash, and he never once doubts that he can trust her. Their conflict is not between themselves. It's with all of the external forces around them.
I would highly recommend this book, putting it in the hard-to-put-down category. I thought it go a little long-winded toward the end (a little bit of running-in-circles), but ultimately the story resolved in a manner that was both believable and acceptable for all of the characters.
Yes. I'll definitely be reading more books by this author in the future.
If you click on the SB Sarah link, you can see that's quite a ringing endorsement. Especially this gem:
OH MY GOD. THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD I WANTED TO PUT IT IN MY MOUTH AND EAT IT.
While I will not hold a recipe contest to see the number of different ways I personally can eat this book, I have to say that this was one of the more interesting and unique historical romances that I have read in a long time.
Lady Anna Margaret has been tasked by her brothers to spy on the distant cousin who has recently, and publicly, had them all declared bastards so that he can lay claim to their father's Ducal title. So she poses as her dying father's nurse within her own household when Ash Turner shows up to survey what will someday be his.
Ash, meanwhile, believes Anna Margaret (who he has never met) to be a silly, thoughtless extension of her father and brothers' cruel machinations.
As soon as he arrives, of course, Ash decides he must pursue this nurse, who he reads to be mysterious and full of secrets, but also in need of serious validation as a person. Margaret finds herself reluctantly revealing pieces of herself to Ash (including a consummated, failed engagement), and finds that the man is all but handing her information that her brothers can use against him, should she choose to pass it on. Including the fact that he is illiterate.
There is an awful lot of he said/he said in this book. Margaret's father is awful, and I don't doubt that he turned Ash away when he came to the Duke years before, seeking help and relief for his family (yes, friends, Ash's actions are motivated in large part by revenge). What is most interesting is the relationship between Ash's brothers and Margaret's brother's-- years ago fights at school, bullying, near expulsion. While some can very definitely be labelled The Bullies, no one is blameless and, in what I have to assume will be succeeding books, I look forward to learning more about Ash's brothers. Their upbringing with a crazy religious mother, and their time away from school (and Ash) seems to have shaped them into taciturn men who can be at once very bitter and very loyal-- toward the same person.
Margaret and Ash's relationship is the stuff of Old Skool romance; she's got a secret, he's got a mission, and her secret could destroy his mission. But while Margaret refuses to pick between her brothers and the man she has come to love, she never once comes even close to disclosing the case-destroying information she has against Ash, and he never once doubts that he can trust her. Their conflict is not between themselves. It's with all of the external forces around them.
I would highly recommend this book, putting it in the hard-to-put-down category. I thought it go a little long-winded toward the end (a little bit of running-in-circles), but ultimately the story resolved in a manner that was both believable and acceptable for all of the characters.
Yes. I'll definitely be reading more books by this author in the future.
7 March 2011
In Which Monday's Menu Lacks Mayhem
Well friends, I did a shockingly little amount of cooking this weekend.
To be more precise, I cooked nothing.
That's not true, actually, on Saturday I made Bacon Dip, which, while not part of the Nigella pantheon of recipes, is still a family staple due to the bacony-cream-cheeseness of it all. It's glorious. And I've been known to eat it for dinner a time or six.
The problem with this weekend was that it was my birthday, and no one would let me cook. As a matter of fact, it's only through an unfortunate family illness that I was allowed to make the dip-- we ended up being an appetizer short for The Big Dinner.
In any event, I have nothing to report except that I am the luckiest girl in the world, and I have the best family and friends anyone could ask for. And also, there is no greater ice cream in the world than The Schmoo's homemade Oreo Cookie Ice Cream. I ain't lyin'.
To be more precise, I cooked nothing.
That's not true, actually, on Saturday I made Bacon Dip, which, while not part of the Nigella pantheon of recipes, is still a family staple due to the bacony-cream-cheeseness of it all. It's glorious. And I've been known to eat it for dinner a time or six.
The problem with this weekend was that it was my birthday, and no one would let me cook. As a matter of fact, it's only through an unfortunate family illness that I was allowed to make the dip-- we ended up being an appetizer short for The Big Dinner.
In any event, I have nothing to report except that I am the luckiest girl in the world, and I have the best family and friends anyone could ask for. And also, there is no greater ice cream in the world than The Schmoo's homemade Oreo Cookie Ice Cream. I ain't lyin'.
3 March 2011
In Which Thoroughly Obsessed Thursday Needs Friends
So this is me, housesitting.
There has been lots of reading (yay!), lots of show-catching-up (ohholycrapthegoodwifeisamazing), and lots of sitting around eating leftover homemade Thai food.
I didn't bother to bring my Felicity DVDs (the next marathon in line) with me, because my lovely housesitting hostess is the person who introduced me to our favorite curly-haired navel gazer, and thusly has all of the discs anyway. I arrived on Sunday just in time to settle in and watch a couple of eps before the (disastrous) Oscars, went to the DVD closet (And yes, it is a closet... Boy Scout? This is your future!) and was totally and completely distracted.
By Friends. Specifically, the latter six seasons of Friends.
This is a huge chunk of nostalgia for me, as I was obsessed with this show all through middle school. We (Friends and I) sort of fell out toward the end of high school (I think the positive pregnancy test was the last time I watched the show regularly), but I still tuned in for the big stuff (Emma's birth, Phoebe's wedding, the finale, etc.)
I started this mini-fleeting marathon at season 4, right around the time Ross meets Emily and proceeds on his meltdown of life (actually, the episode I started with, specifically, was The One with the Embryos, mostly because I wanted to watch the girls lose their apartment to the guys. Epic). Some classic moments: The One with All the Thanksgivings. Monica and Chandler's secret relationship. Everything ever involving the chick and the duck.
Friends was a long time ago (remember when Phoebe had her brother's triplets? Yeah, those babies would be thirteen today. How old do you feel??), but it doesn't feel old (beyond an obvious lack of cell phones). The stories still roll along, and the plot points magically remain relevant. I'm not sure I would have guessed it at the time, but it turns out this pop-culture phenomenon may just end up being one of those "old shows" that our kids end up watching. And liking.
Whoa.
There has been lots of reading (yay!), lots of show-catching-up (ohholycrapthegoodwifeisamazing), and lots of sitting around eating leftover homemade Thai food.
I didn't bother to bring my Felicity DVDs (the next marathon in line) with me, because my lovely housesitting hostess is the person who introduced me to our favorite curly-haired navel gazer, and thusly has all of the discs anyway. I arrived on Sunday just in time to settle in and watch a couple of eps before the (disastrous) Oscars, went to the DVD closet (And yes, it is a closet... Boy Scout? This is your future!) and was totally and completely distracted.
By Friends. Specifically, the latter six seasons of Friends.
This is a huge chunk of nostalgia for me, as I was obsessed with this show all through middle school. We (Friends and I) sort of fell out toward the end of high school (I think the positive pregnancy test was the last time I watched the show regularly), but I still tuned in for the big stuff (Emma's birth, Phoebe's wedding, the finale, etc.)
I started this mini-fleeting marathon at season 4, right around the time Ross meets Emily and proceeds on his meltdown of life (actually, the episode I started with, specifically, was The One with the Embryos, mostly because I wanted to watch the girls lose their apartment to the guys. Epic). Some classic moments: The One with All the Thanksgivings. Monica and Chandler's secret relationship. Everything ever involving the chick and the duck.
Friends was a long time ago (remember when Phoebe had her brother's triplets? Yeah, those babies would be thirteen today. How old do you feel??), but it doesn't feel old (beyond an obvious lack of cell phones). The stories still roll along, and the plot points magically remain relevant. I'm not sure I would have guessed it at the time, but it turns out this pop-culture phenomenon may just end up being one of those "old shows" that our kids end up watching. And liking.
Whoa.
1 March 2011
In Which I Finish The Blades of the Rose
It only took a month, but I have finally concluded my tour of Zoe Archer's Victorian fantasy wonderland. Indeed, Stranger, the story of Gemma Murphy and Catullus Graves, capitalized on all of the events of the previous three books, and picked up almost precisely where Rebel left off.
I need to start this review with a complaint, because this is how much this is bothering me: I am so over Astrid and Nathan. Over. Them. Over them having loud sex in the room next door. Over them making out in front of everyone all the time. Over Astrid saying, "There's a rampaging mythological monarch on the loose, save the seduction for a less desperate time." I literally sat up in my chair and said, "Astrid, stop being such a hypocritical bitch." Boy Scout just looked at me like I was nuts.
Anyway. On to the real stars of the book (not to be confused with Astrid and Nathan's heated glances at one another), the American journalist Gemma Murphy and the inventor-warrior of the Blades, Catullus Graves. One of the more interesting parts of this book, for me, was the fact that this was a mixed-race romance. As far as I can recall, Graves is only the second black hero I have read (Adam Claybourne was the other, and he married a black woman his mother introduced him to), and in my mind it was very brave of Archer to address such a topic during this particular historical time period. As a black man, Graves had quite a bit of trouble travelling and getting service in 1875 America (post-racial America it was not), and only slightly less trouble in England.
It seems to me that this particular topic could have accounted for The Conflict in and of itself (in the end, a couple of Gemma's brothers and her father refused to acknowledge the union, and the couple decided to settle in the slightly-less-racist UK), but alas, the Blades have bigger fish to fry than bigotry. Magical Armageddon is at hand.
I was skeptical at first regarding Gemma and Catullus' connection-- Catullus is very intense in almost everything, and is all but incapable of flirting and conversing with women. And Gemma (in a rather forward-thinking mind-set) surrendered her virginity at eighteen and then ran off to Chicago to live the life of a newspaper reporter. In the end, though, their chemistry is perfect. She is curious and intellectual, while he naturally seeks to find the answers to the questions she might ask. They appreciate each other, and bring out the best in one another.
Their adventure is long-winded and more supernatural than the others. There's dimension crossings, wizards entrapped in trees, and incarnations of legendary English kings.
It was so much fun to see everyone (not Astrid and Lesperance) again. Thalia and Gabriel are rocking out in Mongolia (despite being nearly mauled in The Final Battle) and London and Bennett are as engaging and adventurous as ever.
In the end I looked at Wendy Pan and said "I'm done." It's not that it got bad, and it's certainly not that I fell out of love with anything. It just all got to be much, and as Wendy Pan said, it might be because we read them all in one go. I believe this is the end of the Blades series (though it's perfectly clear in the end that the Blades' work is far from over), but even if it wasn't, I would need to take a serious break after this installment. I think Zoe Archer's next book comes out in December of this year, and I am very much looking forward to it. But for the moment I am looking forward to some detox.
I can't stress enough how much I highly recommend these books. Despite my irritation with some of the characters, the people, the romances, the places, could not be more enchanting (pun?). Just read slowly, and maybe break things up a bit in between.
I need to start this review with a complaint, because this is how much this is bothering me: I am so over Astrid and Nathan. Over. Them. Over them having loud sex in the room next door. Over them making out in front of everyone all the time. Over Astrid saying, "There's a rampaging mythological monarch on the loose, save the seduction for a less desperate time." I literally sat up in my chair and said, "Astrid, stop being such a hypocritical bitch." Boy Scout just looked at me like I was nuts.
Anyway. On to the real stars of the book (not to be confused with Astrid and Nathan's heated glances at one another), the American journalist Gemma Murphy and the inventor-warrior of the Blades, Catullus Graves. One of the more interesting parts of this book, for me, was the fact that this was a mixed-race romance. As far as I can recall, Graves is only the second black hero I have read (Adam Claybourne was the other, and he married a black woman his mother introduced him to), and in my mind it was very brave of Archer to address such a topic during this particular historical time period. As a black man, Graves had quite a bit of trouble travelling and getting service in 1875 America (post-racial America it was not), and only slightly less trouble in England.
It seems to me that this particular topic could have accounted for The Conflict in and of itself (in the end, a couple of Gemma's brothers and her father refused to acknowledge the union, and the couple decided to settle in the slightly-less-racist UK), but alas, the Blades have bigger fish to fry than bigotry. Magical Armageddon is at hand.
I was skeptical at first regarding Gemma and Catullus' connection-- Catullus is very intense in almost everything, and is all but incapable of flirting and conversing with women. And Gemma (in a rather forward-thinking mind-set) surrendered her virginity at eighteen and then ran off to Chicago to live the life of a newspaper reporter. In the end, though, their chemistry is perfect. She is curious and intellectual, while he naturally seeks to find the answers to the questions she might ask. They appreciate each other, and bring out the best in one another.
Their adventure is long-winded and more supernatural than the others. There's dimension crossings, wizards entrapped in trees, and incarnations of legendary English kings.
It was so much fun to see everyone (not Astrid and Lesperance) again. Thalia and Gabriel are rocking out in Mongolia (despite being nearly mauled in The Final Battle) and London and Bennett are as engaging and adventurous as ever.
In the end I looked at Wendy Pan and said "I'm done." It's not that it got bad, and it's certainly not that I fell out of love with anything. It just all got to be much, and as Wendy Pan said, it might be because we read them all in one go. I believe this is the end of the Blades series (though it's perfectly clear in the end that the Blades' work is far from over), but even if it wasn't, I would need to take a serious break after this installment. I think Zoe Archer's next book comes out in December of this year, and I am very much looking forward to it. But for the moment I am looking forward to some detox.
I can't stress enough how much I highly recommend these books. Despite my irritation with some of the characters, the people, the romances, the places, could not be more enchanting (pun?). Just read slowly, and maybe break things up a bit in between.
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