Bed with Books

Another Throwback Review, this time from February 2012. Take a looksie: The Game of Triumphs is a YA urban fantasy by Laura Powell. Fifteen-year-old Cat is on her way home, doing her best to avoid human contact as always, when she can’t help but notice a man being chased – a man that asks for her help. But Cat sees the gleam of excitement in his eyes, along with the fear, and figures he’s just a weirdo. Yet something about it all sparks her curiosity, and Cat can’t seem to help pursuing the situation. Doing so brings her to an extravagant party that introduces her to the Game of Triumphs. It’s a centuries-old game played between modern-day London and an alternate, unexplainable reality called the Arcanum where game players embark on challenges having to do with the tarot cards they are dealt, or the card they are trying to win. It’s all a bit confusing to Cat at first, but the intrigue is undeniable. Not long after becoming involved in this enigmatic game, though, Cat fi...

Another throwback review this week! This one was posted originally in July 2009 and is still one of my favorites! Here ya go: Eyes Like Stars in the first book by Lisa Mantchev in the Theatre Illuminata trilogy. Bertie lives on a stage. Her friends are fairies from A Midsummer Night’s Dream . Her crush is Nate, a pirate from The Little Mermaid . And her childhood friend and now frenemie is Ariel, a hunky spirit from The Tempest . That’s right. On the stage Bertie lives on, all those characters from all those plays? They’re alive and bursting with drama. And not just the characters from Shakespeare. Every single play that has ever been written is represented in The Book. The Book that makes all of this possible. The Book that creates the magic. But Bertie isn’t one of these characters; the theatre has taken her in, with a rather murky explanation as to why. It is her home. The only place she knows. However, Bertie isn’t the most gracious of guests. She can’t seem to help mak...

Psych: A Mind is a Terrible to Read is a contemporary mystery based on the USA television series and written by William Rabkin. Brilliantly showing up a detective in court by causing someone other than the defendant to confess to a murder, therefore throwing out the whole case, is not the best way to get in someone’s good graces. Though Shawn, man-child of excellent deduction skills who has convinced most of Santa Barbara that he is actually psychic, may be convinced that the end justifies the means in this case, the detective in question is not so sure. In fact, he’s so irritated that he gets Gus, Shawn’s best friend since childhood, and Shawn’s car impounded over something as silly as eighty-seven parking tickets. Petty man! But when the duo go to pick up the car, they find they’ve stumbled across a criminal conspiracy and nearly get run over by a Mercedes. Not that surprising, really. Once Gus wakes up in the hospital, not only does he find himself in the midst of another crazy ca...

Feeling Sorry for Celia is a YA contemporary novel by Jaclyn Moriarty. Elizabeth’s best friend Celia has gone missing… again. She has a habit of taking off due to her “free spirit.” Which is really quite inconvenient. Elizabeth’s father has announced that he will be staying in Australia for the next year, rather than Canada – meaning lots of father/daughter time. Again, quite inconvenient. In the meantime, Elizabeth’s mother is so busy that they tend to correspond with each other entirely through notes on the fridge. So though Elizabeth initially finds her English teacher’s homework to start writing actual, real letters (to rekindle the “Joy of the Envelope”) to a stranger at another school quite ridiculous, soon she finds herself telling this stranger more about herself than most know. Entirely written in the form of letters – either to/from her pen pal at the other school or from silly invented societies like “The Association of Teenagers,” Feeling Sorry for Celia is a unique, exce...

Tell Me Three Things is a YA contemporary novel by debut author Julie Buxbaum. Jessie’s life has been turned upside down – and she was not consulted. Being moved from her Chicago home to a prep school in Los Angeles to begin her junior year of high school is traumatizing enough without also having to try to become comfortable living with her new earnest stepmom and standoffish stepbrother. How her dad could have done this to her, sprung this on her, without any notice… It is beyond her. To be saddled with people she doesn’t even know when it’s been barely two years since her mother’s death is not helping her relationship with her dad. Without her best friend and without any frame of reference in Los Angeles, Jessie feels totally alone. That is, until she receives an email from someone calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), providing an offer to help her navigate her new surroundings. It’s weird but intriguing. And in a decision based on need rather than anything else, Jes...

The Lost Track of Time is a debut middle grade novel by Paige Britt. With her mind full of ideas and bursting with imagination, Penelope has aspirations of being a writer. Yet her mother’s plans for her are quite different – and every minute of Penelope’s days are scheduled and planned, leaving no time for her dreaming since she must use time to be “productive.” But when the unexpected happens – a hole in her schedule lasting an entire day! – Penelope somehow falls into it. Suddenly she is in a wonderful place called the Realm of Possibility that is being destroyed by the Clockworkers, led by the villain Chronos. Thrust into a position where her imagination is desperately needed, Penelope begins an adventure like no other – looking to find the Great Moodler, the one person that can save the Realm of Possibility and answer her many, many questions. The Lost Track of Time was a charming, intelligent, warm novel of brilliant wordplay! Anyone who is familiar with my reading habits knows...

The School for Good and Evil: The Last Ever After is the final book in the middle grade fantasy trilogy by Soman Chainani. As a huge fan of The School for Good and Evil and The School for Good and Evil: A World Without Princes , I pre-ordered this last book. If you have not read the prior two books, I would strongly suggest avoiding this review for any potential spoilers – the books are too good to spoil!! I am trusting that you are not continuing to read unless you are already a fan… Back in Gavaldon, Agatha is happy that her prince, Tedros, is not really a prince in her hometown – and neither is she a future queen. Yet, very quickly, she begins to doubt their Ever After. Part of the problem is that Tedros and Agatha’s story has not truly finished yet – it is still being written. Their tale is still connected with Agatha’s old best friend, Sophie. Now enemies with Agatha, Sophie has embraced the now young School Master, whom has convinced her of their love and that love on the side o...

The Masque of the Black Tulip is an adult historical novel with a contemporary mashup and the second in the Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig. Many years ago I read The Secret History of the Pink Carnation and enjoyed it. I am finally getting interested in continuing the series, which last I checked now has twelve novels and is not done yet!! I would definitely recommend reading The Secret History of the Pink Carnation first, as it introduces the reader to the fictionalized world of flowery espionage in England during the days of the Napoleonic wars. We also first meet our cast of characters in it. Though The Masque of the Black Tulip puts emphasis and focus on a different set of characters, they are within the same family and social circle. So, I still recommend reading it first. Okay, now onto deets of The Masque of the Black Tulip! Having discovered the shockingly delicious identity of the Pink Carnation, modern day graduate student Eloise has even more questions. Especiall...

The Big Fix is the third book in the Ciel Halligan urban fantasy/mystery series by Linda Grimes. As with any other series, it is best to read the novels in order for the most fulfilling reading experience. Therefore, please find links to the prior book titles and my reviews of them here: In a Fix Quick Fix For those of you who have already read these books, feel free to read on. For those of you who haven’t, there could be minor spoilers of the first two books – you’ve been warned!!! Ciel Halligan, aura adaptor, is still determined to make her business work and be self-sufficient. Just because her hot boyfriend wants to help her out financially doesn’t mean she would ever accept. But she WILL accept his referral for a new client, since she so desperately needs one. Plus, this job is a fun one! Getting a chance to take on famous action star actor Jackson Gunn’s aura for a snake handling scene (he’s apparently terrified of snakes, who knew?!) should be a fast way to make a good amount of...