In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

FROM NETGALLEY:

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend by Justin Hill, Wang Dulu

Review: The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath: From the Peculiar Adventures of John Lovehart, Esq., Volume 1 by Ishbelle Bee

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

1888. A little girl called Mirror and her shape-shifting guardian Goliath Honeyflower are washed up on the shores of Victorian England. Something has been wrong with Mirror since the day her grandfather locked her inside a mysterious clock that was painted all over with ladybirds. Mirror does not know what she is, but she knows she is no longer human.
John Loveheart, meanwhile, was not born wicked. But after the sinister death of his parents, he was taken by Mr. Fingers, the demon lord of the underworld. Some say he is mad. John would be inclined to agree.
Now Mr Fingers is determined to find the little girl called Mirror, whose flesh he intends to eat, and whose soul is the key to his eternal reign. And John Loveheart has been called by his otherworldly father to help him track Mirror down...

MY TAKE:
I'm not quite sure how I feel about this novel.

In The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath: From the Peculiar Adventures of John Lovehart, Esq., Volume 1, Mirror was changed after being trapped by her grandfather in an enchanted grandfather clock. She and her protector Goliath try to search for answers and help. Meanwhile, Loveheart is an odd man who Mr. Fingers took in as his adopted son when Loveheart was still a child. Now, he is asked by his adopted father to search for Mirror and bring her back. But for what?

This was the most surreal and strange book I've read in awhile. I have to decide if that's good or bad. I liked the originality of the plot. There were elements of Greek mythology, specifically the story of Persephone and Hades, as well as an explanation for Jack the Ripper's insistence, which was chillingly believable, especially after reading the story.

The novel had multiple narrators, shifting viewpoints every so often. These narrators include Mirror, Goliath, Loveheart, as well as Loveheart's brother Tumbletee and Detective White, whom I liked. This sounds confusing but it's actually not. The time shifts in between chapters where more confusing to me. I mean, I understood what was happening and how it related to the rest of the story, but it did get a bit disorienting every so often. I understood the need for it, though, as time does play an important part in the story.

The story was just average for me until Detective White's part in the story, then I started to get invested in what was happening. I love a good mystery, and I liked how his story intertwined with Mirror and Loveheart's.

This book certainly was darker than I expected, almost a gothic novel. I think I would have liked this more had I read it during a dark and stormy night, while drinking coffee or hot chocolate. I feel like this needs a certain kind of mood to be fully enjoyed.

THE GOOD:

1. It's an interesting premise.
2. The characters are quirky and slightly nuts.
3. There were awesome plot twists. 

THE BAD:

1. There were some confusing moments, partly due to the jumping between timelines. 

READ IT IF:

1. You like gothic novels.
2. You like weird, slightly creepy characters.
3. You like unusual stories. 

RATING:


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Review: Curtsies and Conspiracies (Finishing School #2) by Gail Carriger

SUMMARY FROM GOODREADS:

Sophronias first year at Mademoiselle Geraldines Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing. For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy. Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ships boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a school trip to London than is at first apparent. A conspiracy is afootone with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

MY TAKE:
The more I read of this series, the more I like Sophronia and steampunk in general.

In Curtsies and Conspiracies, the girls of Mademoiselle Geraldine's have several male visitors joining them in the dirigible. Whatever for? That's what they'll find out when they get to London, where more pieces of the mystery of the prototype will be revealed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love the idea of espionage mixed with finishing school, and this book contains plenty of both. It made me quite happy, especially seeing as how the girls of Mademoiselle Geraldine's and the boys of Bunson have plenty of funny lines, which helped keep the book from being too heavy and serious.

The whole plot of the dirigibles and aethers felt a little too complicated to me, though. The sheer number of groups and interested parties in the mystery felt like it was a tangled, free-for-all thing. Of course, since this is only the second book in the series, we can't expect everything to make sense right away. As messy as some things may seem, I can only assume that later it will all be revealed that things were more tightly woven than they appeared.

The strength of this book, and the first book as well, were the characters, their sense of humor, and also Sohpronia's love life. The interaction between all the characters were entertaining to watch. There were times when I wished this was a television series because there are plenty of priceless lines here.

Sophronia's friends have a more prominent role here, especially Dimity. Of Sophronia's friends, Sidheag is my favorite, but even though Dimity can be a little clueless sometimes, she's got a good heart so I can't help but like her as well.

As for Sophronia's love life, it just got more interesting with the addition of a new love interest, and subsequently both boys being more forward and making clear their intents. Love triangles don't always work for me as I tend to gravitate towards one immediately and then proceed to despise the other. However, here, I liked both boys. Soap is a good guy, and I like the whole noble-girl-working-class-boy matchup. Felix, on the other hand, is a charmer and a bit of a racist and classist, although that's more due to his upbringing than actual malice and dislike on his part. Now normally I would choose the nice guy, but in this instance, I'm actually partial to Felix. I think he's sincere and there's tons of chemistry between him and Sophronia. Also, they have a forbidden romance thing going on as well, which I like. Soap is sweet, but I think he's more best friend material for Sophronia. I think they're going to be endgame, though. That or Sophronia refuses to choose between the two and decides not to marry at all.

THE GOOD:

1. It has the perfect mix of espionage and Victorian London.
2. There are plenty of funny lines.
3. The love interests both have good qualities and it's actually hard to choose between the two of them.

THE BAD:

1. The plot of the entire series is looking a bit convoluted right now. 

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

“Unless Sophronia missed her guess, the poor lad was already developing romantic feelings toward her friend. Many of the sooties probably were. Dimity was so pretty and chattery, she quite overpowered the average male. Many gentlemen were unable to cope with abundant chatter, which is why they so often married it.” 

READ IT IF:

1. If you like steampunk novels.
2. If you like witty banter.
3. If you like love triangles.

RATING:


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Review: The Dragons of Heaven by Alyc Helms

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Street magician Missy Masters inherited more than the usual genetic cocktail from her estranged grandfather. She also got his preternatural control of shadow and his legacy as the vigilante hero, Mr Mystic. Problem is, being a pulp hero takes more than a good fedora and a knack for witty banter, and Missy lacks the one thing Mr Mystic had: experience. Determined to live up to her birthright, Missy journeys to China to seek the aid of Lung Huang, the ancient master who once guided her grandfather.
Lung Huang isn't quite as ancient as Missy expected, and a romantic interlude embroils her in the politics of Lung Huang and his siblings, the nine dragon-guardians of creation. When Lung Di-Lung Huang's brother and mortal enemy-raises a magical barrier that cuts off China from the rest of the world, it falls to the new Mr. Mystic to prove herself by taking down the barrier.
As Missy prepares to confront Lung Di, she faces a tough decision: remain loyal to Lung Huang and see China destroyed, or side with the bad guy and save the world.

MY TAKE:
I found the premise of this book intriguing, and the book was actually better than what I had expected from the description.

In The Dragons of Heaven, Missy wants to follow in her grandfather's footsteps as an adventure hero. However, she finds that she will need further training, and heads to China to meet, and hopefully train under, her grandfather's teacher Lung Huang/Jian Huo. Love blossoms between them and this sets into motion a series of events that could upset the balance of the universe and destroy the world as they know it.

Where do I even begin? First of all, I enjoyed the mythology here. Some I am already familiar with from what I've read in books and seen in movies and shows. It's a wonderful way to get acquainted with the basics of ancient Chinese culture.

The plot was complicated and convoluted, but in a way that exhibits the characters' foresight, patience and planning rather than making it seem like the author is trying to do too many things at once. The circumstances of the final battle was actually different from how I understood it based on the description above, and I'm glad that it happened the way it did in the book, because I really wanted it to be something that wouldn't cast Jian Huo in too negative a light. Why? Because I really like him and Missy together.

The funny thing is I'm sort of meh on Missy. I mean, I can relate to her thoughts as a mother and as a wife, but the other stuff is too rash or impulsive for me to actually be able to relate to her on that level. However, every time she and Jian Huo were together, I really liked her. It speaks a lot about how their romance is written. Sometimes, when I'm not very interested in the heroine or I don't like her at all, I start hating and skimming through the romance. Here, the romance actually helped me like Missy more.

I liked Jian Huo very much, though. Yes, he's manipulative to a degree, but the rest is consistent with what I would expect from a Dragon. I thought he was the perfect match for Missy. Their romance, while marred with circumstances that most marriages don't actually face, do resemble most marriages. There are arguments and secrets, but talking it out helps. The ending made me quite happy and I'm curious to see what happens in the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Angry Robot Books for the e-ARC.

THE GOOD:

1. Missy and Jian Huo's romance is quite realistic.
2. The mythology is interesting.
3. There's plenty of potential for this to be a memorable series.

THE BAD:

1. The story alternates between Then and Now, which can be disorienting sometimes. 

READ IT IF:

1. You like Chinese mythology.
2. You like realistic romances.
3. You are looking for a series that has something new to offer. 

RATING:


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Review: The Missing Chums (The Hardy Boys #4) by Franklin W. Dixon

SUMMARY FROM GOODREADS:

When the Hardy Boys set out to solve the mystery of their missing chums, they discover a gang hide-out on an island along the way.

MY TAKE:
I'm really starting to like the Hardy Boys.

In The Missing Chums, the Hardy Boys get a chance to prove themselves when they are called upon to take the lead in a case. Things aren't as simple as it seems, though, and they may be dealing with something that is much bigger than even they can handle.

I really enjoy the old-school feel and setting that the early Hardy Boys have. Everything seems much simpler then, although this mystery sure wasn't.

There were actually several mysteries here, but the Hardy Boys being who they are where able to figure things out just when they needed to. There were a couple of red herrings here and there, and if you read a lot of mystery books, you may be able to figure it out right away. Usually, I don't like it when I can spot red herrings, but I was too charmed by everything else to care.

Boating figures prominently again here. I'm not too big a fan of that, but there were at least a couple of scenes that I thought were cool.

This was a rather quick read, so if you're looking for an entertaining mystery that's short and sweet, try this one.

THE GOOD:

1. It's a quick read.
2. There's plenty of things going on.
3. The mystery is complicated but not too much. 

THE BAD:

1. Some characters, especially their aunt, feel unnecessary. 

READ IT IF:

1. You're looking for a quick read.
2. You like mysteries.
3. You enjoyed the first books in the series. 

RATING:


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Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

“Sidheag could be quite crass, the result of having been raised by men, or Scots, or soldiers, or werewolves, or all four.”    

Review: Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School #1) by Gail Carriger

SUMMARY FROM GOODREADS:

It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.
Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners--and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.
But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but the also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage--in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

MY TAKE:
I'm not a huge fan of steampunk, but in combination with the espionage school plot point, I rather enjoyed this book.

In Etiquette & Espionage, Sophronia is sent by her mother to a finishing school so that she may learn to be a proper lady. The finishing school, however, is not your average finishing school. There, Sophronia learns the finer art of being an intelligencer. This new knowledge will come in handy when flywaymen come knocking at the school door for a prototype that could revolutionize their world.

This book was quite fun for me to read. The cadence and language used had the voice in my head speaking with an English accent. There were also plenty of funny lines that had me smiling and smirking, which was great. I appreciate books that can make me laugh without much effort through forced jokes.

As for the plot itself, there were a few plot points that I was able to figure out ahead of time, and there were times wherein the plot felt a little raw, but I get the feeling that this sort of easy pitch is just meant to lay the groundwork for future novels.

As for the characters, I liked Sophronia and Dimity enough, although probably not as well as I could have. There were a few characters I ended up liking that I didn't expect to like as much as I did though. I found that I liked Vieve and Pillover a lot. They're the kind of kids that I would have befriended in elementary and high school. I also liked Soap. I'm still figuring out who Sophronia's love interest will be. Right now, I'm thinking it could be Soap, that Piston rake-in-training, or even Captain Niall. I'm curious to see how things will turn out.

I decided to give this book four stars instead of three because I think the series has very good potential.

THE GOOD:

1. There are plenty of funny lines.
2. The premise is intriguing.
3. The characters are generally likable.

THE BAD:

1. Some of the plot twists were easy to predict.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

“If there is gossip to be garnered, garner it. If there are new dress styles to be imitated, imitate them. If there are hearts to be broken, break them. That's my girls.” 

READ IT IF:

1. You like steampunk.
2. You like books about female spies.
3. You like books with strong heroines.

RATING:


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