Review: The Dressmaker

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was quite an enjoyable story & it moved at a good clip.I couldn't stop turning the pages because I needed to know Tess would be alright & so would Jim. I very much liked that Tess really took time to try to figure out what she wanted & what was most important to her. She could have tossed in the towel with Lucile tonnes of times early on but she didn't. I was often annoyed but it felt honest for the character & the story being told. Tess seemed to me to have genuine development as a character so when she came to her conclusions, I believed they were right for her at those times. She had more patience than I have & I think it served her well.

Lady DG was a piece of work. I have to say that I was less offended by her actions in the lifeboat than I was by her general manner & demeanor. She was mercurial to the point of needing to be slapped repeatedly. And for all of Cosmo's faults, I actually cheered when he tired of her & told her he was basically leaving her. Elinor was a dutiful sister & even though Lucille was a pill, I was glad that she had that bond when most all her other relationships faltered. James was a decent enough guy but I was never much rooting for him. Also, I found it a little confusing going between the main men in the story: James Bremerton (the businessman) & Jim Bonney (the sailor). That Jim is often a nickname for James just threw me a few times & I wondered why the author chose to name the men so similarly.

The portrayals of real people was fun to read & no surprise, Molly was my favorite. I have to also say that I was impressed that the relating of the sinking of the Titanic was so well done & the immediate aftermath on the Carpathia. The author rendered an already well known instance with notes that were genuinely moving to me. And she didn't linger on the maudlin or get bogged down nor was the halcyon time before the sinking over-romanticized through Tess's eyes. It all felt even handed & true.

I won my copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.



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Review: A Stranger in Mayfair

A Stranger in Mayfair by Charles Finch

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Good entry in series & perfect for a weekend or airport read. Charles Lenox is trying to settle into being newly married to Lady Jane Grey & his new seat at Parliament while being drawn into investigating a murder case involving footman Frederick bludgeoned with a brick in a Mayfair alley. I won't give away the answer to the case but I will say that I figured it out before the reveal. I don't think it was a flaw in the writing just good clues woven through & easy enough to work out if one pays attention. The way it all came together with the other strands regarding the killer & those others suspected was quite well done & I enjoyed reading it.

There was also a lot of Parliamentary politics as Charles settles in but it wasn't related to the case, so I basically enjoyed that we get to see Graham (former butler to Charles, now secretary) take on his new role & even impress his new peers. Lady Jane came off a bit odd to me as she was a bit of a harridan about Charles & his penchant for detecting & though married, she knew this was his thing before & she had no issue with it so I don't know why she was so stroppy about it. Anyway, she was brought back around entirely for me when she showed up at Charles's office with Bear & Rabbit, so I was satisfied.



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Review: Fuse

Fuse by Julianna Baggott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The second installment in the Pure trilogy was a solid middle entry. I was impressed enough by that because often middle books are a bit... well, middling. I wasn't sure exactly at the opening how much time had passed since the first book but OSR is now more of a refuge outpost than the scary, militaristic organization it was before. Pressia, Bradwell & El Capital (with Helmud, of course) are together & Partridge & Lyda are off & on the move with the Mothers. Both groups are doing what they can to figure out the madness that is Ellery Willux and there's quite a bit of good action that happens to both before the groups splinter again. We also get Fignan, a black box with quite a personality & lots of information to impart.

Mostly, it was enjoyable to follow along as the puzzle was put together. I have to say that there was some serious repetitive romantic angst that wore on me. So much so that when a character would start veering off into it, I'd scan the next lines & engage again when they were done. I cared about how the characters were feeling but those feelings never much changed though much of the book & it ceased to be interesting. Lyda was the exception. Her feelings expressed were constantly evolving & that was awesome. El Capitan really stole the show in this book & I found myself truly worried that he wouldn't survive (spiders & vines, oh my!). Bradwell also ranked highly for me. Pressia & Partridge weren't bad but they aren't my favorites. I don't know what it was about them in this book, but I definitely liked them less than the other players.

I look forward to the next book because this one ends with the cliffhanger of Pressia, Bradwell (the wings... wow.) & El Capitan in Newgrange & Partridge & Lyda in the Dome. At least all the players are back in the groups they began in but I can honestly say that I don't know what will happen next.



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Ides of March Sale in the 'Tique

It's that time of year again & the Ides are almost upon us, so I'm
having a sale in the SHOP. Use coupon code IDESOFMARCH20 at checkout to get 20% off purchases made
between March 13-15, 2013. The discount only applies to those
purchases made March 13-15, 2013 & is for domestic & international
shoppers!

Embrace the Ides & treat yourself to a little something. xoxo

Review: The Observers

The Observers by John Scalzi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Another good installment in the serial that centers around a delegation of Earthlings on the New Clark. At this point in the story (there are only 5 installments remaining), I refuse to spoil it by saying much of anything, so trust that it continues to engage, the characters are still great & I'm looking forward to the next.



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Review: Soul

Soul by Tobsha Learner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Very good (like 4.5 stars good). Nature vs. Nurture. Free will vs. genetics. Pure logic vs. the heart wanting what it wants. The story is told in two threads. Julia, our modern day geneticist & Lavinia, her great-great grandmother. The women's lives unfold for us as their marriages unravel & the aftermath of the events follow. I very much enjoyed that both women were scientifically minded & took their work seriously. I felt for Lavinia when she was cut off from hers & was glad Julia still had hers when everything else fell apart. Julia's research with the soldiers was a fascinating thread of the story & I still don't know on which side I am of the ethical implications of her undertaking it for the military. I'll be thinking about that for some time. That said, I enjoyed the resolution to it at the end. I did like how the Bakairi tribe & The Tempest were additional threads that tied the two women's stories together across time.

I was very interested in both women but I only really felt any empathy for Colonel Huntington (though the head shaving of Lavinia & subsequent forced visit to the phrenologist tested that). Julia's husband Klaus was just not sympathetic to me. Every time he showed up after the initial break, he seemed worse. I figured out fairly quickly what Carla's attitude was about & while I was appalled by her brazenness & borderline cruelty, I still wanted to know what made her tick. I was fairly intrigued by Hamish. Gabriel & Aloysius were only nominally interesting but her served their purpose well. I felt the same way about Lady Morgan. Naomi was interesting but not as deeply rendered as the rest.

The only thing a bit off was that the Americans in Julia's thread, don't speak generally as Americans do. Those instances stood out glaringly to me, not the least being that the instances were so frequent. Using "ring" instead of "call", "jumper" instead of "sweater" or "cardigan"; "primary" school teacher instead of "elementary" school teacher; "laying" a table instead of "setting" a table; a waitress in a diner saying saying "one serve of bacon, eggs..." instead of "one order of..."; a born & raised in L.A. soldier saying "get on" instead of "get along"; "night porter" not "security guard". And even with all of those, they were only distractions because it was still a great read. I'd definitely read another by this author.



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Review: The Sound of Rebellion

The Sound of Rebellion by John Scalzi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Another interesting installment in the serial that centers around Lt. Heather Lee & her abduction in Zhuang Guo. She figured out a unique way to map her surroundings & that was most enjoyable. I was more intrigued by the the conversation with the Secretary toward the end & what that's going to mean as we go further than what took place at Zhang Guo. Poor Jefferson. Looking forward to the next.



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Review: Firelight

Firelight by Kristen Callihan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



A 3.5 really. I was in the mood for a paranormal romance & so I decided to begin this series. I liked it. I didn't love it & I'm not exactly sure why. The characters were well done & the story was well written but something just did not rivet me. Possibly it was that I kept wanting to know more about why Miranda had her power & where it came from. That was huge for me & it's never much addressed. She has it & always has & that's it. M'mkay. And then there's Benjamin (Archer). By the time it's revealed what exactly he is, I honestly didn't care as much. It was a long time coming for that one. I suppose he's the more important between he & Miranda so that's why this all revolves around him. I don't know. I did like all of the murderous mystery tied into that quite a lot. I think I was so preoccupied with that that I didn't get swept away by the romance (though it was well done & they had good banter & conversations between them that made it work). I'll continue the series because I'm interested in the world the author's given.



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