Fade by Lisa McMann

*****
Fade by Lisa McMann

I was hoping that Fade would be better than Wake, but I wasn't hoping too hard. Wake was fantastic even if it was too short and a tad choppy. Those same 'flaws' are in Fade and it is every bit as good as Wake.

Janie and Cabe are back undercover at their high school this time working to stop a teacher that is suspected of being a sexual predator based off an anonymous phone call. The caller didn't say which teacher which is where Janie & Cabe come in. Captain Komisky thinks the deviant is probably male though which puts Janie in far more danger than Cabe, an issue Cabe has a hard time coming to terms with.

Even though that takes up the majority of the plot there is still plenty of time for Janie and Cabel to sort through their own personal issues together. Janie is still learning how to control her dreams and the dreams of others and Cabel's doing his best to try not to be too overprotective. He has a hard time of it and the results are adorable.

I think I even liked Fade better than Wake because they are together so much. Also, the action ties up nicely by the end but leaves plenty of room for a third book with Janie and Cabel.

Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, 2) by Ilona Andrews

****
Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, 2) by Ilona Andrews

This is not the first time I've read this book... but I don't think I realized how amusing Kate really was the first time. Kate makes all these great snarky comments that must have gotten lost in the action the last time I read it.

Kate Daniels is a mercenary that just can't seem to keep herself out of trouble. Her friends all seem to be business acquaintances (Curran the Beast Lord, Derek a werewolf, Saiman a shapeshifter she guarded once, Ghastek a vampire rider, Jim a werepanther, Andrea a beastkin that also works at the Order etc etc.) so when she takes on a mission involving an orphaned girl, a missing coven of witches, and a rogue deity set on making Atlanta his new home, Kate really doesn't think her friends will be able to help too terribly much.

It turns out that the missing coven of witches was worshipping the wrong deity and really messed things up when a cauldron of rebirth got stolen and the mythical enemies of Morrigan called the Fomorians begin chasing down Kate and the orphaned girl that Kate has taken under her wing. Things continue to get messy as artifacts get stolen, informants withhold crucial details, allies make decisions without all that crucial information and Morrigan's Hound (named Bran) continues to try to get into her pants.

Kate certainly keeps busy fending off, well, everything and everyone. The action is tightly worded and fast and can get confusing if you tend to skim when things get exciting so that you can take in more information in less time (like I do).

Kate continually turns down Bran but he's not the only one making offers and I was pretty pleased with Curran's role through most of the story. He's about as tough and snarky as Kate and so they make a good team for both fighting and bantering. His actions and commentary in this book were very amusing particularly at the end. ^_^

It does seem to take the author/publisher a long time before the next in the series comes out but if it's quality fiction like these first two books I can't really complain too much.

The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig

*****
The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig

I love this series by Lauren Willig! Each novel follows the continuing story of Eloise, an American researching for her thesis in Britain. Eloise is intent on unmasking the Pink Carnation, the only English spy that remains unmasked that was working in the early 1800s. And since the books started she has made quite a bit of progress in that quarter mainly due to the family papers of one Colin Selwick. Colin and Eloise are finally dating (yay!) and they've headed back to his home in Sussex so Eloise can continue going through the archives there.

Eloise means to continue her search for the the Pink Carnation and where her favorite spy headed after her brief stay in England, but she gets sidetracked with some documents written by Lady Charlotte Landsdowne that mention the madness of King George. Intrigued by the idea that Henrietta Selwick and Charlotte had anything to do with the king's bout of madness, Eloise reasons that she may as well take a look and she jumps right into the story in the past.

Charlotte is a bit of a shy and secluded creature that generally prefers the company of books to people. Despite all that when her long-missing (distantly-related) cousin Robert returns to the family seat, Charlotte is more than willing to walk down memory lane as long as it is with him. Robert on the other hand, returned to England from India to track down a possible spy that shot his mentor in the back in the heat of battle when the errant shot wouldn't be missed. His investigative skills take him into the heart of the Hell Fire club. The man Robert has been chasing is not just plotting with the French but also plotting against the king. Since Charlotte is a lady-in-waiting at the time and a great friend to the king she also becomes involved in stopping the plot.

As usual, the dual storyline of Eloise and whatever historical characters she is studying is both interesting and amusing. The characters don't always think or do things the way that we might expect them to and the little romantic interludes between the historical characters lighten up the feel of what could be an otherwise tense historical spy novel. We're teased with the short chapters between Colin & Eloise's relationship but that usually just makes me more eager to read the next one.

Blindspot: a novel of a Gentleman in Exile and a Lady in Disguise by Jane Kamensky & Jill Lepore

****
Blindspot: a novel of a Gentleman in Exile and a Lady in Disguise by Jane Kamensky & Jill Lepore

Blindspot refers to many different things in this novel. It encompasses Stewart Jameson's inability to see that his apprentice is female, Fanny Easton's blindness to her own father's cruelty and the freedom that she used to have, Parliament's lamentable habit of taxing their colonies for a war they already paid for, and even the colonists' ironically calling Parliament's taxation shackles when they still kept slaves in physical shackles...

Stewart Jameson has run away from his debtors in Scotland by crossing the puddle and taking berth in Boston and setting up shop as a painter of faces. He immediately hires an apprentice, one Frances Weston, to grind the paints, set up the canvases etc. Jamie is attracted to his apprentice which doesn't seem to bother him overmuch despite his normal preference for women. Weston(Fanny Easton in actuality) thinks Jamie is the best man she knows (considering her point of reference with other males one can hardly blame her). Several years ago Fanny was the daughter of one of Boston's leading families but an affair with her painting master left her a 'fallen woman' and Fanny refused to give up her freedom and marry the man despite her pregnancy.

Jamie is also more than he initially appears, having come into his debt with all the best of intentions - freeing his best friend, a university-trained doctor and a runaway slave. When the deal went awry Jamie got caught with all the debt and his friend got sold anyway.

To further complicate an already detail-driven plot the colonies are rebelling against England and abolitionists have already taken to the platform in Boston. When a prominent politician is murdered and a black man is blamed Jamie and Fanny (and Doctor Ignatius Alexander) work together to figure out who the real killer is.

The plot is fairly predictable despite the complicated details and switchbacks but the authors keep it fairly light and historically accurate. Jamie is something of a rake and has a unique way of looking at (and phrasing) things. It's really quite entertaining.

Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, 4) by Patricia Briggs

****
Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, 4) by Patricia Briggs

I was pleased to finally be reading the next Mercy Thompson book, but found it to be less edgy than the others that I had enjoyed.

I suppose that's to be expected. Mercy is still having panic attacks after her last adventure and is definitely a tad gun-shy about putting any of her friends in danger. As usual though, Mercy attracts trouble as easily as she attracts hot men...

Nonetheless when Stefan is dropped nearly dead (again?) in her living room she puts on a brave face to help. Similarly when an old college friend drops by to see if Mercy can solve her ghost problem, Mercy tackles it head-on.

One of the things I really like about Mercy is her ability to reach out to the 'outcast' members of society (Samuel, the loner, Chad, the deaf boy, fae, werewolves, vampires...) and bring them together around her even as she gives off a no nonsense, stick-it-to-the-man vibe. Her ability to be abrasive as well as protective, scared and still brave is what makes her such a kick-butt heroine. That 'live in the now' sense where she buries her fear makes her human and her attributes attainable and likeable.

This book feels like a bridge. Much DID happen in terms of action, but it also felt like there was much more of an emotional journey to this one than any of the last three (well, excepting perhaps the third - that was plenty emotional).

I'm VERY excited for the next Mercy Thompson (which Amazon lists will be available approximately six months from this review) and can't wait to see what Ms. Briggs has in mind for our Mercy next.

How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier

**
How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier

I had several major problems with this book.

My first problem occurred on page one in the first sentence. Spoffs? What the heck are spoffs? Every time I thought I could get into the book the language was a turn-off. Normally I have no problem adjusting to whatever strange and various words and/or names authors make up to cover vague or alien concepts. But most of the concepts in this book (while sometimes vague) were not exactly alien. Spoffs refers to breasts I finally found out about three paragraphs in (at which point I had to return to the beginning and recapture what I'd lost making the story seem choppier than it should have. The words she used may have been British or Australian slang but were so unfamiliar to me in the context that they were used that they might as well have been made up.

My second major problem was the depth of the characters. They were all amazingly shallow. The main character doesn't want or see value in her parking fairy merely because she's not old enough to drive yet. Her immaturity could have dissipated throughout the book but didn't. I'm not sure any of the characters made any kind of lasting impression on each other either except maybe with the poor girl whose name really IS stupidly long...

The school that the kids attended was also a point of distraction for me. Who would elect to go to school for 10 hours a day for 6 days a week? Even if you do love sports that length seems a tad extremist and should probably be checked out by a therapist. Their tight rule system, while intended to instill discipline in the children, only seemed to make them anal retentive (as evidenced by the growing list at the beginning of each chapter, which incidentally was the only thing keeping me turning the pages).

All in all this book was a disappointment for me since I was so interested in the concept to start. *sigh*

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

****
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I'm not quite sure what I thought the Hunger Games would be about when I picked it up (Amazon recommended it) so I was a tad disturbed with some of the Lottery-like imagery. Despite several loud comments from a friend (to whom I had described the plot a few pages in) that I should just "put the book down and walk away," I perservered and finished the book. I'm really glad that I did.

Katniss Everdeen has been providing for her family since her father died in a coal mine a few years ago in District 12 (Appalachia). Her mother is an apothecary but couldn't care for either Katniss or her younger daughter Primrose (Prim for short) right after her husband's death. All three would have starved if not for Katniss' hunting abilities.

As if life wasn't cruel enough in this post-apocolyse world, every year one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts must be sent to the Capitol (somewhere in the Rockies) to participate in the Hunger Games. The participants are chosen on a lottery system with every boy and girl between the ages of 12 and 18 putting at least one name into the pot. 12-year-olds must put in one slip, 13-year-olds two slips etc. Life is so poor in some parts of the district though that you can enter your name more than once to receive a yearly food stipend for your family. On Katniss' first entry into the reaping (the lottery) she entered herself four times: once for the requirement and then once for food for herself, for her mother, for her younger sister. Moreover the slips are cumulative so Katniss will enter at least 8 her second year and increasing her odds of being chosen to particpate in the Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games are held each year to remind the Districts of their loss and the participants are rightfully called 'Tributes.' Once all 24 names have been chosen the Tributes are taken to the Capitol to prepare for the televised games (which are mandatory for the districts to watch). Only one Tribute can survive the Hunger Games and the reward for winning is a life of luxury and fame. No one from District 12 has won one of the Hunger Games in 30 or so years and the last winner spends all of his time drunk.

The odds are against Katniss the year that her beloved younger sister Prim is forced to enter her name into the reaping. She has 20 or so slips in the pot with her name on it and made sure her sister would only be putting in her obligatory one entry. Despite the odds, Prim's name is chosen and Katniss, knowing her younger sister would definitely not survive the Games, volunteers to go in her place.

I did see many plot points coming (the banding together in the arena for one) but others were unexpected (her coming to truly care for her comrade Peeta) and it was a violent and bumpy ride. The effect at the end though was cheering as Katniss stands against the system. I look forward to the next book in the Trilogy and hope it clears up some of the lingering questions I had since the book ended so abruptly.