Fiction Friday Round-Up – June 5th, 2015

This was a pretty busy week; among other things, Jane and I launched our new pop culture website, Mind the Gap (which you should totally check out because we have a lot of great content!). But I also managed to completely catch up on the Flavia de Luce series, and finished a couple of ARCs. As always, please click the titles for the full review!

• As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust – Alan Bradley: “The series is no longer simply a collection of unrelated mysteries; it started to hint at the bigger picture and Flavia’s role within that larger narrative.”
• Devil’s Daughter – Hope Schenk de-Michele and Paul Marquez: “It had a great plot and some interesting moments but, while it had an open ending, I’m not tearing down the house in anticipating for the sequel. Definitely a good change from most of the other angel-based YA out there, though.”
• Grunge Gods and Graveyards – Kimberly G. Giarratano: “If I was trying to pitch this book, I’d say it was a combination of Melissa Marr’s Made for You and Elizabeth Chandler’s Kissed by an Angel but with more ghosts and, well, grunge (those are all good things, by the way).”

Last week, I read a truly disappointing ARC:

• Beyond Clueless – Linas Alsenas: “I’m sure there’s an audience for it, but this is one of those rare cases where I feel too old to read this and I think it would be better received by readers aged 12-14”.

But I also read a great female-centric comic book, so it sort of evened out!

• Rat Queens Vol 1: Sass & Sorcery – Kurtis J. Wiebe: “There are also light, funny moments in between all the fighting; whether it’s Betty packing candy and drugs for dinner again or Dee being anti-social i.e. reading a book at a party, you get a good glimpse at the queens’ personalities.”

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust – Alan Bradley

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust – Alan Bradley

Hard on the heels of the return of her mother’s body from the frozen reaches of the Himalayas, Flavia, for her indiscretions, is banished from her home at Buckshaw and shipped across the ocean to Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy in Toronto, her mother’s alma mater, there to be inducted into a mysterious organization known as the Nide.

No sooner does she arrive, however, than a body comes crashing down out of the chimney and into her room, setting off a series of investigations into mysterious disappearances of girls from the school.

I’m finally caught up on all the Flavia de Luce books!! Which leaves me feeling bittersweet because I really enjoy hanging out with her and now I have to wait for the next book like everyone else!!

Fun fact: this is the only Flavia book I have in hardcover and (I’m sorry, I have to brag here), it’s signed by Alan Bradley who is an absolutely adorable man. Flavia’s voice and personality are so strong and so girlishly realistic, you wouldn’t think her creator was a man in his seventies.

This book takes us out of jolly ol’ England and into Canada – Toronto, in fact. I was intrigued by the setting since I live just outside of Toronto and I’ve been in the Danforth area, so I had fun trying to imagine where Miss Bodycote’s school could be.

Of course, the only problem with it taking place outside of Bishop’s Lacey is that a lot of the characters you’ve come to know and love are mentioned in passing, but don’t actively play a role. There are many new intriguing characters – Mrs. Bannerman, the acquitted murderess, for one – and it’s fascinating to see Flavia interact with a bunch of girls in her age group (previously, we’d seen her interact with mostly adult figures), but I missed her volatile relationship with her sisters.

Another shift in this installment is the story line. I think the sixth book, The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (which was my personal favourite), marked a transition. The series is no longer simply a collection of unrelated mysteries; it started to hint at the bigger picture and Flavia’s role within that larger narrative. So while it makes sense that this book continued along that path of pheasant sandwiches, it was also a little frustrating. Flavia asks a lot of questions but doesn’t get a lot of (solid) answers. It does do a great job at setting up future adventures (there’ll be a total of ten books once the series ends), and I’m eager to see where Flavia ends up.

Fiction Friday Round-Up – May 22nd, 2015

Here are some books I’ve been reading/finishing over the past week or so. Please click the links for full reviews!

• The Blooming Goddess Trilogy – Tellulah Darling: “I really enjoyed this series: it was fluffy at times but still had a strong plot. The writing was funny and compelling, and if you like contemporary takes on Greek mythology, you’ll love Sophie’s world.”
• Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda – Becky Albertali: “I loved this book. It’s a character-driven novel, so the plot is relatively simple, but in this case, it worked because I enjoyed getting to know Simon and the world around him.”
• The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches – Alan Bradley: “Flavia’s personal journey is what makes this book my favourite, and I can’t wait to get started on her next adventure.”

This week, I attended the book launch for Sarah Henstra’s fabulous debut, Mad Miss Mimic. Read my recap here!

Because it was #IreadYA week, you can see some of the YA books that I’m excited about here!

What have you read recently?

Until next week, happy reading!

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches – Alan Bradley

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches – Alan Bradley

On a spring morning in 1951, eleven-year-old chemist and aspiring detective Flavia de Luce gathers with her family at the railway station, awaiting the return of her long-lost mother, Harriet. Yet upon the train’s arrival in the English village of Bishop’s Lacey, Flavia is approached by a tall stranger who whispers a cryptic message into her ear.

Moments later, he is dead, mysteriously pushed under the train by someone in the crowd…

Who was this man, what did his words mean, and why were they intended for Flavia? Back home at Buckshaw, the de Luces’ crumbling estate, Flavia puts her sleuthing skills to the test.

Following a trail of clues sparked by the discovery of a reel of film stashed away in the attic, she unravels the deepest secrets of the de Luce clan, involving none other than Winston Churchill himself.

Surrounded by family, friends, and a famous pathologist from the Home Office – and making spectacular use of Harriet’s beloved Gypsy Moth plane, Blithe Spirit – Flavia will do anything, even take to the skies, to land a killer.

I know I said this about the fourth book, but I think this is my favourite Flavia de Luce novel.

I’m afraid I have to get a little spoiler-y to tell you why I loved this one the most, so consider this your SPOILER ALERT. 

In this novel, we get SO MUCH BACK STORY. I love back story. I love learning about the characters before this particular moment in their lives. In this case, I loved learning about Dogger’s past (he’s my favourite character, after Flavia herself), and hearing about her parents’ lives was just a bonus (plus Aunt Felicity is more hardcore than I would have thought).

The thing I loved the most, though (again, SPOILER ALERT) was Flavia’s main goal through the first half of the book. The fact that someone so scientifically-minded would think that she could “resurrect” her mother was heart-breaking. I think Flavia – and her readers – learned more about her personality during this adventure, and she seems to be “growing up”, becoming more aware of who she is as a person outside of her chemistry obsession.

Her relationships with her sisters continue to develop too, and the introduction of Undine – who is essentially a younger version of Flavia – changes the dynamic at Buckshaw. At the same time, some of the adults seem to treat Flavia on a more adult level, especially Inspector Hewitt and Aunt Felicity, so it’s an interesting contrast between how her sisters see her and how the adults treat her.

I also have to mention the fact that Winston Churchill shows up. He has all of three lines, but it’s a great cameo.

Like I said, Flavia’s personal journey is what makes this book my favourite, and I can’t wait to get started on her next adventure.

Fiction Friday Round-Up – May 15th, 2015

Here are some books I finished over the past week and a bit (I’m currently unemployed, so I’ve had time to read). As always, please click the link for a full review!

• Speaking From Among the Bones – Alan Bradley: “Part of this book felt like filler, but since spending any amount of time with Flavia is always a delight, it wasn’t a chore to read. It just wasn’t very memorable.”
• A Great and Terrible Beauty (re-read) – Libba Bray: “I was still hooked by the first few paragraphs, the writing was just as evocative as I remembered, and there were even a couple of creepy moments that sent a small shiver up my spine.”
• The Rearranged Life (ARC) – Annika Sharma: “This book read like a cross between Bend it Like Beckham and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and it was definitely interesting to read the descriptions and think about the differences between cultures…a cute summer read.” *includes a giveaway!**
• Endless Nights – Neil Gaiman: “This is both a good and a bad way to be introduced to the world of the Sandman. On the one hand, you get a story starring each Endless sibling, which gives you an idea about them […] On the other hand […], I had no idea what to expect.”
• Nimona – Noelle Stevenson: “I highly recommend this one for anyone looking for a strong, badass female villain/shapeshifter […] whose default form is a “pudgy” girl.”

And I’m also helping to host a giveaway!

• Spelled giveaway!!

Last week, I read a new adult ARC and was sorely disappointed:

• Sing for Me – Gracie Madison: “I have complicated feelings about this book. It wasn’t bad per se, I just didn’t really enjoy it. I read the whole thing, though admittedly I started skimming at about 30%.”

Also, I got an Indigo giftcard so I bought some books I’ve been meaning to buy for a while, and it’s all terribly exciting.

Obviously, I’ve already finished Nimona, but I’ll have reviews for the other three at some point, hopefully this month or next.

What have you read this week?

Speaking From Among the Bones – Alan Bradley

Speaking From Among the Bones – Alan Bradley

Eleven-year-old amateur detective and ardent chemist Flavia de Luce is used to digging up clues, whether they’re found among the potions in her laboratory or between the pages of her insufferable sisters’ diaries. What she is not accustomed to is digging up bodies. Upon the five-hundredth anniversary of St. Tancred’s death, the English hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey is busily preparing to open its patron saint’s tomb. Nobody is more excited to peek inside the crypt than Flavia, yet what she finds will halt the proceedings dead in their tracks: the body of Mr. Collicutt, the church organist, his face grotesquely and inexplicably masked. Who held a vendetta against Mr. Collicutt, and why would they hide him in such a sacred resting place? The irrepressible Flavia decides to find out. And what she unearths will prove there’s never such thing as an open-and-shut case.

Once again, the mystery – Mr. Collicutt’s gas-masked corpse – appears quite quickly, but this time, it felt like the story dragged on for some time afterward. I finished it on Tuesday and I’ve honestly forgotten most of it already. It wasn’t bad, it was, in fact, pretty average, but I don’t think this will be one of my favourite Flavia books.

The mystery’s resolution is, as always, well done – Flavia uses her wits to work it out well before anyone else does, but she doesn’t just pull evidence out of thin air. She’s just much more observant than your average eleven year old.

This plot does start to tie up some loose ends, though, especially those concerning Feely (Flavia’s sister Ophelia) and her inevitable marriage. Here I’ll spoil things a little bit by saying that my favoured beau did not win her hand (I’m way more upset about that than I should be, especially since I wasn’t expecting it to work out in the first place!).

Finally, this book gets many bonus points for the ending, though. I obviously won’t spoil it for you, but the very last sentence actually caused me to gasp and exclaim. I’ve already started reading the next book, The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches, but I can imagine how agonizing the wait would have been with an ending like that.

Part of this book felt like filler, but since spending any amount of time with Flavia is always a delight, it wasn’t a chore to read. It just wasn’t very memorable.

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows – Alan Bradley

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows – Alan Bradley

Colonel de Luce, in desperate need of funds, rents his beloved estate of Buckshaw to a film company. They will be shooting a movie over the Christmas holidays, filming scenes in the decaying manse with a reclusive star. She is widely despised, so it is to no one’s surprise when she turns up murdered, strangled by a length of film from her own movies! With a blizzard raging outside and Buckshaw locked in, the house is full of suspects. But Flavia de Luce is more than ready to put aside her investigations into the true identity of Father Christmas to solve this yuletide country-house murder.

I think this might be my favourite Flavia book so far.

Christmas at Buckshaw is just as delightful as you’d imagine it to be! I like picturing a grand old manor completely decked out…though of course, this time the de Luces can’t deck the halls thanks to the intrusion of a film crew.

I like how this book started to scratch below the surface of Flavia’s relationships with her sister. There’s a hint that Ophelia, at the very least, has some sort of affection towards her baby sister. And I felt like we got to know Daphne a bit better in this one, which is great – as the middle sister, she was sort of getting lost, but she’s starting to emerge a little bit more and I think it’s great.

And we’re getting a little more information about Dogger – who, apart from Flavia, is my favourite character – so of course I’m fascinated and hoping to learn even more.

I also love how Flavia’s relationship with Inspector Hewitt is growing – how he’s gone from considering her a pest to having a bit more respect for her.

I also like the multiple plot lines – the salacious secrets of the film crew and subsequent murder, of course, but also the bigger question of whether or not the de Luces can continue to live at Buckshaw.

This is a short review and probably repeats a lot of what I’ve said about the first three books, but it was the shortest book of the series, so there’s not really much to talk about!

4.5 interrobangs

Fiction Friday Round-Up – April 24th, 2015

This week, I finished the third book in a series, a whimsical fairy-tale ARC, and a controversial award-winner. Click the titles for a full review!

• A Red Herring Without Mustard – Alan Bradley: “Oh, Flavia. You never cease to amuse me.”
• The Singular and Extraordinary Tale of Mirror and Goliath – Ishbelle Bee: “[T]he writing…had a whimsical, Neil Gaiman-esque quality (and since I worship Neil Gaiman, this is very high praise).”
• When Everything Feels Like the Movies – Raziel Reid: “I honestly don’t know if this book is making as big a buzz in the rest of the world as it is here in Canada, but it’s been one of THOSE books – the ones that make people stop and notice YA without being dismissive.”

What have you read recently? Let me know in the comments!

And until next week – happy reading!

A Red Herring Without Mustard – Alan Bradley

A Red Herring Without Mustard – Alan Bradley

In the hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey, the insidiously clever and unflappable eleven-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce had asked a Gypsy woman to tell her fortune—never expecting to later stumble across the poor soul, bludgeoned almost to death in the wee hours in her own caravan. Was this an act of retribution by those convinced that the soothsayer abducted a local child years ago? Certainly Flavia understands the bliss of settling scores; revenge is a delightful pastime when one has two odious older sisters. But how could this crime be connected to the missing baby? As the red herrings pile up, Flavia must sort through clues fishy and foul to untangle dark deeds and dangerous secrets.

Oh, Flavia. You’ll never cease to amuse me.

I know for sure I’ve read this book before, but apart from a vague memory of the Gypsy caravan, this mystery seemed completely new to me.

I felt like it started a little bit faster than the second book, only because the “case” kicked off earlier in this book. And, while most of Flavia’s mysteries have (so far) been multi-layered, I felt like this one was even more tangled up than the others, like there were two mysteries going on.

Maybe there were, in fact, two mysteries going on. But I’m not sure because this one isn’t sticking in my brain as well as the first two. It doesn’t stop it from being enjoyable and, like I’ve mentioned before, I would argue that this is a series that stays within the same four star (well, four interrobang heart) rating as it progresses.

Though, to be honest, I’ve only read three of seven so far, so I could be wrong!

I think it was the longest of the three I’ve read, so maybe that’s why it didn’t leave a huge impression on me? I was expecting it to be solved swiftly, since the “case” was introduced so early on, but it took so many twists and turns, it took a while to get to the (ultimately satisfying) conclusion.

Flavia is still witty and ingenious. Her sisters continue to be equal parts awful and amusing. Her father is bumbling but sympathetic (to the reader, anyway), Dogger is faithful, and Inspector Hewitt is finally starting to view Flavia as an equal – or at least, a very valuable resource.

4 interrobangs

Fiction Friday Round-Up – April 10th, 2015

Over the past week-and-a-bit, I’ve read a classic, two ARCs, and a second book in a series! Click the links for full reviews!

• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass – Lewis Carroll: “This is a book that speaks to the nonsensical part of me, the part that prefers to fantasize my way into a story rather than, you know, do actual work.”
• Spelled (ARC) – Betsy Schow: “I love fractured/retellings of fairy tales so I was pretty stoked when my request for this was approved.”
• The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag – Alan Bradley: “Flavia continues to be precocious and clever, and I sort of want to be her. Or I’d at least like to understand chemistry the way she does.”
• The Rise and Fall of the Gallivanters (ARC) – M.J. Beaufrand: “I liked the fact that they were in a punk band. These are my people (well, these are the people I wish were my people), and I’ve always loved stories where one or more characters are in a band.”

BONUS:

Last week was Good Friday and I only posted one review (but it was SUCH a good book!):

• The Wondrous and the Wicked – Page Morgan: “I don’t want to spoil anything about this book, but I’m just going to put this out there: it was one of the best endings to a trilogy I’ve read in a long time…”

Until next week, happy reading!