Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Synopsis

Aria, Emily, Spencer, Hanna and Alison have been best friends since the third grade. They go everywhere together, thinking no-one can come between them. If anyone is the ringleader of the group it is Alison, and the other girls cannot help but confide all their secrets to her.

One night, during a sleepover, Alison goes missing. Her body is never found. The girls mourn her death but move apart after time, assuming their secrets have disappeared with Alison too.

Three years later and Aria is having an affair with her teacher; Emily is questioning her sexuality; Hanna is a thief; and Spencer is flirting with her sister's fiance. They all think their secrets are safe, until they starting receiving messages from the mysterious A – who knows exactly what they are all up to, and is threatening to spill the beans . . .

In the opening chapters of this book the group of friends seem unremarkable and fairly typical. Their little gang is made up of leaders and followers and Alison is clearly at the top. As I read on I found that Alison was actually quite a nasty piece of work and used the divide and conquer technique in her, "friendships." When she disappears at a sleepover the rest of the gang drift apart until eventually they barely speak to each other.

It was this aspect of the book that was the most interesting to me. The book perfectly captures the insecurity of school and friendships - how you can be friends one day and then tormented the next. Emily, Hanna and Spencer are great characters in their own rights and have clearly blossomed in varying degrees since Alison went missing. The dynamics of the group three years earlier made slightly uncomfortable reading for me. No-one was prepared to cross Alison and so her way of managing her friends continued.

Each girl has a secret that only Alison knew and as the book develops we get to know what they are. It becomes apparent that their secrets are not as safe as they thought as they all receive texts, emails, messages from an A. who seems to be aware of their every move. All three girls are going through various issues and A's interest only serves to ramp up the tension. There are other secrets too, ones that are not revealed to the reader by the close of this book and it's this (alongside a wish that things improve for the three main characters) that will bring readers back for more.

This book is a great example of how much books aimed at teens have changed over the years. There's a mass of issues confronted: racism, eating disorders and self harm to name just a few. Littered throughout the book are a string of references to current trends and labels and had I been the target age group I'd have eaten this up with a spoon and read the whole series.

Carte Blanche - Jeffrey Deaver's take on Bond, James Bond

I had to share this with you this morning.  It's a bit of promo from a PR company about Jeffrey Deaver's new James Bond novel,  Carte Blanche.  And as I'm a fan of Deaver and I love the contemporary setting for this one, I think I'll definitely want to read it.  Also, I love the grittier take on Bond in the new movies made and I'm very pleased that the new Bond flick will be going ahead!

***

The new James Bond book, due to be published later this year and written by best-selling thriller writer Jeffery Deaver, is to be called Carte Blanche. Its title and cover artwork are unveiled today (Monday 17th January), at a special launch event at the InterContinental Hotel in Dubai.


Like Fleming, Jeffery Deaver takes inspiration from exotic locations around the world, and after visiting Dubai for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature last year he decided to set part of Carte Blanche in the United Arab Emirates City.

Carte Blanche is due to be published by Hodder and Stoughton in the UK, a few days before Fleming’s birthday, on 26th May 2011. It has been commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.

Jeffery Deaver comments, “I’m really excited about being back in Dubai. It is an inspirational and awe-inspiring city and makes a perfect Bond location—especially for a novel that pushes our hero to new extremes.”

Regarding the book's title, Deaver added, “In the world of espionage, giving an agent carte blanche on a mission comes with an enormous amount of trust and constantly tests both personal and professional judgement. Part of the nonstop suspense in the novel is the looming question of what is acceptable in matters of national and international security. Are there lines that even James Bond should not cross?”

Unlike the most recent James Bond book, Sebastian Faulks’ period piece Devil May Care, Jeffery Deaver’s Bond will have a contemporary setting. As part of his latest assignment, the modern-day secret agent travels with Emirates Airline and spends a number of thrilling hours in Dubai both meeting up with an old friend and tracking a very disturbing villain.

The novel’s setting encompasses Deira and Port Saeed, and the history of the Emirates provides an exciting backdrop for some heart-stopping action.

Bond is renowned for visiting the most exotic and glamorous of cities and this is the first time Dubai has featured in a James Bond novel.

Jeffery Deaver will be making a special appearance at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, on Tuesday 18th January, when he will be speaking about his love of Bond and his experience of writing Carte Blanche.

Carte Blanche also features Fleming’s favourite car – a Bentley. Historically, Bond owned three Bentley cars in the course of the fourteen original novels written by Ian Fleming and, bringing the plot completely up to date, Bond drives a Bentley Continental GT in the new book.

Jeffery Deaver has written 28 novels and sold more than 20 million books worldwide. He is best known for his Kathryn Dance and Lincoln Rhyme books, most notably The Bone Collector, which was adapted for film in 1999, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Before becoming a full-time author, Deaver was a journalist, like Fleming, and attorney. He started writing suspense novels on the long commute to and from his office on Wall Street. His books are now translated into 25 languages and he lives in North Carolina.

***

Some fun Bond Book factoids:

• Over 100 million Bond books have been sold (and over half the world’s population has seen a Bond film)


• Ian Fleming wrote 14 James Bond books: Casino Royale (1953); Live and Let Die (1954); Moonraker (1955); Diamonds Are Forever (1956); From Russia with Love (1957); Dr. No (1958); Goldfinger (1959); For your Eyes Only (1960); Thunderball (1961); The Spy Who Loved Me (1962); On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1963); You Only Live Twice (1964); The Man With The Golden Gun (1965) and Octopussy and the Living Daylights (1966)

• Fleming’s other works include the children’s favourite, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1964), which was made into a film and stage musical, The Diamond Smugglers (1957) and a collection of travel writings called Thrilling Cities (1963)

• Charlie Higson is author of the Young Bond books which are published by Puffin. He will also be appearing at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in March.

• Samantha Weinberg, writing as Kate Westbrook, is the author of the Moneypenny Diaries

• Other previous authors of official James Bond novels include Kingsley Amis, John Gardner, Raymond Benson and Sebastian Faulks, whose book became the publisher’s fastest selling hardback fiction title

The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries (Omnibus 1) by Charlaine Harris

Synopsis


Aurora Teagarden loves reading about famous murderers - until she finds herself investigating a real-life killing spree!

The first four novels in the Aurora Teagarden mysteries series. Lawrenceton, Georgia, may be a growing suburb of Atlanta, but it's still a small town at heart. Librarian Aurora Teagarden - Roe - grew up there, and she reckons she knows everything about her fellow townsfolk, including which ones share her interest in the darker side of human nature.

This is omnibus edition contains four novels: Real Murders (book 1); A Bone to Pick (book 2); Three Bedrooms, One Corpse (book 3 ); The Julius House (book 4)

While on my Christmas break I looked around my shelves for something I'd be dying to read but hadn't found the time. This massive omnibus has been on my shelves, staring at me, for ages so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm a big fan of Charlaine Harris and of course the Sookie Stackhouse series. A couple of years ago I also read the Lily Bard books which I not only enjoyed but thought tackled a difficult subject with sensitivity. I'd tried to get hold of the Teagarden books but with no luck so was pleased to see the release of the omnibus. With the second one on the way I thought I should get on and review the first. These books were originally published in the early to mid-nineties so are a little tricky to find in there original form.

Aurora Teagarden is a librarian in Lawrenceton, unmarried and living alone. Although she tries not to let this get her down she's reminded by everyone she knows in the town she's lived in her whole life. In Real Murders she discovers a dead body in the toilet of a club she attends. The club get together each month and discuss real-life murders which makes Aurora (or Roe as she's known) a bit of an expert in police investigations and clues. She finds herself thrown out of her comfy rut into a world of danger and suspicion. What I love about Roe is that she doesn't pretend to take everything in her stride. She's horrified by the things that are happening and often runs back to her house to recover. It's this very, "realness," that makes the author's main characters so appealing.

What I love about Charlaine Harris's writing is that you instantly feel as if you're talking to an old friend. With Lily, Sookie and now Aurora I instantly slip in beside them when I open the page and watch events unfold. The way that incidental, everyday happenings are present alongside the main events make me love her books even more. I want to know what's she's having for lunch, who she meets while running errands and her thoughts on co-workers. This, alongside Aurora's troubled love life, are as important to me as the murder solving. A word of caution though - If you're looking for a taut who-dunnit with thrills and spills then these are not the books for you. However, if you like an insight into a Southern, gossipy small town with murders aplenty then give it a go. By the time we get to The Julius House, Roe's life has changed substantially but I still found myself willing her along to succeed. I'll definitely be getting the second omnibus and am extremely grateful that these can finally be purchased.

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

Both Sarah and I felt the need to read and review Ms. Mahoney's book for various personal reasons and so we thought we'd both read it and do a combined review a la Booksmugglers.
Our first ever combined review:

Synopsis:

FREAK. That’s what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna’s own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.

Liz’s Thoughts:

The Iron Witch starts with a party. Donna doesn’t like parties, she’s not too keen being at one, but then her best friend Navin had asked her to come with him, and honestly, she couldn’t really so no to him.

At the party, Donna meets the mysterious Xan who acts pretty much the idiot. He is the host of said party but when she meets him, he’s sitting on the roof of the house, hiding out. from his guests. Xan however is not the idiot he acts to be. He realises he’s screwing up by being weird towards Donna and in the end he apologises and sees her off home with Navin. Navin, of course, ends up in a bit of a huff. He doesn’t think much of Xan but Donna finds herself strangely attracted to him - admittedly he’s handsome and when he wants to be, he’s sweet, but she senses that there is more to him than that. But how can she tell this to Navin who seems set on not wanting to understand?

As the opening chapters progress, we learn that Donna is a special girl indeed. When she was small, creatures attacked her and basically destroyed her arms and this was when she lost her dad as something killed him as he tried to protect her. She doesn’t recall why she was in the bizarre forest of Ironbridge or why these creatures were after her either or why she was attacked. What she does know is that now she is a freak. She’s not entirely human. The metal that keeps her arms together is some kind of magical construct put together through alchemy and who knows what else? She has the mysterious Maker to thank for her silver implants and for saving her life.

She now lives with her aunt who is someone high up in a group of alchemists. Both Donna’s parents were alchemists too. And Donna is undergoing training as an alchemist herself. This of course means that the reader is quickly brought up to speed with all things alchemical necessary for the importance of various objects to make sense later in the story. There is a lot of medieval lore about alchemy and I take my hat off to the author as you can tell how much hard work has gone into the research. And yet, she walks a thin balance, showing us just enough alchemical lore to keep us interested and to progress the story without inundating us with it and boring us.

Donna meets with Xan a few times and as their hesitant friendship grows we have the opportunity to learn more about Donna (and Xan) and we realise that Donna’s a wonderfully intelligent, amusing and conflicted main character. But it is when Donna is with Navin that she really shines and we see her relaxed and at ease. But even Navin, her best friend, doesn’t know the extent of the Donna’s secrets.

The story is set in Ironbridge, a town in America that is entirely fictional. It allows Ms. Mahoney great leverage and she has the opportunity to create a lot of interesting settings, including the deeply mysterious forest of Ironbridge. And with the forest come the wood elves. Awful twisted creatures from our deepest nightmares. They add an extra level of menace and darkness to The Iron Witch. Tied in with them we find out a bit about Xan’s background and it’s not pleasant and we surmise a few things about Donna’s own background.

It’s when Navin gets taken by these creatures that things kick off into a new level of scary and it is up to Donna to face some of her own fears, break all the rules she knows, and push herself to the limit to do everything she can to save her friend.

Overall thoughts:

I’ve waited a long time to read The Iron Witch. I am pleased to say that it was worth the wait. Ms. Mahoney gives us a fresh new voice, interesting characters and above all, interesting rich lore - and I’m not just talking about the alchemy either. Her dark elves are deliciously menacing and their leader, The Wood Queen a really interesting villain. I couldn’t help but feel intrigued by her - she is on a knife’s edge of going either way as the villain - is she really bad or is she only bad because we don’t know her full story? I loved the ambiguity in this instance and although the story ends well, with several strands tied off, there are enough questions left over to make us wait (im)patiently for The Iron Witch’s companion novels, The Wood Queen and The Stone Demon.

Sarah’s thoughts

I’ve also been keen (okay – champing at the bit) to read The Iron Witch. Ages ago I remember Karen Mahoney using a lovely icon on her blog of a girl walking down a narrow path, mist surrounding her, and saying she thought it was the perfect icon for her book. I couldn’t wait to find out more about this mysterious world so was excited to get my hands on a copy. Immediately the reader is thrust into the action through an extract from Donna’s journal and we know that something extraordinary has happened to her in the past. Next, we’re straight into the present with her meeting with Xan at the party. I loved aloof Xan immediately (oh dear, that’s not a good sign as he definitely should have a sign saying, “Bad Boy,” hanging over his head). The first chapter crackles with the underlying feeling that everything is not what it seems. I love this feeling; when you’re at the start of a book that you’ve been looking forward to and you know you’re on the brink of falling into a new world.

The town of Ironbridge met my expectations and more. It has that glorious dual feeling of being a normal place with high schools and coffee shops but underneath it’s sizzling with mystery; elves, hidden Old Paths, workshops and shadowy houses. It provides everything I love about urban fantasy – the feeling that just a hair’s breadth away is another world waiting to be discovered. Ironbridge provides the perfect platform for the events of The Iron Witch.

Aside from the setting there are a wealth of great characters. Donna is instantly likeable by being both vulnerable but with an inner strength and strong belief in what’s right and wrong. Her relationship with Xan enables her to break out of the semi-cloistered world she’s been stuck in. She finds herself able to let go a little with him and the scene where she takes off her long gloves for him in a coffee shop is both touching and intimate. As their relationship grows Donna finds herself drawn into a world where she’s lead to question her beliefs.

Underlying all the action is a great deal of research into alchemy which serves to make the story all the more rich. As Liz has said, there’s just enough detail to intrigue the reader and I loved Donna’s investigations into the Frost estate, which is both beautiful but strangely threatening. To sum up, The Iron Witch is quite simply a gorgeous read. I was pulled in and bewitched by it but now I have to wait for the sequel. I wonder if tapping my fingers on the desk will make it come any quicker?

Find Karen Mahoney's website here.

Competition Time!

We are so excited about The Iron Witch that we bribed Random House to PUHLEASE let us give some copies away.  And, of course, they totally agreed. (ah, the power of cake)

Here's what we've got to offer:

FIVE copies of THE IRON WITCH to give away.  FOUR to UK people and ONE to a lucky international entrant.

Rules: comment below if you'd like to enter and tell us what it is about urban fantasy that appeals to you.  Remember to make sure we know how to contact you if you enter - i.e. twitter name / link to website etc. Oh, also tell us if you're UK or elsewhere.

The competition will run till 20th January and I'm diarising it now so that we can Random.org the winners on the day.  Good luck!

What are you waiting for?  Get entering!  

The Reapers Are The Angels by Alden Bell

God is a slick god. Temple knows. She knows because of all the crackerjack miracles still to be seen on this ruined globe...

Older than her years and completely alone, Temple is just trying to live one day at a time in a post-apocalyptic world, where the undead roam endlessly, and the remnant of mankind who have survived, at times, seem to retain little humanity themselves.

This is the world she was born into. Temple has known nothing else. Her journey takes her to far-flung places, to people struggling to maintain some semblance of civilization – and to those who have created a new world order for themselves.

When she comes across the helpless Maury, she attempts to set one thing right, if she can just get him back to his family in Texas then maybe it will bring redemption for some of the terrible things she's done in her past. Because Temple has had to fight to survive, has done things that she's not proud of and, along the road, she’s made enemies.

Now one vengeful man is determined that, in a world gone mad, killing her is the one thing that makes sense…

Reapers hit the shelves in September last year, and it’s a veritable crime that it took so long to work its way into my hands.

Set amidst the detritus and crumbling remains of post zombie apocalypse America, Reapers follows the story of a teenage girl named Temple as she meanders across the empty landscape, its dangers both hidden and overt. Temple’s a loner and a survivor though, born into a merciless, dystopian world and hardened by the necessities of survival when the rules of civilization are passing from history into myth.

An encounter with a community of survivors changes the course of her life though when she reacts to a personal attack with the same vicious aplomb that had let her survive this long. She breaks away, and soon thereafter finds herself taking reluctant charge of Maury, a slow but gentle man.

But she knows that the dead man’s brother is sworn to vengeance, bound by his own code as she is by hers. The pursuit plays out against the backdrop of a bleak and unforgiving world, with glimpses of hope and beauty amidst the shambling horrors that lurk in wait for the unwary.

It’s written in an unusual way, but one that you become accustomed to quite quickly and actually helps set the tone of the story. Temple’s a vivid character, brought to life by Bell’s elegant and evocative storytelling and overall Reapers will surprise you, as it did me, in the best possible way whether you’re a fan of dystopian fiction or not.

Cover Love - Jana Oliver

I am totally ripping off one Jenny of Wondrous Reads blogpost ideas here, and I apologise but you know, sometimes you just have to share. And frankly, I've decided to keep featuring it for upcoming books here on MFB.  Too many pretty covers out there not being shouted about.

I received a copy of Jana Oliver's Demon Trappers: Forsaken and read it over Christmas and completely loved it.  It filled a gap in my heart where the TV show Supernatural usually resides.  I popped over to Ms. Oliver's blog and discovered that the UK gets Demon Trappers before the US are getting it (for a change, also YAY!) and not only that, but the covers are so completely vastly different and the US title is also different.

I submit to you:

Demon Trappers - Forsaken, UK Cover

The Demon Trapper's Daughter, US Cover

I have to say, I have love for both covers but I do quite like the US cover a tiny bit more. I like it because of what Riley is doing, perching on the top of the building like that, with the perspective of the cityscape below.  It gives us indications that Riley feels detatched and probably lonely in the world she finds herself in.  And the title too, it tells us exactly who she is.

My review goes live next week but even before then let me just say this: buy this book or get someone else to buy it for you, because it's terrific.

When Last I Died by Gladys Mitchell

When Mrs Bradley’s grandson finds an old diary in her rented cottage it attracts the interest of this most unconventional of detectives, for the book’s now deceased owner was once suspected of the murders of both her aunt and cousin. Does the missing diary finally reveal what happened to old Aunt Flora? Is the case of Bella Foxley really closed? And what happened to the boys from the local reformatory who went missing at the same time? As events unfold, Mrs. Bradley faces one of her most difficult cases to date, one that will keep readers guessing until the very end…

When Last I Died is the 2nd re-release from Vintage Books of titles from Gladys Mitchell's Mrs Bradley Mysteries series. It's rare for a publisher to shine their spotlights on works that have faded from view though some works seem to keep finding the light over and over again with a little help, whatever happened behind the scenes I'm glad I got chance start my exploration of Mitchell's work.

Why? Because I enjoyed The Saltmarsh Murders but loved When Last I Died even more.

Why? As there is a difference in the narration. The first was narrated by the curate of the sleepy village who was good but only seeing Mrs Bradley from the outside. The narrator in this one is exterior to the action and follows around Mrs Bradley's actions and internal thoughts, so we get to know Mrs Bradley a litte more intimately.

I have to say as a character she's fab. She's nosey, steely, insightful and intelligent without giving over to arrogance. She's also very curious, and it's that curiousity which is raised when her grandson finds an old diary in a rented cottage. The book's owner is now deceased and was once suspected of the murders of both her aunt and cousin. But the contents raises more questions than it answers. Does it reveal what actually happended to Aunt Flora? Is the case of Bella Foxley really closed? And what happened to the boys from the local refectory who went missing that same time?

And it really is a mystery, one that keeps both the reader and Mrs Bradley guessing. My only slight reluctance in the story comes, I guess, from Mrs Bradley pushing at a case that is dead and buried and she doesn't seem to get enough resistance to her questioning as one might expect.. but then this is a novel from 1941 and she is grandee of society so it doesn't feel too odd. That was my only doubt.

A great device used by Mitchell is the diary which is reprinted, and which on first glance is heartfelt and absorbing but Mrs Bradley feels differently and she sticks her nose in to find out more about the events. It definitely wrong footed me.

It's a short novel at 208 pages, but it's packed with twists, turns and surprises like all good mysteries should be. And in this case the truth of the matter is much stranger than the fiction that surrounds it.

The Diviner's Tale by Bradford Morrow

Cassandra Brooks is a single mother-of-two, schoolteacher and water diviner. Deep in the woods as she dowses the land for a property developer, she is confronted by the body of a young girl, swinging from a tree, hanged. When she returns with the authorities, the body has vanished. Already regarded as an eccentric, her story is disbelieved- until a girl turns up in the woods, alive, mute and identical to the girl in Cassandra's vision.

In the days that follow, Cassandra's visions become darker and more frequent as they begin to take on a tangible form. Forced to confront a past she has tried to forget, Cassandra finds herself locked in a game of cat-and-mouse with a real life killer who has haunted her for longer than she can remember.

At once an ingeniously plotted mystery and a magical love story, The Diviner’s Tale will pull you helplessly down into Cassandra’s luminous world.

I've had a great time reading The Diviner's Tale at the end of last year whilst we were experiencing some truly rubbish weather.  Whilst everyone else was shivering I was walking the land with Cassandra, divining water, learning how she did what she did, where she came from and what led her to seeing the body of the young girl that was / was not there. 

Bradford Morrow's writing is engaging and Cassandra has immediately become one of my favourite female heroines.  No, she's not necessarily kick-ass in the way fantasy women are kick ass but she has this timeless quality about her that I found truly appealing.  She's the narrator of our story and as such the best qualified to introduce us to divining and her unusual upbringing.  She has a history of mental illness, where her parents had sent her to be examined and evaluated and pumped full of drugs. Cassandra came out of this not necessarily a changed person, but one who is more wary, who watches for signs of the illness like you or I would watch and make sure it is safe to cross the road. 

So when Cassandra sees the dead girl in the forest, hanging from a tree, she's uncertain.  Is it real or is it her illness starting up again? But when she touches the young woman she's jolted out of her half-dream and she realises that it is very real indeed.  She runs and finds the police who search the woods but when they conduct the search, they discover nothing.  Cassandra's self-doubt is tempered by her twin sons' Jonah and Morgan who close ranks around their mother and offers her a buffer against the harsh reality of the world outside.  They are great kids, well written and full of character.  I loved them to bits and think the author did a great job including the boys in this novel.  

Cassandra's story is told in both the present and the past, the near past and the distant past.  As the story unfolds and we come to learn more about Cassandra's divining talent, the first incident that brought it to her parent's attention and how she became a social outcast to some extent, we learn that what we know as the truth may not be the truth after all.  Cassandra has a very close, very personal relationship with her father who had been a diviner himself before he became too ill to continue doing the job.  Nep is a wonderful rich character which remains subtly underwritten by the author.  And by that I mean that Nep's story could so easily have dominated this book but instead we are given only a handful of meetings with Nep and Cassandra and her mum, Rosalie.  

In some instances Cassandra's narrative leads us astray and she becomes the unreliable narrator.  We aren't sure if she's gone over the edge into madness or if what she sees is genuinely true.  The author walks such a fine line here that I nearly didn't make up my mind until the very end.  The story is plotted so well, bringing pieces of Cassandra's past in to sharp relief to explain the current happenings, that as it reaches its climax, you are still wondering if what she's going through is real or imagined.  I won't hesitate recommending this to readers and to aspiring writers, to especially note the use of voice and the intricate plotting. 

I really can't pigeonhole this book - it's a mix of crime and suspense mixed with a hint of the paranormal written in an accessible literary fashion. There is much love in my heart for The Diviner's Tale and I loved how the book ended.  It truly is a remarkable book written by a remarkable author whom I've never read in the past.  Needless to say, I am hoping that there may be another novel featuring Cassandra, but even if there isn't this one will be re-read several times more for its sheer storytelling genius. 

The Diviner's Tale is out later this month from Corvus.  Find Bradford Morrow's website here. 

Broken Honour by Robert Earl

The armies of Hochland are at breaking point. Beset on all sides by the feral beastmen, the safety and prosperity of the province is shattered. These are desperate times. Mercenary Captain Eriksson looks to capitalise on the conflict, buying the freedom of a group of prisoners to form a new free company. The criminals are delighted to be released, but this comes at a terrible price- to fight and die in the upcoming conflict. Eriksson must led his makeshift company into one bloody battle after another, putting his faith in those who gave up on honour long ago. On the battlefields of Hochland, either damnation or redemption awaits them.

Broken Honour opens with the army of General Count von Brechthold taking to the field in what he and they expect to be just another annual cull of the beastmen who infest the thick forests of the province. But there’s a new leader amongst the herds of bestial horrors that await them, and the army is spectacularly destroyed apart from a young nobleman named Viksberg, who refuses to die on that muddy field and flees towards safety.

Shortly thereafter we meet Captain Eriksson, an experienced and cunning mercenary captain for whom the strife that besets Hochland is an opportunity, not a calamity. After some narrow escapes he gets his new free company, a ragtag collection of thieves and murderers, and starts the process of forging them into something that resembles a military unit. But amongst his company is someone who knows the truth of Viksberg’s crimes, and soon they have more than beastmen (whose feral rage comes through very well throughout) plotting their death as the war rushes towards a mighty clash that will see either side utterly destroyed.

The transformation of the criminal mob into the Gentlemen’s Free Company of Hergig is handled well- there’s no quick fix or Hollywood style montage to gloss over the fact that these are criminals that Eriksson is dealing with.

As a setting, Warhammer fantasy has a distinctive flavour. It’s a world constantly under siege by the forces of chaos in all its guises, in the midst of which people get on with their lives, surrounded as they are in equal measures by despair and ignorance, nobility and defiant courage. Robert Earl has managed to capture this atmosphere quite neatly. It’s nothing definite that you can put your finger on, but like a colour built up of several layers of thin paint, it definitely comes through as Eriksson and his men fight to survive against the worst that Viksberg’s spite and the ravening beastmen can throw at them.

I enjoyed the fast pace and vicious action, and consumed it while commuting in over Christmas. It’s a standalone novel that delivers classic Warhammer action, but is very much accessible for anyone unfamiliar with the setting.

Entangled Blog Tour - Cat talks editing, writing and cheese

Cat Clarke - Entangled Author

I got to meet Cat "Entangled" Clarke a while ago as non-fiction editor for Scholastic and we got along famously, and the cocktails had nothing to do with it either.  Chatting to Cat I realised that not only is she a very cool hat-wearing lady, we have many things in common, we love books, we love good writing, she can wear quirky hats, I can't so I envied her, she writes, I write reviews...and we both adore cheese. 

When Quercus offered MFB to be part of Cat's blog tour for her novel Entangled, we LEAPT at the chance.  I got the chance to fling some questions as Cat which she had to answer in as polite a way as possible. *hee hee*

Here we go:

What training / uni / college degree did you have before you became an editor at Scholastic?

I studied History at Edinburgh University. Maybe I should have done English Literature, but I was paranoid that it would make me hate reading! Of course, now I have an alarmingly sparse knowledge of the classics...

Did you always want to be part of the publishing industry? Or did you ever want to be Elvis?

I’ve wanted to work in publishing ever since I did one of those career questionnaire thingummyjigs and the results came back telling me that my ideal career was Editorial. I’m very easily persuaded. I can honestly say that I have never ever wanted to be Elvis. There WAS a time when I wanted to be Kylie, but I don’t like to talk about it.

What made you sit back and realize and you wanted to write something for the wide world to read – and not just the non-fiction titles you’ve written in your capacity as editor?

I’d wanted to write for years and years, but my lazy gene wouldn’t let me. It was only when I started working as a non-fiction editor and was around books and bookish people every day that I got around to starting my first novel. I sometimes wonder if I would have ever got around to it if it hadn’t been for my break into the publishing world. Scary thought!

How did you reconcile your writer-self with your editor-self? Was it an open-secret at work, i.e. did people know that you were writing fiction?

A few people knew, but I didn’t really like talking about it. I didn’t want anyone thinking I wasn’t 100% committed to the job, and I didn’t want my authors to feel weird about it! When I got my book deal, my boss sent an email round the whole office, so everything was out in the open from that point on.



Prettiest Cover Ever

When you approached agents to look at Entangled, do you think your role as editor at Scholastic helped?

I think it only helped in that it gave me access to people who could suggest agents for me to approach. It meant I didn’t need to go trawling through the Children’s Writers’ And Artists’ Yearbook. But I am a serious geek, so I did that anyway. That book did not leave my coffee table until I’d signed the contract with my agent!

I remember a recent blogpost on your website where you mentioned that it’s been a year that day when you got THE CALL from your agent that Entangled had sold and you couldn’t really do much about it at work. How did you celebrate in the end?

I ate a splendid cheese and meat platter and had a couple of drinks. And a few weeks later I went out for a posh dinner. Oh, and I bought myself a special hey-you-got-a-book-deal necklace.

Now that you’ve walked away from your editorial role, do you find that your editorial voice has gone quiet or do you think it’s even more prevalent now than before?

Well, I’m still doing freelance editing and I get to flex my editorial muscles with The Lighthouse Children’s Literary Consultancy, so the voice is going strong. At the moment the voice is telling me that my characters roll their eyes too much, I really need to find a new way to describe crying and I STILL have a tendency to use the word ‘just’ too often.

Final fromage question: if you had to be a cheese, what cheese would you be?

I feel like I’m on Blind Date! I’ve given this question more thought than is sensible, considering the length of my to-do list right now. At first I was thinking Camembert, but lots of people don’t like Camembert, and everyone likes to be liked, right?! So I think I’m going to go for Parmigiano Reggiano – you can’t beat it. Life without it is unthinkable. And it has umami, the fifth flavour – the one that makes things taste extra-delicious. Yes... I think that’s my final answer. I’ll have to go before I change my mind. Thanks for the awesome questions, awesome Liz!

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Some very cool answers here, thanks Cat for taking the time to chat to us!  Our Entangled review is up next week, so be sure to stop by for that too.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

US Cover 

Mackie Doyle is a replacement - a fairy child left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago, to replace the baby when it was stolen away by the fey.

So though he lives in the small town of Gentry, Mackie's real home is the fey world of tunnels and black, murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. Now, because his fey blood gives him fatal allergies to iron, blood and consecrated ground, Mackie is slowly dying in the human world. Mackie would give anything just to be normal, to live quietly amongst humans, practice his bass guitar and spend time with his crush, Tate. 


But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably back home to the fey underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem, where he must face down the dark creatures, rescue the child, and find his rightful place - in our world, or theirs.

UK Cover 

The thing about The Replacement that struck me the most is this: the quality of the storytelling.  It really has taken the changeling / fairy tale sub-genre and lifted it to new heights.  And I don't mean the author has made it darker, because that is expected, but rather that the writing has a maturity and an expectation of the reader to be equally well read and to know some of the mythology about fae beings and changelings in particular.

Telling the story from Mackie's point of view is inspired.  He is a no-fuss kind of guy but he's deeply unhappy about the state he finds himself in.  He's been feeling ill for some time and it's sort of an open secret that he's not entirely normal but, having said that, his father especially urges him to act normal at all times, to not draw the attention of others within their small community of Gentry.

The only person outside of the Doyle family who knows things aren't 100% as they seem, is Mackie's best friend Roswell. And Roswell is indeed a good friend to Mackie - always by his side, loyal and honourable, he stands by his mate, even if his mate turns out to be something "other".

Mackie's story is one of self-doubt, denial, anger, frustration and longing.  He wants to be normal but nothing about him is normal.  Not his skin, his hair, his eyes, his health.  He's busy dying living in the human world and yet he's stubborn and determined to not give in to his heritage.  Even if it kills him.  It's only when Tate's baby sister "dies" and she turns to him for help that he realises that being selfish is not the way forward.

He accepts the invitation to enter Mayhem and to meet those who live there.  Key here is the Morrigan, once a powerful goddess of war, she now reverts to a playful form of a small child yet her rule in Mayhem is absolute.  She's had a falling out with her sister who is known as The Lady and it is The Lady who has been the culprit of various disappearances and accidents for many years in Gentry.  The animosity between the sisters has led to a variety of grudges and as Mackie traverses this dark world, he comes to realise that his own disappearance is key to this all and that his story goes back much further than he thought.

The Replacement is such a great read - it may not be for everyone as it is not a very happy (fairy) book but it is very real in the sense that everything has a push-pull consequence.  At its heart it is a story about transformation and friendship and the depths of love people can have for each other - and I'm not just talking true love for a girlfriend or boyfriend either.  It is about family and loyalty and finding ones place in society.

I'll admit to being cautious about jumping on The Replacement bandwagon as I am loathe to be yet another voice in a crowd saying how great a novel is upon its release but honestly, this one surprised me and I'm glad I gave in to my gut feeling and read it.  It is a great addition to my bookshelves and one I know I'll be rereading in the months to come.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff is out in the UK from Simon & Schuster on 6th January 2011 and should be available online as well as all good book shops.

Tyme's End by BR Collins

Bibi feels out of place wherever she goes - everywhere, that is, except for Tyme's End, the deserted house she breaks into whenever she thinks nobody is nearby.  There she meets Oliver, the owner, who has returned after ten years away.  Bibi's and Olivers's lives become inextricably linked as they are both pulled towards Tyme's End.  For Tyme's End is more than just a house.  It is a house that can be by turns romantic, beguiling, sinister and malevolent.  It is a house that once had an evil and manipulative owner.  And nobody who enters Tyme's End must prepare themselves for terror. 


BR Collins has gone from a "writer to watch" to a writer who is so self-assured that she can tackle a haunted house story with the aplomb and skill of any of our grandmasters, including Poe, King, Layman, Blackwood, Campbell and well, anyone else you would like to name.

The story of Tyme's End is told in three key stages and they are defined by the year the story is told.  We have 2006, which deals with Bibi's story.  Secondly there is 1996 which is Oliver's story and finally, 1936 and it tells Oliver's grandfather's story.

The regressive storytelling where we go backwards in the house's history took me by surprise.  I thought we would stick with Bibi's story and was therefore thrown quite a bit by moving onto Oliver's story.  Initially it did lift me out of the story, but only briefly, once I realised what the author was doing.

When we meet Bibi she's going through a tough time.  She feels an outsider and acts surly and unpleasant when in fact she is genuinely a highly intelligent and charming girl, a bit more mature than usual and also quite together, even if she has her various hang-ups. She loves Tyme's End and sneaks in to spend time by herself.  She has a mattress up in one of the rooms and some favourite things.  This is where she feels at home, safe and somewhere she can hide from her family.  She's adopted and feels at odds with the world, as if no one can understand what she's going through.  Bibi is an intensely complicated character and could easily have carried an entire novel by herself hence my surprise when her story gets wrapped up really well in the first third of the novel.  She meets Oliver and he of course chases her out.  But Bibi is made of sterner stuff and she finds herself returning to Tyme's End.  Oliver is older, in his twenties and seems as conflicted as Bibi about everything in his life.  But as he's an adult he feels the need to be in charge, to figure things out.

With Bibi by his side Oliver uncovers some truths and comes to various conclusions. Oliver and Bibi's relationship starts full of conflict but within a short space of time they connect with each other in a way that forms a catalyst for the first part of the story.  I loved both these flawed fiery characters and thought that BRC really couldn't do better than them.

When we leave Bibi and we turn around to look into Oliver's time spent with his grandfather and Tyme's End, we are shown why Oliver reacted to Bibi the way he had in the beginning of the book.  With Bibi we only found out a few snippets of information as to why Oliver hates Tyme's End so much.  In this part of the book, the 1996 section, all of it is made clear as it pertains to Oliver and his perceptions.  This is the part of the novel that I loved the most - deeply odd and eerie, it has the psychological element to it that makes you check behind your sofa as you sit there reading.  

Finally, we get to the 1936 section that deals with Oliver's grandfather's experiences at Tyme's End.  He is also called Oliver and for clarity we'll call him Senior.  Senior is a handsome but poor student at Cambridge where he is reading History.  He happened to meet the owner of Tyme's Hall, the deeply enigmatic and charismatic H J Martin - Jack to his friends - and gets invited to Tyme's Hall to spend some time there over a very hot Summer. There is initially this sense of everything being perfect but slowly but surely reality intrudes and Senior realises that Jack may not be all he seems.  We spend the last part of the novel with Senior and Jack and some other people at Tyme's End and here is where the answers lie, that are only alluded to in the other two sections of the book.  We learn what we need to know about Jack and about Oliver Senior.  And although it's not jumping out of dark closets scary, it's that slow pervasive creep of delicious horror that does the trick here, making it a truly unforgettable sequence to end the novel on.

I really fell for these characters.  I loved the story and I feel a bit sad for Tyme's End itself.  I cannot recommend this deliciously creepy novel enough.  BR Collins's writing is vivid and chilling and truly engaging. This has to be one of the highlights of 2011.  And it's promising to be a cracking year.