Julia Reviews Winterblaze by Kristen Callihan

Title/Author: Winterblaze by Kristen Callihan
Publisher/Year Published: February 26th 2013 by Forever Romance
How I got this book: NetGalley in exchange for a fair review
Why I read this book: The third book in a super refreshing paranormal steampunk romance.
Rating: 5 stars

Winterblaze in the third book in The Darkest London series, and I would say is the one takes us the most into the paranormal. Firelight (review) started by gradually introducing us to this mix of paranormal and steampunk Victorian London and introducing us to the Ellis sisters. Moonglow (review) ramped up the paranormal showing us werewolves and GIMs (Ghosts in the Machine… my favorite phrase ever). With Winterblaze we get introduced to even darker sides of this dark London.

Before I even continue, if you have not read the first two books, I don’t think Winterblaze is the place to start. For instance, the conflict that sets up the feelings for the main couple in this book happened in Moonglow. Callihan does a decent job of recapping without seeming to recap, but obviously reading the book would be the best reminder. Besides it is an excellent book.

Let’s look at Winterblaze. 

The Story
Winterblaze follows the eldest Ellis sister, Poppy. Poppy has been married to Winston Lane for the series thus far, but being attacked by a werewolf and realizing Poppy has been lying to him about her involvement in the supernatural world causes Winston to leave her, his trust shattered. 

The story jumps in right there and just starts off running. Poppy receives a postcard from an old nemesis threatening Winston’s life. So she runs to his side, which happens to be on a ship that I kept picturing as the Titanic for some reason. There we meet Mr. Jones, the demon threatening both Poppy and Winston. There is a revelation that I really don’t want to give away that happens rather soon on that forces Poppy and Winston to get over themselves and join together to solve a mystery.

The story focuses on that mystery as well as Poppy and Winston. Both have to heal from the betrayal of trust they felt. They need to try to learn to be a couple again, each knowing the complete truth. The mystery I thought was pretty good. I figured out one of the twists rather early, but was blindsided by a few others, as seems to be the pattern in Callihan’s books.

The Characters
Winston and Poppy were awesome characters. I think my favorite thing about them is that they did not change from what we already knew and had seen about them in previous books. One of my biggest pet peeves is when secondary characters I have come to adore get their own book and their personality or conflict completely changes from the way I had already built them in my mind. This book is the farthest from that.

Both of our leads are hurt and trying to heal themselves as well as their relationship, all while trying to deal with the mystery that needs to solved. They did not let me down, though sometimes I felt that we spent too much time in their heads, but I didn’t think that enough to have it really affect my enjoyment.

We get to see our past couples for a bit in this, but the main secondary characters are Mary the GIM and Jack Talent the shifter. They are quite a pair of characters and any time they interact you can just feel the sparks! Speaking of sparks…

The Romance
The romance was my favorite part of this. It is completely different than most romance novels because we are not seeing their beginning but somewhere in the middle of their relationship. There are a few flashbacks that show us how they met and all that, but the majority of time is spent with them here in the now and trying to overcome their trust issues. I love the interactions between Poppy and Win. It felt so realistic, like they were old friends going through a problem. I just want to reach in and give them both a big hug. 

The sex scenes were pretty awesome and fit well with how our characters were acting. And yay! Loved the sexual tension build up! It just makes the payoff so much better!

The Execution
As I mentioned, this book could not be a standalone nor would I recommend anyone to read it as one. It is written for the series and meant to be read that way. At first the beginning was really overwhelming. There wasn’t a lot of time to reacclimate me to the ways of this world. It had been a while since I read Moonglow, and my initial enjoyment was lessened because of it. 

I was jarred by the first flashback as well and thought initially that they would get really distracting, but I actually ended up thinking Callihan did an excellent job of fitting them into the story not only when they made sense but when they mirrored some sort of theme that was happening in the present. And I liked that near the end there is a call back to the flashbacks that was very smart. 

The Overview 
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and devoured in a few sittings. Callihan is one of my new favorite authors. A definite autobuy. Poppy and Win’s story was heartbreaking and romantic. The novel does not deal in the same time in a relationship that most romance novels do and I think this fact makes it all the stronger. The beginning was a bit confusing, but as soon as I found my footing I was immersed in the world. If you are even the least bit interested in paranormal steampunk, pick this series up. Callihan has created a super inventive world full of amazing new things to explore and discover. I can’t wait to see where she leads us next!

This book was provided for me free for an honest review from NetGalley.

Tahleen reviews: "Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers" by Kirsten Miller

Title: Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers
Author: Kirsten Miller
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's, 2013

Rating: 4 stars

So I had never been exposed to the Kiki Strike books before agreeing to be a part of this blog tour, and I am so glad I was given the opportunity to read the whole series. I flew through them all, and I hope there will continue to be more books in the series down the road. I'm going to do my best to avoid spoilers for the first two books in the series, but I'm going to tell you to go out and read them right now. You really won't regret it.

In this third adventure starring Kiki Strike and the Irregulars, the band of girl geniuses venture beneath Paris, attempt to foil the usurpation of an Eastern European nation, and stay out of the clutches of a brainwashing etiquette maven. Plus they have to deal with boys and evil twins, both new experiences for our narrator, Ananka. Things get pretty busy, as you can imagine, and loyalties and strengths are all tested. Everyone is not as they seem—but this is not always a bad thing.

Miller has continued to bring surprise and humor to wonderfully creative capers. Kiki and the Irregulars, all of whom have their own specialties (chemistry, engineering, disguises, hacking, etc), continue to surprise me with their ingenuity and capability in the face of equally interesting and complex foes. I never know where we'll end up in these stories; twists keep coming at the reader throughout the telling.

I really like how in each new volume we examine one of the Irregulars a little bit closer than we have before. In this one, we learn a bit about Betty Bent, who the rest of the gang worry is too nice for her own good in certain situations. She has suffered from low self-esteem in the past, and she has gotten herself into trouble before, but she is ready to prove herself by being the one sent on a mission to Paris in order to help Kiki.

Miller has a great command of simile and language, and I often found myself laughing at one-liners. My only problem was that I was sad the Irregulars started to have romance added into their lives. I understand that it's normal and should be expected, but a part of me still wishes boys were not added into the mix. Oh well!

I loved how original it all is, and really the whole series is just a lot of fun. I highly recommend these books, including this newest addition, to anyone who likes adventure, espionage, and intrigue, especially in teen literature.

Disclosure: I received this book, along with the two earlier books in the series, from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Daisy's Mini-Review of Splintered by A.G. Howard

Title/Author: Splintered by A.G. Howard
Publisher/Date published: Amulet Books, January 1st 2013
How I got this book: bought it

Goodreads summary: This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers — precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

I recently read Splintered and I just absolutely LOVED IT! For my full fangirling review of Splinter, go here. For now I'll just list 5 reasons why I can't stop gushing about it and why you should ALL READ IT:

-It's an Alice in Wonderland retelling, do you really need another reason to pick this up??

-It captured all the things I remember loving about Wonderland while managing to alter my perception of what happened in the original tale forever.

-Strong, quirky characters I found myself rooting for and I felt a little like I was saying goodbye to friends when I turned the last page. Alyssa is my kind of off-beat.

-THE BOYS, seriously, this was one love triangle I could fully get into! And A.G. Howard even had me rooting for the bad boy somewhat and that NEVER HAPPENS! I'm a good guy kinda girl through and through.

-Amazingly vivid writing that leaps off the page and just sucks you in until you turn the last page and all you want to do is READ IT AGAIN!

I could seriously go on and on but basically I'm saying: READ THIS BOOK! You will not regret it! The story is as stunning as the cover is!

My rating: 5 stars

The Broke and Bookish Crew's Top Ten Best Bookish Memories

Top Ten Best Bookish Memories (waiting in line for a new release, meeting an author, or some sort of great experience with a particular book that was unlike others)

Julia says:

My senior year of college I was sitting on the couch when I got a friend request. I look to see who it was and it was from Julia Quinn, one of my all time favorite romance novel authors. I was floored. I have no idea how she found me, but I accepted (this was before fan pages). Anyway, continuing on with the awesomeness. One day JQ put out a request for libraries. If they wanted international copies of her books, let her know and she'd send them the language they asked for. As I had just returned from China, I asked if I could nominate my library to get a Chinese book. She messaged me personally for my address and sent a copy of 書信傳深情 aka To Sir Philip, with Love. I have yet to make it more than a page through it, but getting that book was a seriously awesome bookish memory!

Jana says:

I went to a book signing at my local library for the Fierce Reads tour last summer. Anna Banks was the first in the line, and she totally knew who I was from my blog! Then I got to Leigh Bardugo, who asked me if my eyelashes were real, because they looked pretty awesome. (She has since remembered me at other events as the eyelash girl from Utah!). And Emmy Laybourne, even though I had never heard of her, had heard of me! This was the first time someone in the real world had recognized me from my blog, and they were authors! I kind of felt like a celebrity.

Tahleen says:

I feel like I've talked about this a bunch of times here on The Broke and the Bookish, but my very favorite bookish memory was meeting Bill Bryson at the Boston Book Festival in 2010. He is pretty much my hero. As we only had seconds to interact, I had to think fast what to say to him when I got to the head of the line. It was finally my turn to get my book signed, and I told him how much I loved listening to his narrations of his audiobooks, that I loved listening to him when I drove to and from college. He was happy enough to tell me, "That's wonderful! Let me shake your hand!" and then HE DID. I shook Bill Bryson's hand and it was marvelous. He's just as nice a man as you would think from his books. A close second to this meeting was when I met John Green, who asked about my name, and after I told him it was Armenian he said he wishes HE were Armenian so he could name his daughter that. Pretty fantastic.

Lori says:

I think it's pretty well a known fact that my favorite novel is Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind.  I first encountered this novel shortly after Christmas when I was 13.  On Christmas Day, my dad and I randomly decided to watch it because it was on TV.  I was completely taken.  Then I found out that this amazing movie was also a book.  And my grandparents actually had a copy upstairs.  Naturally, I took it.  I devoured all 862 pages of the 1958 edition.  I was completely transported by the words and the story and the emotions that they evoked in me.  I remember thinking that I had discovered some lost story and that I must share it with everyone.  Fortunately, my friends at that time were not really readers, so I got to hold onto that feeling for a while.  Though I gradually discovered the widespread love of this novel, I will never forget the feeling I had when I first "discovered" this great story.

Daisy says:

My favourite bookish memories revolve around reading with other people. I have really happy childhood memories of my mom reading stories to me before going to sleep and when I could read myself: reading in the backyard next to her. When I go somewhere on holiday I also love to read in gorgeous place and one of my favourite holiday memories is reading with my boyfriend in a park in Barcelona, it was gorgeous!
Also: before The Hunger Games became a movie, the books weren't all that well-known in Holland. I'd been giving and loaning my own copies to friends and family for birthdays and such for a while and EVERYONE loved them! I totally laughed when one of my friends texted me a week after the movie came out, being a bit huffy about how everyone wanted to read the books after seeing the movie ;)

Bridget says:

Hands down, my best bookish memory is going to see Stephen King live in person at UMass Lowell this past December. It was an incredible experience, even though I didn't get to actually meet him or have him sign anything. He's a great speaker and is very engaging, and has this wonderfully dry sense of humor that definitely comes through in his writing but is even more apparent when listening to him. He's also a great narrator: he debuted a new short story that hasn't been published and in fact had never been heard before, and his narration was perfect. He even sort of acted it out a little bit. In short, he is absolutely captivating in person and I fully plan to follow him around the country as much as that's possible, considering he doesn't do many appearances.

Jamie says:

Meeting John Green! ERMGOSSHHH I still can't believe it happened. I waited in line for FOREVER because it was the National Book Fest and I had SO much time to come up with something to say and then at the last moment I just babbled about how I used a quote from his book for our wedding centerpiece! He was like "Hey, that's cool!" and congratulated me. Fangirl Jamie was super flaily for an hour afterwards. In my head we totally becomes bffs.

Kimberly says:

I've talked about this a lot here on the blog, so forgive me for repeating myself... But my favorite bookish memory is growing up with Harry Potter. I went to every midnight release. It was so much fun! I met loads of rather odd people, ran into teachers at the bookstore that were there, not with their kids, but for themselves! The local Barnes and Noble always put on a great party. Edible wands, black glasses, costume contests, they'd have a reading of the previous book set up in one corner. The energy was incredible, and so contagious. I'd be flying high within minutes of getting there. Around 11-11:30 they'd kick everyone out of the store and we'd have to line up outside, at midnight they'd open the doors again and we'd go in by groups. (The earlier you pre-paid for your book, the better line ticket you got). I remember the last party. I was 17 and had just graduated from high school (yes do the math and you have my age). I was there with my aunt, and randomly ended up in line with a former cast mate from a high school show, (she was all dressed up and drew quite a bit of attention). I get all excited just remembering it! Just like every other book release, it took FOREVER for midnight to come. "Is how time normally passes? Really slowly?" And then it was time! I can even remember which register I got my book from, how the book felt when they handed it to me, and how I was torn between excitement and tears. It was the final book. But it was also the FINAL book. So that's my favorite bookish memory, it's technically more than one but you all don't mind, do you? ;)

What are some of YOUR favorite memories? Did you grow up with Potter like Kimberly? Meet your favorite authors like a few of us (and did your fangirl flaily hands make an appearance like mine did?). Let us know!

Lori Reviews Reading Jackie: Her Autobiography in Books

Title: Reading Jackie:  Her Autobiography in Books

Author: William Kuhn

Published: Anchor, 2011 (paperback edition)

Where I Got It:  My wonderful Secret Santa, Kimberly, sent it to me.

 

I am a huge admirer of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.  I think that she embodied so much of the grace and charm that I always seek to cultivate in my own life.  She had a varied set of interests that included art, ballet, reading, fashion, decorating, and even pop culture.  All of these are interests of mine as well, which, I think, is why I feel such an affinity towards her.  I first saw press on this book back in 2010 before it was originally published.  I really wanted a copy because I thought the biography was extremely interesting, but just never bought it.  So I was elated when it showed up in my Secret Santa package in December.  I started in on it immediately and finished in a few days, underlining, taking notes, and dog-earing pages throughout.

So...about the book...

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was a notoriously private person, who really resented the spotlight's glare on her personal life.  She rarely gave interviews.  She did not write her memoirs.  She even put a ban on her letters and papers being published after her death.  But through the projects she was involved with as an editor at Viking, then Doubleday, she left some clues about herself.  William Kuhn looks at these clues and tells a story about her based on these books and projects and what others have said about Jackie.  During her tenure as an editor, Jackie was involved with upwards of 100 books that speak to her various interests and opinions.

The book opens with a wonderful testament to Jackie's love of reading and books.  From there, Kuhn breaks the biography into several topical chapters--such as a chapter about relationships and a chapter about beauty.  All the while, Kuhn weaves together a narrative that tells the story of the book's publication process and what it meant to Jackie--the chapter on relationships includes a book about Sally Hemings (Thomas Jefferson's mistress) and the chapter about beauty includes a book with pictures of Marilyn Monroe.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.  I learned a lot about Jackie Kennedy while reading it.  I added a long list of books, authors, and topics to investigate to my already long list.  Though maybe some of the connections that the author draws are specious (there's not a whole lot of definitive evidence that she chose to support this book or that book because of a personal connection, in my opinion) there are a lot of coincidences that I think lead the reader to accept these claims as plausible.  It is a book that I will definitely look at again in the future, having quickly become a person favorite.  Another thing that this book did for me was it reignited an old dream of working in publishing, especially as a book editor, so it's given me a career path that I want to work towards.

I would highly recommend this book to people who are interested in Jackie Kennedy or to people who are interested in the concept of how books tell the story of a person.  It's also just a great bookish read.

Broke and Bookish Book Haul for 1/20 - 2/2

Daisy's Book Haul

Egalleys for Review
-Hidden by Marianne Curley: Angel YA can go either REALLY good or really bad... I'm hoping this will fall in the first category, cause it sounds awesome :)
-Infatuate by Aimee Agresti
-Reboot by Amy Tintera: getting rebooted when you die and serving as a soldier I AM ALL KINDS OF EXCITED!
-September Girls by Bennett Madison: yay mermaids!
-You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle: I can't be the only one who wonders what ever happened to those child-stars from the movies/TV series you loved right??
-Towering by Alex Flinn: a Rapunzel retelling, need I say more?
-The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani: I think this will be my second school crush, after Hogwarts.
-Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn: it sounds really creepy and exciting!
-Born of Illusion by Teri Brown
-Parallel by Lauren Miller: I'm one of those people always wondering: WHAT IF? So this sounds like my kind of book.
-Night School by C.J. Daughterty: guys, there is a boarding school that's not entirely normal, of course I'm IN!
-Weather Witch by Shannon Delaney
-Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland: it sounds like a wonderful summer read!
-Transparent by Natalie Whipple

SO much HarperTeen epicness!

Bought
-Prophecy by Ellen Oh: already read and really enjoyed it, my review.
-Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: TEEN ASSASSINS!
-Boundless by Cynthia Hand: AAAH!! The final book in the series! I'm both over the moon excited and REALLY scared to start this! Jamie told me I'll need tissues...
-Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans: YAY! Finally! I've heard great things about it and Lenore is awesome!
-Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins: I know I'm SO late jumping on this bandwagon, but I completely fell in love with Hex Hall and am DYING to read this one!!
-Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi: I'll need some undisturbed reading time for this, cause I'm counting on not wanting to put it down!
-The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead: I'm such a little book hoarder, I haven't even read more than book 1 in the Vampire Academy series and am already collecting this series...
-Just One Day by Gayle Forman: SO EXCITED!
-Changeling by Philippa Gregory: I LOVE Philippa Gregory's books!

Gifted
-Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly: as a late Christmas present from my brother, he's awesome and buys me books :)
-Handmade Mexican doll from Alex @ A Girl, Books and Other Things who is all kinds of sweet! I absolutely love it!! Thank you!

Kelly's Book Haul

How can ANYTHING possibly compare to what Daisy got? I'm jealous! My haul is 90% historical fiction, a genre I've found myself wandering away from recently even though it's one of my favorites.

Bought
I was able to go to my favorite used book store where you can bring in your own books and trade them in for store credit. Surprisingly, I picked up very little!
-Crank by Ellen Hopkins -
-The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
-Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
-By Royal Decree by Kate Emerson - one of my favorite HF authors. Also, cover lust!
-Athenais by Lisa Hilton - a biography of a mistress of Louis XIV. Random pick up!
-The Queen's Dollmaker by Christine Trent - another of my favorite authors!

From the Library
Sadly, I don't work right around the corner from the library anymore so I don't go there as often anymore. I did borrow Graceling by Kristin Cashore on my Kindle though! It's not really grabbing me so far :\

For Review
The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau - the second of a historical mystery series.
Lady of Ashes by Christine Trent - the first in a historical mystery series! :)







Our Broke & Bookish book haul is inspired by memes like IMM & Stacking the Shelves& Mailbox Monday. This is just our very simple way of doing it collaboratively so we can participate in all of them and not have to choose one.

Bookish Deals (12): YAs Galore!

Happy Saturday, everyone! Welcome to today's biweekly edition of Bookish Deals where I (Julia) try to scour the Internet to find you guys an array of deals to fit in with any budget!

This week we have a ton of YAs for you. I've personally read Incarnate and enjoyed it for the most part. The second book either just came out or comes out this month. 





Paranormalcy by Kiersten White - $1.99
AZ | BN

Evie's always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours.

But Evie's about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Revenge of the Witch  by Joseph Delaney - $1.99
AZ | BN

Capturing witches Binding boggarts Driving away ghosts For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried-some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive.

Only Thomas Ward is left. He's the last hope; the last apprentice.

Can Thomas succeed? Will he learn the difference between a benign witch and a malevolent one? Does the Spook's warning against girls with pointy shoes include Alice? And what will happen if Thomas accidentally frees Mother Malkin, the most evil witch in the county ... ?

Incarnate  by Jodi Meadows - $2.99
AZ | BN

New soul

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

No soul

Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

Heart

Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

Jane  by April Lindner - $2.99
AZ | BN

Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, a world-famous rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance.

But there's a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane's much-envied relationship with Nico is soon tested by an agonizing secret from his past. Torn between her feelings for Nico and his fateful secret, Jane must decide: Does being true to herself mean giving up on true love?

An irresistible romance interwoven with a darkly engrossing mystery, this contemporary retelling of the beloved classic Jane Eyre promises to enchant a new generation of readers.