What's a Vampire Series, Without Some Werewolves?

When I saw that the sequel to Rebecca Alexander's first book was on Blogging for Books I immediately requested a copy. And was super excited because I didn't even know it was a series! I then waited for several months before actually reading said book.

I wish I hadn't been so busy and waited so long! The Secrets of Blood and Bone was excellent. I've read Twilight, watched the Vampire Diaries, and have even gotten into Teen Wolf. There isn't too much difference in Vampire and Werewolf lore among most of the current books and TV shows floating around. Rebecca Alexander has managed to take a very different path. Her incorporation of real historical events to create a realistic world where magic and magical creatures could exist. Her writing is gritty and exciting. The story is a great extension of the first book, and built even more on the historical writings of Dee. There is more character development and the story delves deeper into the magic. There's a bit of weird references to sexual vampirism, which was not really needed for the plot. But I can see how she tied it in.

I'm not going to ruin the ending. But DAMN. I immediately googled to make sure Alexander was writing a third. She is. Don't worry. Everything's fine. And I am eagerly waiting for book three.


Courtesy of Blogging for Books <3

Books, Cults, and Glowing Book Covers

So, because I'm a lazy person, I typically only review the books that I've been given for the sole purpose of reviewing. And then sometimes, I have to read for homework (Library Sciences what upp). And then sometimes, the books I have to read for homework are amazing. And then sometimes, I feel obligated to tell as many people as humanly possibly about how amazing said book is. This is that book. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan is amazing. AMAZING. Everyone stop what you're doing, go to your library, your local bookstore, Amazon, wherever. People - the cover GLOWS IN THE DARK.

Exhibit B. GLOWING

Exhibit A. Not Glowing

Get it? Because its a bookstore that never closes. just so genius.





Also, terrified me for a minute in the dark in my room before I put two and two together. For a brief moment I really thought I had stumbled into a magical world and was going to get to go to Narnia or something. No such luck I'm afraid.

Anyways, enough about the cover. This book has it all. You have your adorable dorky twenty something leading man who falls into a world of mystery and books. Cue the love interest, even dorkier twenty something lady who is infinitely smarter than our leading man, and rocks it. Cue the elderly man to lead them into the world of mystery. Also, they just constantly make Dungeons and Dragons jokes which actually had me laughing out loud to myself as I binge read this entire book on a Saturday morning alone in my jammies. NO SHAME. This book is hilarious and is full of mysteries. I'm not quite sure what I thought it was about before reading it, but I love books about books so I figured I would enjoy it. The story ended up being like a Da Vinci code mystery without all of the religious undertones. Basically it's great and everyone should read it. And try to get the cover that looks like this, so you can revel in the glow-in-the-dark-magic.

(Photo cred - Google Images, thanks strangers somewhere who took pictures of this book cover)

The Literary Apothecary

Jean Perdu's floating bookshop sits on the Seine as he prescribes books to readers as if they are medicine for the soul. Nina George's The Little Paris Bookshop was medicine for my soul. This book could not have fallen into my lap at a better time. A gorgeous story about an old man who let life pass him by because of a lost love. It was as if Jean Perdu himself had looked me and said "This one. Read this one next." This book was beautifully written, with colorful characters and a story that makes you laugh and cry in the same chapter, and was the perfect book to remind me that you can't give up just because you've gotten a raw deal. When life gives you lemons, go find a book that tells you every possible thing you can do with lemons. As if it wasn't already wonderful, George lists a variety of books and what they should be used for as "medicine" for readers AND she provides the recipes for meals cooked in the book. Well done Nina, well done.

If the only premise of this book had been an adorable older man selling books as medicine for all of life's ailments, I would have been one happy book reviewer. But then send him on a quest to understand events that happened 20 years ago and to give him closure on those events? Excuse me while I aggressively stalk Nina George on GoodReads to see what else she's written and if she's in the works to write anything else.

Courtesy of Blogging for Books

Doctors Actually Listening to their Patients

What a novel idea, am I right? As a patient with a rare collagen disorder, I appreciated that Dr. Clifton K. Meador wrote a book about actually listening to his patients and understanding the mental problems aren't totally separated from the physical. I've spent a shocking amount of time in hospital waiting rooms and doctor's offices, and on more than one occasion been misdiagnosed. There's nothing more frustrating in the world than being told there's nothing wrong with you, or being prescribed the wrong medication for the wrong ailment. The only doctors I've never had problems with have been my physical therapists, they're all about preventative medicine and they're basically baller. So hats off to you guys. Dr. Meador's Symptoms of Unknown Origin is refreshing; it's not full of too much medical mumbo jumbo - so even if you're not a doctor it's relatively easy to follow along. This book is a very different take on the medical world, focusing on the patient's symptoms instead of starting with preconceived biases. I can't really say that I enjoyed reading this book, but again, I'm not a doctor. But the fact that it exists gives me hope that the medical field is moving in a direction that is more respectful and understanding of how patients and doctors can work together to be able to find cures to diseases and disorders that they previously couldn't.

What Exactly is a Concerto?

I stopped playing piano when I was eleven because I didn't want to practice. To this day, I totally regret it. The music is beautiful and I love hearing it played. However, I couldn't tell you the difference between a concerto or a sonata. The Lost Concerto by Helaine Mario is all about the music. The story she has crafted is a fascinating thriller with short chapters full of action that keep the pages turning. Mario's metaphors are a liiiiiiiiiiittle heavy handed. I get that the book is about music. I get it. I promise. It's very obvious. But there's a musical metaphor on almost every page. It's a little excessive. It adds to the kitschy nature of the story, but it's also beating the dead horse. Perhaps if I was more musical, I would have appreciated the use of metaphor in a way that propelled the story forward. But sadly, I do not know what a concerto really is, and so a great number of the comparisons were lost on me.

The Lost Concerto has a lot of freaking characters. (Spoilers!!) And I'm still not quite sure how old Michael is. I'm pretty sure if he fought in 'Nam, he might be too old for our main character Maggie. But, he's adorable and showed great character development. All of the characters were well done, your bad guys were super evil, some of them were sneakily evil, and your good guys were good, and sometimes a little bad. Everything you want in a suspenseful thriller. Sometimes it was a little tricky to follow the point of view, but it made it a more interesting read than had it only been from one perspective.

I may not know what a concerto is, or how to properly use it in a metaphor, but I know a good book when I read it. Mario drew me into this crazy mixed up world of music, and kept me reading until the last note was played. (See what I did there?)

The Librarians?

After getting completely sucked into the TV show "The Librarians" this past year, super human librarians aren't that out of the norm. However, super hero, god-like, serial killer librarians - well that still came as a shock. The Library at Mount Char is a suspenseful read, with more twists and turns than a water slide. I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into when I started reading, and when I finished about 48 hours later - I'm still turning over the story in my mind. A quick and exciting novel, this book completely sidetracked me from everything I was supposed to be doing: homework, helping my boyfriend pack, eat, sleep... the usual. Hawkins clearly put a lot of effort into making this story flow together; each cog in the plot fell together perfectly in the end. Almost a little too perfectly if you ask me. Everything was very perfectly explained, and I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. If you like a story with a very neat ending, you're gonna love this book. Which is not to say I didn't love it. I mean, I couldn't put it down. The language is funny, readable but not too simplistic. Hawkins makes quite a few plays on words, which I also enjoyed greatly. A fun, distracting book with some crazy plot twists - definitely a great book to read curled up on the couch on a rainy day. I'll be definitely keeping my eyes out to see what Steve Hawkins cooks up next.

Courtesy of Blogging for Books

I am a strong independent woman!

Kate Bolick has created a new kind of historical memoir, and become an awakener herself. I started this book thinking it would focus more on the author herself, but in reality she provided a series of mini biographies of famous "single" women. Each chapter focuses on a famous historical woman, who affected Bolick's life in one way or another. Open, honest, and funny - Bolick has crafted a fascinating story about the lives of single women throughout the past two centuries. She provides a different outlook from the traditional stereotype of the elderly spinster lady. Throughout her book, she weaves a story of "spinsterdom" that isn't sad and lonely but a story about women taking control of their lives and using their skills to empower themselves and lead lives that aren't devoid of social interactions but instead incredibly full. For any single women out there, or those coupled, this book is an excellent read for a perspective on life that doesn't make every women think that the only way to fulfill her life is through a heterosexual romantic relationship.

Courtesy of blogging for books :)

The Room is Real. Or it isn't. Or it is? Or it isn't?

The Room by Jonas Karlsson is weird. It's a weird book. I'm not upset that it's weird. I'm weird and like weird things. But it was totally weird and not at all what I was expecting. Granted I'm starting to think that "not what I expected" and "not something I would normally read" but "totally loved" are all starting to be a part of my vernacular when referring to books I am reading because of BloggingforBooks. The back of the book is sort of misleading. I started reading thinking that I was going to read a book about a guy that basically finds adult Narnia in an office supply closet. Instead, I got a story about a guy that is woefully socially awkward who may or may not spend the entire book hallucinating. I'm still not sure what happened at the end of this bad boy. Was the room a real place? Was there a government conspiracy cover up? Did he ever make out with that receptionist? It's all very confusing. The end of this book left me with a lot of unanswered questions. I keep going over it in my head and cannot for the life of me decide if he was a crazy person or if there was something else happening. Karlsson wrote The Room in really short little chapters, so I kept misjudging how much I had read and accidentally finished the book in about four days. Super quick read. Good, but quick. If you're in the market for a strange, thought provoking book that you could read on an airplane or waiting in the doctors office - this is the book for you! If you want a more cut and dry story that makes sense and has a main character that is likable, then not so much. Bjorn (our anti-hero) is a total weirdo, but a really interesting weirdo. Karlsson does an excellent job of portraying office life as a microcosm of human experiences, and touches on many different day to day interactions but makes them slightly off kilter. Totally weird, but totally interesting.

Happy DEAR Day! I hope the like four people who read this are enjoying their Sunday with a good book and a cup of tea. (I'm getting down on some short stories by BJ Novak in between homework assignments and sips of iced tea). May your books be long and your mugs never empty.

As always - courtesy of Blogging for Books via Random House (Thanks guys) 

Kleptomaniacs, Drug Cartels and Family

Prayers for the Stolen isn't the kind of book I would normally gravitate towards. But I am so happy I did. It follows the story of a young girl living in rural Mexico, whose life is anything but normal. I don't want to give too much away, but her story is fascinating. I know very little about the city and rural politics of Mexico. But this story gave me an insight into the struggles that exist just across our borders. Ladydi, our heroine, lives in a small town where next to no men live and the women live in constant danger. Her town is constantly under siege from chemical bombings, and raids by drug cartels. This isn't exactly a happy story, but there is beauty in it. It's amazing how these families have managed to survive for so long in such a difficult environment, and how they have almost evolved to survive in such a climate.

This novel is beautifully written and thought provoking. Jennifer Clement brings the reader into a world of danger and she shows you the the beauty that you can find among scorpions, alcoholics and murder. Above all else, this is story about the lengths that family will take to protect one another and the things anyone will do to survive.

Book courtesy of Blogging for Books

Books Are Delicious!

As evidenced by my first blog post. I love Ruth. She's pretty awesome in every way. So, I'm a little ashamed that it took me so long to finally read Delicious! her first nonfiction book. My big sister scored me a copy of it at BookCon, so I really should have finished this book about a year ago instead of a month ago. 

It's a surprising narrative, following the story of a young aspiring journalist. Combining food, history, romance, family drama and an eclectic score of characters, Ruth paints a fascinating story about Billie and her life in New York. I've always loved Ruth's ability to write about food in such a way that you really feel like you could be eating or smelling whatever it is that's being described. The main character, Billie, has an incredible ability to pick out flavors and spices from anything that she eats, and gets wrapped up in the foodie world of NYC. I couldn't help but getting wrapped in her back story and how she comes into herself while working at Delicious! a food magazine. I don't want to ruin too much of the story (yunno if anyone out there is actually reading this) but the historical aspect of this story if fascinating. Billie discovers letters from a little girl to the editor of the magazine, letters that were written during WWII. They're absolutely adorable. 

If books could always combine food, history, and romance - I would be a happy camper. Ten out of ten, Ruth. Ten out of ten. 

Because it was about time someone made vampires evil again

So. I'm a bit peeved. Ten points to Griffindor if you imagined Peeves. I already wrote this blog post on my phone while waiting an absurdly long time at the doctor's office. But the world hates me and deleted the draft. Tears. I shall persevere! And attempt to remember what I so eloquently wrote while posted up in urgent care for two hours.

I really did not expect to like this book. "The Secrets of Life and Death" by Rebecca Alexander sounded like a cheesy vampire historical novel. It wasn't. It was awesome. I was THRILLED when the "vampires", which were never actually referred to as vampires, were evil. Like serial killer evil. Which is what vampires actually are. They don't sparkle, they don't all live in Mystic Falls and they sure as hell shouldn't watch you sleep creepily through a window. Don't get me wrong. I love Vampire Diaries and am guilty of reading Twilight. However, this was so refreshing and different that I couldn't put it down.

Alexander pulls true historical events and warps them, turing a 15th century serial killer into a mystical being. This story is two fold. Based off of historical events revolving around Elizabeth Bathory and the writings of Dee and Kelley, she creates a mythical history of magic, witches and the possibility of cheating death. Jumping forward to today, the story follows several individuals who were pulled into the same magic that existed hundreds of years ago. All revolving around the disappearances of girls and young women throughout history.

This novel was different, kept me on the edge of my seat and didn't romanticize the undead. If you're looking for a historical novel about some seriously evil vampires and some modern day witch craft mixed with a pretty attractive history professor, this is definitely the book for you.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.