Phèdre trains in languages, politics, diplomacy…how to observe, reason….tumbling (?)…and in pleasure. Phèdre’s main interest is in the later, but she never fails to keep her head in the court intrigue that her lord is so embroiled in and she soon needs every skill available to her once she is betrayed.

Jacqueline Carey does not shy away from detailed depictions of Phèdre’s trade and Kushiel’s Dart is not for the faint of heart, but all that is overshadowed by Phèdre’s struggle to survive servitude, torture, love and friendship in order to halt political machinations that could destroy Terre d’Ange. Phèdre will cross countries, match wits with deadly foes, discover treachery and struggle with her nature.

This is an epic fantasy based on an alternate history that sprung into being with the birth of Eula from Christ’s blood and the Magdalene’s tears. Terre d’Ange is an alternative France where the teachings of Blessed Eula and his companions prevail, shape the lives of citizens and provide one of the key drivers behind the story. There are recognisable representations of the Romans, Germanic tribes, the Celts and more, weaving a rich tapestry of cultures that captivate the reader.

Phèdre is a heroine like no other I have ever encountered. Her dual roles as a spy and courtesan are never separate. I normally struggle to like submissive characters, but despite appearances Phèdre is at heart a willful child that grows in to a strong woman. As she states: all that bends is not weak. She is a times a shallow vane girl, and others the bravest heroine to grace a page. She is a three-dimensional character, surrounded by a well-fleshed-out cast. Her streetwise friend, her celibate guard, her foster brother, her Lord, her enemies…are all complex characters that in later books become a part of a large cast that Carey manages masterfully.

Kushiel’s Dart is the first in a trilogy that is easily one of the best epic fantasies I have ever read. I would put this series up there with Tolkien and Brandon Sanderson.

And the trilogy is blissfully followed up with two other series set in this world. Though the second trilogy, Treason’s Heir, has many of the same cast of characters as the first, for me it did not have the flash and fire of the first trilogy. However, the third series, the Moirin trilogy, was a welcome return to all the things I loved in the original series.

* edit, pictures and links to come tonight

I first discovered Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum in the English section of a Germany bookstore in Hamburg. The section was small and had almost none of my usual authors, so I was forced to stand in the store reading a chapter – or two – to find the one book my small budget would allow. I picked up Hot Six, as the title suggests the sixth in the series, and soon found myself laughing out loud and drawing all sorts of unwanted attention. Needless to say, I bought the book and latter read all the others in the series. Here’s a brief synapsis of what I love about the Stephanie Plum universe:

Stephanie is a big-haired, Jersey girl whose dream of being Wonder Woman hasn’t quite materialised, and even worse her job a Macey’s has ended. Now it’s either work at the button factory or for her cousin Vinnie, who is rumoured to fornicate with barnyard animals, as a bounty hunter. She might not have bounty hunter skills, but she does know enough to blackmail Vinnie into giving her a job.

And so the hilarity ensues. Stephanie is sent out to track down naked, old men, hysterical housewives that ‘understandably’ snapped and the odd real criminal. Stephanie always seems to get her man through bungling error, the local gossip network and sheer luck. She’s helped out mostly by a former plus-sized hooker with a thing for spandex, and her pip of a grandma, who in old age has found the freedom to be as crazy as she likes. She also has the dilemma of choosing between on-and-off boyfriend Joe (cop) and sexy bounty hunter Ranger.

This could all be a recipe for disaster, a real insult to women everywhere and full of the clichéd ‘will she, won’t she’. But Evanovich gets the tone of humour just right, turning each book in to a laugh-out-loud adventure. I think Hard Eight (there is just something about the rivalry between Stephanie and her nemesis Joyce that made me laugh until I cried) is my favourite in the whole series, though I’ve enjoyed every visit with Stephanie and am looking forward to number 19 this year.

The second series is her Wicked series, which is a spin-off of the Plum series that features a supernatural character (Diesel) that was introduced in novellas that came out between the numbered-Stephanie books and were the only stories to contain the supernatural. Diesel is a bounty hunter of a supernatural variety that hunts down ‘Unmentionables’ that misuse their powers. Mostly we’re talking about people with pretty unspectacular powers like spoon bending. However, he’s now on a mission to save the world because seven stones that contain the power of the seven deadly sins have started showing up, mostly because his morally ambiguous cousin Wulf is hunting for them. To help him find the stones he needs Lizzie, a baker with the power to sense enchanted objects. The stories are told from Lizzie’s point of view, as she kisses goodbye to her normal life to hunt down the stones with the help of an incredibly rude monkey and a fledgling witch whose spells always go that little bit wrong. She’s soon up against scary Wulf, his bungling minion and assorted crazies.

It’s a similar comic recipe to the Stephanie books with a supernatural element and a man that Lizzie can’t sleep with. But where Stephanie has the nesting instincts of a polar bear (they’re said to eat their own young), Lizzie has a fully stocked fridge, enjoys cooking and bakes cupcakes for a living. She’s much more grown up and the hilarity with her comes with her trying to deal with the unusual and the cast of slightly disturbing, and sometimes charming, bad guys.

I relate more to Stephanie who is more likely to eat a cupcake than bake one, but Lizzie also gives me just what I need on those days I need to shut off my brain and get lost in the pages of a silly, fun book.

The book has spiritual messages and practical advice, not that the two are mutually exclusive. This morning all I did was was read two sections, one on Feet and another on Trust. One led me to an exercise, the other to the above-mentioned reaffirmation.

Please note – I’m only editing and beautifying once a week; that day is not here yet.

Flame is nobody’s victim. She’s a sultry siren that uses sound as her weapon, has an affinity for animals and is out for revenge. She’s already rescued herself from the scientist once and she’s never going back. Not even when a sexy soldier shows up and wants to bring her home. She’s not buying some tale of the scientist’s death.

But Gator, he of the great Cajun charm, ain’t taking no for an answer. He knows someone is out to get Flame and he’s going to make sure that someone finally protects this woman.

Things get hot and steamy in New Orleans as Flame and Gator battle it out, each trying to accomplish their own mission.

Night Game is one of my favourite Christine Feehan books and the third book in her Ghost Walker series. I read the book when it came out in 2005, but it has been on my mind lately thanks to Feehan’s pending release, Samurai Game. I don’t think I’ve been so caught up in a heroine’s story since Flame was oh, so briefly introduced before the release of Night Game.

Flame is a wonderful female lead. She’s sassy, bright, brave and determined, but she’s also flawed and damaged, making her a much more likeable heroine. Meanwhile Gator must be partially responsible for inspiring the wealth of male Cajun leads that have hit bookshelves in recent years (I think the other half of the credit must go to Gambit of the X-Men). And Feehan has done a fantastic job of building an interesting world, writing action scenes that grip the reader and maintaining an overarching story line across the series that keep readers coming back for more.

Attention – Thea Harrison is my great find of 2011!

Note – Dragon Bound and Storm’s Heart are the first two books in the series, and well-worth your hard-earned cash.

The Book – Carling is the all-powerful, all-knowing Vampyre Queen that is so kickass that she can walk in daylight. She also has a screw loose and is a few cards short of a full deck. Bit of a problem combination, but she’s done the responsible thing and allowed most of her minions to flee.

Enter Rune, Wyr Sentinel. He owes Carling big for her pivotal action in a previous book and he’s determined to pay up and get out. But he can’t seem to help but get all tangled up in Carling and her tiny, world-threatening problem.

Now they’re in danger of rewriting history and perhaps ending life as we know it. Ending Carling may be the only answer, but the intense attraction between the two is making that a less than desirable solution.

It sounds like a tried and tested formula. But it’s a great formula and one that Harrison twists and turns until you’re reading something totally new and fresh. Be prepared to remember why paranormal romance became so popular, and to laugh along the way.

If you want to try before you buy, Thea Harrison has been kind enough to post three excerpts on her site.

Elder Races Series

Elder Races Novellas

But now I’m back, hence the new words on the screen. I’d like to take up the challenge where I left off, but I’m not sure how that will play out. As of next week, Mon-Fri I will be working as a publishing intern with Headline from 10:00 – 17:00, working my evening job from 17:30 – 20:00 and writing my dissertation in the spare minutes and weekends. A review a day might be asking a bit much, but I’m going to give it a shot anyways and open up with a spat of reviews inspired by the unpacking of all my books that had been in storage.

While I’m struggling with the far too complicated task of pouring, one of my flat mates is busy being productive – he’s probably been up, and happily been a contributing member of society, for at least an hour. Jealousy burns for a moment until the ding of the microwave distracts me. Coffee out, porridge in for two minutes. And then it’s back to bed where I scarf down my porridge and start watching whatever I fell asleep watching the night before and nurse my precious black liquid, nectar of the gods.

A minimum of an hour later and I have managed to get out of bed or start working on whatever I’ve gotten up to do. I’m a slow starter in the morning. I’ve stopped fighting this, and just get up well before I need to go. With 15 minutes of furious activity I’m ready to go. Usually it is off to school.

This particular morning I’m wearing far too much clothes for the weather because my summer clothes are in storage. As I’m walking down the street, I hear a strange noise and whip around. The drainage pipe on the house next to me explodes at the top and a fountain of muddy water comes raining down; all down the side of my dress. And I’m not off to school this morning, I’m off to an interview. So, I scrape off the worst of the mud and continue on to the tube. By the time I arrive at the interview I’m sweating buckets, have dried mud down my dress and have a nose to rival Rudolph – I caught a cold the day before. I manage the interview and then head off to the next one. I almost break and buy a pair of shoes on the way to the next interview so that I can get out of my knee boots in this boiling weather. I manage the second interview and then have to run to make it to work. Work usually runs until 8pm, but this night I end up working past 11pm. Then it’s home and a book review to write.

And now you may begin to understand why I’m thinking of giving myself a day off from blogging each week, but somehow a book review six-out-of-seven-days a week just doesn’t have the same ring.

The good news? After living out of a suitcase for over two months and boiling for a week, my stuff is being delivered.

This was my younger brother’s favourite book, and just begs to be read out loud in your very best Grover voice.

The Blood were created to be the caretakers of the earth, and their Queens were meant to be their heart. But one woman’s pursuit of power has perverted the society of an entire realm, creating a world where men have been beaten down until the only solution is to break young Queens and other females of power before they come into full power. And the best way to break a female is by raping her before she comes of age.

Some men refuse to take such drastic action and wish for nothing more than a Queen worth serving. As for the females, some are as corrupt as the woman who started the deterioration of society, while others are just struggling to survive. It is a world at war.

Our main characters are a child born with unusual gifts, two men that are thousands of years old but who have been slaves since they were boys, and a guardian born with the kind of power that has led people to fear him. They live in a society that is broken down by caste, wealth and power. A deliciously complex world being torn apart and about to face the final challenge with the birth of a child so powerful that whoever controls her will have the power to win this war once and for all, that is if she survives long enough.

The book is dark, and filled with flawed characters that are pushed to their limits. The characters are so well written that they come alive and stay with you long after the book is finished. I can’t recommend this series enough, though if you are of a sensitive nature you need to be aware that horrible, inexcusable things will happen.

Now that I’m older, I think 14 may have been too young for this book.