DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE By Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone By Laini Taylor

Category: Fantasy

                                                          (Above, our heroine Karou)

Brace yourself. Secrets are going to unfurl like bombs in the last half of this book. Working up to that is the mysterious life of Karou. Soaking up Prague through her sketchbook, eating goulash with her best friend Zuzana, hunting down teeth for a creature from another world. Wait, whaaaaaat? While one part of Karou’s life is brilliant, naturally growing vivid blue hair and school work, the other is secretly running errands for the only family she has ever known, a collection of creatures known as chimaera. Chimaera, cratures of animal and human parts combined, are Karou’s people. And while Karou keeps her chimaera business a secret from her human world, the chimaera keep secrets from Karou. She is only allowed to fetch teeth for the powerful and wise Brimstone. Brimstone, in turn, weaves those teeth into magic. What of the chimaera world? What the magic is used for? How did Karou came to be with the troupe of four other worldly creatures since infancy? Karou feels like she’s missing some very important puzzle pieces to her life, and all that shifts into something more dangerous when black, hand-shaped burns start to appear on the doors the link Karou to her chimaera world...

                                            (Above, a chimarea sketch)

Eloquently written, beautifully described, this story was magical. Karou’s tale wove many questions and worked me into a frenzy to discover the answers. The last half of the book went off with many surprises and turns. There was love, loyalty, war, friendship, fantasy, suspense, mystery, disappointment, hope. Always hope. For all the decisions Karou faced, she make her choices respectively. In one case of obtaining the power of flight, enviably. If I had to step inside the world of a book to experience the wonder of such bizarre creatures and rampant magic, this place would be my first choice. You think you have certain characters pegged after a particular point, only to actually get a grasp on them much later on. It was not until the final few pages that it was largely revealed what some people truly were. To say who or what I mean would be a spoiler, so I’ll let you uncover these things for yourself. I am eagerly anticipating reading the sequel, Days Of Blood And Starlight!

GIRLS By Joshua and Jonathan Luna

Girls

By Joshua and Jonathan Luna

Category: Adult Graphic Novel, Sci Fi, Drama

Vivid artwork, engrossing characters and a suspenseful plot bring Girls around like the best of horror stories. In the sleepy little Pennystown a mystery is becoming unearthed. A gorgeous and dazed naked woman comes darting out of the woods in front of average guy Ethan.  But when strange eggs appear and savage attacks occur, everyone in Pennystown is left scrambling to understand and survive.

The visually striking graphics make this novel feel more like a movie playing out. The deep, bright colors often contrast the brutality of the egg-women. The dialogue is realistic, each character believable. It’s a horror story with blurry edges. The egg-women at times appear docile, at times murderous. Are they all the same or is the first one that Ethan found different? With the town’s population shrinking and everyone suffering various degrees of insanity, any and everything can happen.

I was completely spellbound by this book. It got my curiosity from the cover alone and devoured me within a few pages. Very adult themes and gore aplenty, this one is not for the faint of heart. If you’d like to savor a chilling tale of epic proportions, this might be your next read!

A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY By Libba Bray

A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY

By Libba Bray

Categories:  Fantasy, young adult

Victorian boarding school set in a Gothic mansion seems like a great story to fold into 16 year old Gemma Doyle, who is still reeling from the death of her mother. But add premonitions, magic and other worlds to the mix and you get A Great and Terrible Beauty. Inexplicably drawn to the unusual, Gemma foresees the untimely death of her mother while living in India. After this loss, she is sent to Spence, a girl’s boarding school in London. Here she meets new faces and is drawn to something she can’t quite explain. The mystery of her visions is explained more when she and her new friends from Spence explore the other realms where magic is used to keep and maintain power by a group of ancient women called the Order.

There’s quite a bit of intrigue and suspense in this novel, and I enjoyed the detective agency feel to what the girls were getting into. I actually listened to this book on audio CD. It was easy to listen to, and I was pleased to find this book had become a trilogy. It was a good read with a lot of pretty imagery described, and I would suggest it to fantasy fans. If it keeps your interest, the second book is called Rebel Angels.  

DRINKING & TWEETING AND OTHER BRANDI BLUNDERS By Brandi Glanville with Leslie Bruce

DRINKING & TWEETING AND OTHER BRANDI BLUNDERS By Brandi Glanville with Leslie Bruce

Categories: Non-fiction, rag-mag

First of all, I’m not entirely sure why I’m doing a review on a book that could have been an article in People/Us Magazine. I don’t watch “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”, I’m not a fan of LeAnn Rimes’s music, and I don’t subscribe to or pore over gossip magazines.

That being said, this book follows the story of Brandi Glanville. She was married to an actor who had small roles in soap operas, etc. They had two small children in 2009 when her husband Edward Cibrian starred in a made for TV movie with former (current?) country singer LeAnn Rimes. The two ‘stars’ began an affair and Brandi, who was apparently in deep denial over the cheating ways of her beloved, eventually divorced Eddie, who then married LeAnn. Following so far? I recall it being something of a tabloid scandal and since then Brandi has dealt with cyber-stalking and co-parenting. This lead to her getting a role on a reality TV show called “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” (which must be a loosely interpreted title, since Brandi is not a housewife, not entirely “real” thanks to plastic surgery, and by her own admission does not make enough money to live in Beverly Hills).

If I’m honest, the first couple chapters were interesting because Brandi is very candid about what happened between her and her ex-husband. It was cheeky and honest. Like when she goes on a double date (before the scandal happens)with Eddie and LeAnn and her husband while they are filming that TV movie, Brandi overhears LeAnn asking Eddie if he wanted to lick cake frosting off her chest. Brandi confronts them immediately and asks “What the fuck do you two have going on?” Which is more mature then I would have approached things. There would probably be chipped teeth and bruises involved.

After the first few chapters though, this book does get repetitive and rehash the same concepts that get introduced in the beginning of the book. Brandi hates her ex-husband, hates his new wife, and hates her kids getting attached to their “bonus parent”. We get it. She doesn’t have any skills to find work so she considers the reality TV show a big break-though.  Due to the legal proceedings of her divorce, she is not able to actually speak about  how things turned out for her monetary-wise.

Here's this Brandi:

And the ex plus home wrecker:

I can’t criticize too harshly though,  No one forced me to google who these people were after finishing the book (there were no pictures provided). No one made me read it at all. If I could go back in time and decide to stop reading after the first couple chapters, well I’d be a millionaire with time travel so I much of what I’d do would be more captivating than going back to report about a story lagging moral.

GAME OF THRONES By George R R Martin

Game of Thrones By George R R Martin

Categories: Fantasy, adventure

I am aware that this book (series) already has a cult following.

Having acknowledged that, this book is amazing! You get to experience the interlocking web of vast plot lines, stories, and histories.

We enter the realm of Winterfell, home to Lord Eddard (Ned) Stark and his brood of five children with wife Lady Stark, plus one bastard Jon Snow. His family has reigned over the North since the first men came to this part of the world. Winterfell is part of the Seven Kingdoms, ruled over absolutely by King Robert Baratheon, who happened to grow up with Ned Stark. His former Hand of the King has died suddenly and Robert asks his most trusted friend in all the Seven Kingdoms to fill the position of most trusted advisor, second in command.

So begins the start of an epic tale seen through the eyes of Ned Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Hand to the King. Lady Catelyn, wife to Ned, of the House Tully. Tyrion Lannister, brother of the Queen Cersei, an Imp who wields knowledge like a knight wields a sword. Jon Snow, Lord Stark’s bastard from his one dishonorable trist during the very beginning of his marriage to Catelyn , which happened while he was away at war and Catelyn was home pregnant with their first child Robb. Sansa, eldest Stark daughter, betrothed to King Robert’s son Prince Joffrey; a selfish and gullible girl. Arya, younger Stark daughter who is hot-headed and tomboyish; she and Sansa are about as opposite as any two sisters can be. Bran, second youngest Stark child, who happens upon a dark secret early in the book that sets off a chain of crushing consequences. And on the other side of the world (or across the sea) we encounter Daenerys, who was once of the reigning family of the Seven Kingdoms, and in a manner of ways entitled to the Iron Throne across the sea, were it not for her elder brother Viserys. However, Viserys arranges a marriage so Daenerys will be queen of the Dothraki nomads, a force with over a hundred thousand warriors at his command. The timid Daenerys turns into a Khaleesi (queen) and finds courage and power among the Dothraki, alongside her husband Khal Drogo.

This was an incredible book for a number of reasons. It was fantasy, magic lives in this world,  but that was not the focus of the story. It was entirely driven by these characters. Each chapter told in their voice was a window through their eyes, taking their reactions and motives and using them to propel the series of events that happen. It was also not a clear cut black and white picture of people. Sure, there are villains who come out and make you hate them, but the story flows in a way that makes you realize they are probably doing what is best for them, what they believe to be true. The only exception to this for me was the spoiled, loathsome Prince Joffrey. I found his actions to be revolting and cruel, which if that was the way you thought people would follow you and fear you, perhaps would work to a small selection of people. But his “antics” left little for me to empathize about. Another who could be a villain is Joffrey’s uncle, the Imp Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion, however, has none of the ruthless ambition of his family and is quite humorous. He won me over (and quite a few powerful people in the book as well) with his wit and cunning.

My favorite was Princess Daenerys across the sea. She transformed from a timid, submissive sister into a powerful, exceptional leader. There is only one Iron Throne that rules the Seven Kingdoms and it turns into a shuffle of who should be seated there ruling, who is best equipped, best suited, who has the most valid claim. Like actual life, this was no easy web to untangle. Several people end up having a legitimate argument as to whom the crown belongs to.

The novel was suspenseful, scary, delightful, sad, surprising and exciting. I grew attached to each narrator and even though I knew a lot of big spoilers beforehand, was close to tears during a particular death. It moved me, feeling this pain from the child who witnessed it. I embraced the growth of each person and cringed at the struggles they faced. The fantasy aspect, direwolves and white-walkers, dragons and tree-spirits, was speckled throughout the adventures. Dive into this book, live these stories like I did. It takes an effort to begin a 700+ page book, but this one will keep you guessing until the last page.

Memorable quote:

“The things I do for love.” -Ser Jaime Lannister (Kingslayer)

How do you feel about the Game of Thrones?

ANYA'S GHOST By Vera Brosgol

ANYA’S GHOST By Vera Brosgol


Categories: Graphic novel, paranormal fiction


High school is not easy for Anya. She’s not as skinny as the popular girls and her mother is an immigrant from Russia with little sympathy for the woes of an un-popular teenage girl. But everything changes when Anya falls into a pit and stumbles across a skeleton.  This is no ordinary pit though, a girl named Emily once fell in and died a long time ago and her ghost remains. Emily is bored and lonely in the pit and decides to follow Anya around. It goes well, but then a dark side of Emily comes out… 

This shadowy tale of a haunt gone awry is fun and humorous. Anya can’t catch a break until she meets Emily; and then it all goes wrong. Our heroine was witty and sympathetic. All illustrations were shades of purple and gray and black, a befitting color scheme for a ghost story. 


This was a fun read and Neil Gaiman hailed it “A Masterpiece.”  This should be enough encouragement to seek out this graphic novel. Happy hauntings!

SICKENED: A MEMOIR OF A MUNCHAUSEN BY PROXY CHILDHOOD By Julie Gregory

Sickened: The Memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood

By Julie Gregory

Categories: Non-Fiction, medical conditions

A compelling first-hand account of the chilling disorder called Munchausen by Proxy (MBP). Originally published in 2003, it’s the first of its kind to depict the trauma caused when an adult, in this case Julie’s mother, intentionally misleads everyone into believing her child is sick. Julie is put through countless procedures, tests, examinations, and a variety of drugs to aid the symptoms her mother makes up. This book was gruesome, not only were this girl’s parents dismissive and abusive, they kept it going for years. 

The first half reads as a sort of “what more could they possibly do to this poor girl?” and it isn’t until Julie is about 30 that she breaks out of this cycle where she needs her parents. It was very well written, and there’s always this lingering question of “how does it end, why does she keep associating with her mother?” One thing I did not like, that stuck with me, was Julie likening her dependence on her mother (despite and even because of the abuse) to dragging around a placenta. It struck me as odd because Julie was never protected or nurtured by her mother, just manipulated and abused. The nature of their relationship is only brought to an end when a grown up Julie sees her mother doing the exact same thing to another helpless twelve year old girl. This was an absorbing read with a lot of insightful glimpses as to the destructive nature of MBP. Anyone interested in Psychology or social work would do well to read this book.