Tahleen talks about the Three Pines series by Louise Penny

Most of you know I mostly review young adult literature on this blog, mostly because I am a young adult services librarian and need to keep up with what is being published, or at least be familiar with it. However, I also need to be familiar with adult titles, as I also work on the reference desk for adults. My favorite genre has got to be mystery, and I gravitate toward the cozy subgenre.

Enter Louise Penny. I had heard the Three Pines series was good, the first of which is titled Still Life, and I decided to try it out. It was a good decision.

The whole series has a coziness around it, despite the murder and underlying sense of dread threaded throughout the books. I love reading about the little village of Three Pines, with its quirky characters and homey feel. I want to eat at Olivier's Bistro, where one can order things like open-faced melted goat cheese and arugula sandwiches on warm baguette, red lentil and curried apple soup, and fresh-baked croissants with a café au lait, warm cider, or glass of wine. I want to browse through Myrna's Livres, Neufs et Usagés, and find some mysteries like this one on a well-worn shelf surrounded by comfy chairs. (Oh by the way, it's set in Quebec, Canada, hence the French.) I want to be friends with all the people in this town, a town of people who found their way here when they most needed to. Louise Penny is just wonderful with description and imagery, and I always just want to jump into this place.

And Chief Inspector Armand Gamache! I want him to be my grandpa. Though he is probably too young for that, but still. He is just the best, which makes that dread I talked about earlier all the more sinister. If you've read the first few books, you'll know. If not, watch out for Arnot.

I've only read the first three in the series, and I am so glad that I don't have to wait for most of them to be published. Each book gets deeper and deeper into conspiracy and sabotage, and I worry for the inspector.

I listened to the first book in the series, and  Ralph Cosham fits the tone of the books perfectly. It took me a little while to warm to his narration, but as I progressed through the book I knew he was perfect. I hear his voice now when I'm reading the print copies I take home from the library.

To sum it up, if you're a mystery fan, especially Agatha Christie, this series is for you.

Paula Video Reviews the MaddAddam Trilogy

Hey all - I couldn't quite put all my feelings into a text post... so I made a video review for one of my favorite series: The MaddAddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood. Check it out below! Since it is about an entire series- I tried to keep it vague and spoiler free- but I did have to mention one or two things in order to make my review coherent (nothing that can't be found on a back of the book blerb though) - so here is your heads up.

If you don't feel like watching a video- my elevator speech review is: I am a fiend for matching bookshelves... and I ignored my paperback copies of books one and two and raced to buy the hardcover of book three because I was so excited to read it when it came out. Great dystopian and apocalyptic series by the talented Margaret Atwood.

Oryx and Crake  5 stars
The Year of The Flood 5 Stars
MaddAddam 4 Stars

Have you read the series? I would love to hear what you think about it! Happy Reading!

Tahleen's latest series obsession: Virgin River by Robyn Carr

So by now you all know I mostly read YA and middle grade books. I'm a teen librarian, it's my job. But every now and then I feel the urge to check out something more adult, though not necessarily "better." My latest discovery is the Virgin River series by Robyn Carr.

I got a nice gift card for Christmas to B&N, and since I own a nook I like to use gift cards for e-books. I saw that the first four books in this series were on sale for $10 and took a chance on them. I'm really glad I did.

In Carr's books, Virgin River is a tiny town in Northern California way up in the mountains and woods. Like, I mean tiny--600 ish population. The first book tells Mel's story. She is a young widow whose husband was killed in a violent crime, and in an effort to get away from LA and the emergency room in the city, she decides to take a crack at country medicine. Unfortunately it's not really what she's expecting, mostly because the cabin she was promised is pretty much falling down ("It has a bird nest in the oven!"). But before she can leave, a baby is abandoned at the crotchety old doctor's house where she was originally supposed to be helping out (even though he clearly stated he didn't need her help). So Mel stays, at least for a while. And there the series begins.

I flew through the first three books in this series. I really like the small-town atmosphere, which isn't always exactly neighborly as one might expect. And did I mention that each book is a romance? Yeah, this is a romance series, and it gets pretty hot sometimes to be honest. But it's more than that; it's about family, and what that can mean to different people. Each book sets up future story lines with subplots and perspective shifts (all told in third person), as well as continuing each previous couple's story through the next installments. No one's story really ends after their book ends, which makes me very invested in their lives since I've gotten to know them so well.

It's true, during the third book I could really tell where the next book was going. Every time a single 20- or 30-something shows up on the scene, I know they'll get their own book at some point, and I know if someone is going to die or something. It gets pretty predictable. But I still really like it, especially because it's getting to be familiar. I'm not sure if it will continue this way for me, but I'll enjoy it while it does.

Have you read the Virgin River series? What do you think of it? Do you have any series you read because they're comforting and familiar?

Daisy reviews the Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima

Title/Author: The Demon King, The Exiled Queen, The Gray Wolf Throne and The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima
Publisher: Hyperion
How I got this book: I am the proud owner of all these pretties!

Goodreads summary of The Demon King: "Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for for his family. The only thing of value he has is something he can't sell - the thick silver cuffs he's worn since birth. They're clearly magicked - as he grows, they grow, and he's never been able to get them off.

One day Han and his clan friend, Dancer, confront three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to keep him from using it against them. Soon Han learns that the amulet has an evil history - it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece that powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.

Meanwhile, Raisa ana’Marianna, princess heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. She’s just returning to court after three years of freedom in the mountains - riding, hunting, and working the famous clan markets. Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea - the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But her mother has other plans for her - including marriage to a suitor who goes against everything the queendom stands for.

The Seven Realms tremble when the lives of Han and Raisa collide, fanning the flames of the smoldering war between clans and wizards."

You may have noticed my enthusiasm for this series before, as I've reviewed The Demon King right here and The Exiled Queen and The Gray Wolf Throne on my own blog.

It's been a little over a year since I first got around to starting this series and I've been kicking myself ever since for not doing so sooner! Or maybe it was for the best, as the wait for The Crimson Crown has been KILLING me ever since I finished The Gray Wolf Throne.

The Seven Realms series reminds me why I love epic fantasy so much and how nothing beats losing yourself in a magical world full of high stakes battles, heroes, heroines and just all of those good things.

I have to warn you this might be more gushing than actual review ;)

I love the dual perspective we have through Han and Raisa, characters who are so very different but both so incredibly strong and loveable! Han is the lowborn streetlord who needs all of his wits to bust himself out of whatever trouble he's landed himself into and Raisa the princess of the realm who needs to grow up a little too fast and come into her own in order to keep the kingdom from falling apart.

I have loved watching these two grow and shine, crying and laughing and loving right along with them! I love how determined they both are, how they are both smart and eager to learn and are just such well rounded characters I wouldn't be surprised if I ran into them on the street. Well, minus the being from a different realm and all that.

I started the final book in the series The Crimon Crown two days ago and even though it's been a year since I last spent time in the Seven Realms, I felt right at home, I can't believe how much I've missed this world and all the characters! Not just the main two, but all the others as well. Except for the bad guys, who I'm wishing a slow and painful death on. I'm a little over a halfway through and though I want to keep reading to find out how it'll all end, I'm also dreading finishing it, because it means NO MORE NEW ADVENTURES....

And if my word alone doesn't quite cut it, our very own Kimberly is another fan of the series and I can't wait to discuss EVERYTHING that happened in The Crimson Crown with her after I finish it.
Also, my boyfriend who doesn't really read much is anxiously tracking my progress cause he wants to read it REALLY BAD as well!

This story is one that I will carry with me in my heart. Cinda Williams Chima has made me a total fangirl with her amazing writing and fantastic worldbuilding! She's created a whole set of characters for me to love and root for and I personally feel that this is YA fantasy at its finest: it doesn't get much better than this. Seriously.

There's epic battles, losses, characters coming into their own, court intrigue, a world filled with magic and a lovestory all in one and I just want to make you all sit down and READ it!

Now excuse me while I go off to read The Crimson Crown, you'll be seeing my no doubt equally gushing review of it soon!

My rating: 5+ stars

Daisy Reviews the Love By Numbers series by Sarah MacLean

Title/Author: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, Ten Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord and Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart (Love By Numbers #1, #2 and #3) by Sarah MacLean
Publisher/Date published: Avon, 2010, 2010 and 2011
How I got this book: borrowed, received through NetGalley and then BOUGH THEM ALL

You guys, historical romance is one of my guilty pleasures. They're such relaxing, fun reads for me and the ones that are done well make me feel ALL THE THINGS. And make me cry cause I'm a romantic sap like that.

And the Love By Numbers series ranks among the best in my humble opinion. Sarah MacLean has a way with words that just has me hooked. The heroes are swoonworthy, the heroines are girls you just can't help but love and root for and the romance is HOT!

Basically, this is everything I want in a historical romance. And because I don't think they get enough credit and attention, I decided to do a series review on them.

And she never fails to make me cry, like, every other page. I'm constantly right there in the moment with the characters and just getting so caught up in the story up to the point where I'm shushing the boyfriend when he attempts to communicate with me while I'm reading one of these novels.

I decided to buy the series, as I just couldn't resist owning these amazing books and upon arrival I immediately starting rereading all my favourite parts.

I think that Nine Rules is my favourite of the three. Gabriel and Callie are just meant for each other and I get all goosebumpy remembering their story. I think I love Gabriel the most of the heroes, there's this one scene from Ten Ways to be Adored where he's talking with his brother Nicholas:

'"Of course she loves you," he said imperiously, as though he could make it so simply by being the Marquess of Ralston.
"She doesn't."
"They always love us."'

AND I LOVE IT!! (Also, while looking up the exact wording of the scene I just reread the last part of Ten Ways to be Adored...) He's arrogant and entirely too handsome for his own good and also loving and just a wonderful man. All the characters in these novels are flawed and real and just so extremely lovable!

Basically, if you like the genre AT ALL or if you want to give it a try, I highly recommend this series! I also really love the first book in her new series A Rogue By Any Other Name, but these are even better.

I hope Sarah MacLean doesn't stop writing gems like this for a loooooong time, even though I could just reread these over and over again and be blisfully happy as well.

My rating: 5+ stars