Me on That Inevitable Victorian Thing

Title: That Inevitable Victorian Thing
Author: E.K. Johnston
Release Date: October 3, 2017
Publisher: Dutton (Penguin imprint)

Victoria-Margaret is the crown princess of the empire, a direct descendant of Victoria I, the queen who changed the course of history two centuries earlier. The imperial practice of genetically arranged matchmaking will soon guide Margaret into a politically advantageous marriage like her mother before her, but before she does her duty, she'll have one summer incognito in a far corner of empire. In Toronto, she meets Helena Marcus, daughter of one of the empire's greatest placement geneticists, and August Callaghan, the heir apparent to a powerful shipping firm currently besieged by American pirates. In a summer of high-society debutante balls, politically charged tea parties, and romantic country dances, Margaret, Helena, and August discover they share an unusual bond and maybe a one in a million chance to have what they want and to change the world in the process —just like the first Queen Victoria.

That Inevitable Victorian Thing is charming and intelligent, hopeful and kind, and oh so witty. It's an adjustment of the past and a look towards the future for three young people full of worry and expectations.

Victoria-Margaret is a crown princess. One day she will be queen of the empire. But until then, she's Margaret, a young British woman spending the summer in Canada before heading back home. Home where expectations, like finding a future spouse, await. She's kind, intelligent, and wondering if there's anything that could be hers in the future. Helena is quiet and thoughtful, a young woman who doesn't expect anything too grand in her life. She's happy enough to live quietly with her parents, and one day with her husband, who might very well be family friend August Callaghan. But is she sure? Is that really what she wants? Especially when she discovers something rather important and life-changing about herself. August is sure of his future, he knows he will spend it with the family's shipping firm. Even though their ships are being cornered by pirates. Even though he might've screwed up here and there trying to fix it all. Even though he's stubborn as a mule. He'll still have Helena by his side. Right?

Like most E.K. Johnston books, the world-building is exquisite and extensive. I so adore the premise of this book, where it started in history and took a turn. This is like if the wrongs of history were known and were righted sooner than they have been. If racial diversity had been embraced by Queen Victoria in terms of who her children and grandchildren should marry, and by extension the rest of the British Empire, instead of continuing the tradition of marrying into white European royal houses. But like all E.K. Johnston books, the characters are just as wonderful. Full of sense and practicality and curiosity. These three young people have their whole lives ahead of them, but who knows, when all is said and done, what the future will bring. Or what they will turn the future into.

As I read this book, I wondered if I'd ever be able to articulate my thoughts and feelings on it. In the end, all I have is how I felt while and after reading. This bizarre, charming creature made up of Victorian Era tones and moods, wonderfully funny Canadian references, the religion of genetics, and honest compassion. The heartfelt, hopeful attempt at making history better than it is. The wide range of diversity it holds, from race to sexuality to ability. This book is impossible to describe. It's full of wondrous charm and sense, of practicality and honesty. It doesn't talk down to the reader, no matter their age. I would definitely recommend this to readers looking for hope and sense in the world, to those looking for something completely different.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Penguin Canada.)

Me on The Shadow Cipher

Title: The Shadow Cipher
Author: Laura Ruby
Release Date: May 16, 2017
Publisher: Walden Pond Books (HarperCollins imprint)

It was 1798 when the Morningstarr twins arrived in New York with a vision for a magnificent city: towering skyscrapers, dazzling machines, and winding train lines, all running on technology no one had ever seen before. Fifty-seven years later, the enigmatic architects disappeared, leaving behind for the people of New York the Old York Cipher—a puzzle laid into the shining city they constructed, at the end of which was promised a treasure beyond all imagining. By the present day, however, the puzzle has never been solved, and the greatest mystery of the modern world is little more than a tourist attraction. Tess and Theo Biedermann and their friend Jaime Cruz live in a Morningstarr apartment house—until a real estate developer announces that the city has agreed to sell him the five remaining Morningstarr buildings. Their likely destruction means the end of a dream long-held by the people of New York. And if Tess, Theo and Jaime want to save their home, they have to prove that the Old York Cipher is real. Which means they have to solve it.

The Shadow Cipher is enchanting and mysterious, a delightfully layered puzzle steeped in history. The story of three kids and their mission to save their home, the story of a city full of secrets and the desire to uncover them, no matter what they may hide.

Tess and Theo are smart siblings with quirks and flaws, living in an apartment in a Morningstarr building with their teacher dad and cop mom. Tess is kind and empathetic while Theo is practical and stoic. They butt heads, they don't always agree, but in their own ways they care about what happens. Especially when they find out they're being kicked out by a developer who just bought the buiding. When they decide to try and save their home, neighbour and amazing artist Jaime falls in with them. Jaime's artistic and observant, living with his grandmother, wishing his father wasn't so far away. Little do they know how strange and complicated the Morningstarr's puzzle is and where it will take them.

One of the things I loved about this book is how layered it was. Yes, it's a book about secrets and mystery, about the Morningstarr twins and their puzzle, about their different inventions and their impact on this timeline's present day, but in the little moments it's about home. It's about what makes a home, how it's not necessarily a building but being with people close to you. Tess and Theo's family have lived in their building for decades. Jaime's grandmother has been fixing up the building for ages. No one wants to leave. But change never cares about what people want.

I think it's foolish to hide how much I enjoyed this. The puzzles and the clue-searching, the alternate history and unique technology. The diversity in the characters in terms of race and neurodiversity and financial background and family structure. The impossibility of so much in a world with already seemingly impossible machines. The little hints at altered pop culture, like multiple Wonder Woman and Storm superhero movies, like how it's called Starrbucks. I would definitely recommend this to middle grade readers who love puzzles and mystery, books like Chasing Vermeer and The 39 Clues series.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (323)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: The Carnelian Crow
Author: Colleen Gleason
Release Date: July 11, 2017
Publisher: Chronicle Books

From Goodreads:

Ever since the debacle of the Chess Queen Enigma, Mina Holmes and Evaline Stoker have laid low, trying to settle back into their quiet lives as young ladies of London. But the Holmesian deductive abilities won't remain dormant for long, and when Mina receives a strange package from a winged, midnight visitor, she is catapulted into a new, dangerous adventure: the search for The Carnelian Crow.

Meanwhile, Evaline has received some very disturbing news--news that will change her life forever. Along with that unpleasant knowledge is the strange disappearance of her nemesis, the disreputable pickpocket Pix.

When it becomes clear the arch-villainess the Ankh has made her next move, it will take all of Mina's Holmesian ingenuity and Evaline's courage and determination to stop the criminal from executing her boldest and most dangerous plan yet!

Yesssss. This series is a curious one, a combination of mystery and steampunk and intelligent young women and bizarre magic. It's a series that I enjoy in a not-taking-it-too-seriously way, and I'm rather curious to see what is coming next for Mina and Evaline.

Me on A Shadow Burning and Bright

Title: A Shadow Bright and Burning
Author: Jessica Cluess
Release Date: September 20, 2016
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (Random House imprint)

Forced to reveal her power to save a friend, Henrietta Howel is shocked when instead of being executed, she's invited to train as one of Her Majesty's royal sorcerers. Thrust into the glamour of Victorian London, Henrietta is declared the chosen one, the girl who will defeat the Ancients, bloodthirsty demons terrorizing humanity. She also meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, handsome young men eager to test her power and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her. As she plays a dangerous game of deception, she discovers that the sorcerers have their own secrets to protect. With battle looming, what does it mean to not be the one? And how much will she risk to save the city—and the one she loves?

A Shadow Bright and Burning is a dangerous magic, one of shadows and demons, one of sorcerers and magicians. It's the story of a young woman trying to become something many claim she is and her navigating that demand while the fire inside of her rages on.

Henrietta is a familiar sort of heroine: a meek young woman from a poor and humble upbringing, an orphan with only a loyal friend for support and hopes for the future. The book begins with her in a place she's not technically safe in but it's a roof over her head and her friend Rook by her side. It's a horrible place, but she's alive. Then the sorcerer comes, looking for a student at the school Henrietta teaches at. Then the Ancient and the Familiars come. Then her fire is revealed, and she's whisked off to London to learn the ways of being a sorcerer. But in a city like London, danger lurks around every corner.

I found the world-building intriguing. The inclusion of magic and the Ancients in a Victorian-esque London. The different kinds of magic, the disgust and feud between sorcerers and magicians. The Ancients and the Unclean. All different kinds of magic and impossibility live here in this world. Underneath the magic, there are a number of clear and familiar overarching themes and sensibilities here. Like class inequality, how the rich hold themselves above the poor. Like gender inequality, how a number of trainees and sorcerers find it foolish to teach a young woman the ways of magic like how they teach Henrietta. How it would be better for her to know her place, which would be under their overbearing and pompous male thumbs. Because how dare a woman think she be equal to a man.

I was rather surprised by this book, and rather surprised as to how much I enjoyed it. It was exciting and tense, the Ancients were wonderfully creepy and disturbing, and a number of the sorcerers were rather obvious and spiteful in their dated misogyny. Not all, which was helpful to Henrietta. Sometimes you really need to put aside your views on women in power if you want to live. I'm curious as to what will happen in the next book, as it looks like Henrietta will be in more and more battles to come, and which secrets will be uncovered. Because there are quite a few.

(I borrowed an e-book copy of this title from the library.)

Me on Blood for Blood

Title: Blood for Blood
Author: Ryan Graudin
Release Date: November 1, 2016
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Groups imprint)

Death camp survivor Yael, who has the power to skinshift, is on the run: the world has just seen her shoot and kill Hitler. But the truth of what happened is far more complicated, and its consequences are deadly. Yael and her unlikely comrades dive into enemy territory to try to turn the tide against the New Order, and there is no alternative but to see their mission through to the end, whatever the cost. But dark secrets reveal dark truths, and one question hangs over them all: how far can you go for the ones you love?

Blood for Blood is a fight for survival and freedom, a mission to uncover the secrets of the most dangerous man and reveal them to the world. But the truth isn't always what it seems.

For Yael, the race is on. A far more important, more deadly race than the previous one she just rode through fields and over mountains. It's time to warn the Resistance, to let them know they plan didn't quite work out how they thought it would. It's time to find answers. Why? How? What now? How many will die because of what happened, because some weren't ready? Because some were traitors and some were worried about their families. It's up to Yael now to go back to Germania, to uncover the secrets behind her own experimentation and reveal the truth. Even if it costs her her life.

It's easy for me to read this and feel horrified, feel disgusted at the atrocities committed in this fictional version of our history. It's easy to condemn most of the German soldiers, easy to sympathize with Yael, with her cause and her mission. Her suffering. It's easy to be afraid of something like this happening now, considering the current political climate of certain large and powerful countries. The worry is thick, a sour taste in the back of my throat. People are being taught to hate those with a different skin colour than theirs, a different religion than theirs. Book like this show how close the line between reality and fiction are blurring faster than we thought they would, and how we need to stop the hate. Fans of the first book will surely be eager to see how Yael's journey ends.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Hachette Book Group Canada.)

Me on Timekeeper

Title: Timekeeper
Author: Tara Sim
Release Date: November 8, 2016
Publisher: Sky Pony Press (Skyhorse Publishing imprint)

In an alternate Victorian world controlled by clock towers, a damaged clock can fracture time—and a destroyed one can stop it completely. It's a truth that seventeen-year-old clock mechanic Danny Hart knows all too well; his father has been trapped in a Stopped town east of London for three years. Though Danny is a prodigy who can repair not only clockwork, but the very fabric of time, his fixation with staging a rescue is quickly becoming a concern to his superiors. And so they assign him to Enfield, a town where the tower seems to be forever plagued with problems. Danny's new apprentice both annoys and intrigues him, and though the boy is eager to work, he maintains a secretive distance. Danny soon discovers why: he is the tower's clock spirit, a mythical being that oversees Enfield's time. Though the boys are drawn together by their loneliness, Danny knows falling in love with a clock spirit is forbidden, and means risking everything he's fought to achieve. But when a series of bombings at nearby towers threaten to Stop more cities, Danny must race to prevent Enfield from becoming the next target or he'll not only lose his father, but the boy he loves, forever.

Timekeeper is intriguing, enthralling, mysterious, and more than a little somber. It's a story about lonely souls and missing hours, of hope and love and selfishness.

Danny is sweet and kind. Skilled at his work as mechanic, repairing clocks and helping right time. He's also lonely, bruised and wounded after an accident and after the loss of his father in a Stopped town. He's hiding from his nightmares, from the past, and looking for something that will give him hope in the future. He seems run-down and weary, tired. Then he goes to Enfield. Then he discovers the clock spirit. Then he discovers something bigger than the two of them is happening.

I was intrigued by the world-building here, by the need for advancement in clock mechanisms because of the changes to time. Because of time being something slightly tangible, something that can be reined in and controlled. Something that stems from mythology, from the gods and goddesses of ancient times. I thought it was intriguing and new, the manipulation of time and the clock spirits. I also liked how the author altered other parts of history, like this world's views of homosexuality. Danny isn't ridiculed or hated, but it's the default of most he comes across that, when they ask if he's seeing anyone, they assume he'd date a girl.

As I read this I was struck by a sweet, melancholy tone that carried me along, rising and falling as Danny worked on the clock tower in Enfield and uncovered more and more behind the bombings and the Stopped towns. At times I chuckled and at times I wanted to cry. There were some interesting pokes and prods at a deeper mystery going on, one Danny brushes up against near the end, and so I'm curious as to where the second book will go and what will be revealed. Also if any side characters will appear again, if their roles will get a little bigger. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the next book.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Skyhorse Publishing.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (292)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Timekeeper
Author: Tara Sim
Release Date: November 1, 2016
Publisher: Sky Pony Press

From Goodreads:

Two o’clock was missing. 

In an alternate Victorian world controlled by clock towers, a damaged clock can fracture time—and a destroyed one can stop it completely.

It’s a truth that seventeen-year-old clock mechanic Danny Hart knows all too well; his father has been trapped in a Stopped town east of London for three years. Though Danny is a prodigy who can repair not only clockwork, but the very fabric of time, his fixation with staging a rescue is quickly becoming a concern to his superiors.

And so they assign him to Enfield, a town where the tower seems to be forever plagued with problems. Danny’s new apprentice both annoys and intrigues him, and though the boy is eager to work, he maintains a secretive distance. Danny soon discovers why: he is the tower’s clock spirit, a mythical being that oversees Enfield’s time. Though the boys are drawn together by their loneliness, Danny knows falling in love with a clock spirit is forbidden, and means risking everything he’s fought to achieve.

But when a series of bombings at nearby towers threaten to Stop more cities, Danny must race to prevent Enfield from becoming the next target or he’ll not only lose his father, but the boy he loves, forever.

The stunning first novel in a new trilogy by debut author Tara Sim, Timekeeper is perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare and Victoria Schwab.

Ooooo, time travel. And it's complicated time travel. And the characters aren't straight! More gay and lesbian main characters in fantasy and genre fiction! I'm really looking forward to reading this, seeing how the time travel goes and what the deal is with clock spirits and how everything goes wrong. Because it's bound to go wrong.

Me on My Lady Jane

Title: My Lady Jane
Authors: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins imprint)

Lady Jane Grey, sixteen, is about to be married to a total stranger—and caught up in an insidious plot to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But that's the least of Jane's problems. She's about to become Queen of England. Like that could go wrong.

My Lady Jane is inventive, complicated, and hilarious. A tense and deadly period of time in England's history has been turned on its head, filled with shapeshifters, treacherous plots, and a surprising equine-related marriage.

It's rather difficult for me to describe this book, to put my thoughts and feelings about it in order. Yes, these people did exist. Yes, Edward died and Jane was made Queen of England for nine days before minds were changed and Jane was locked away while Mary, and later on Elizabeth, served as queen. That's really as far as historical accuracy goes. What follows, what makes up the bulk of this book, are wild and impossible imaginings told by modern-day narrators (considering the occasional usage of we, you, and Jimi Hendrix).

Because of the twisting and the altering of history, the reader sees different version of these characters. Here we see Jane, bookish and stubborn, smart and compassionate. Looking for someone who actually cares about her and not themselves or their social status. We see G, moping and annoyed at his current situation. Unsure what he wants out of life beyond not turning into his father. And we see Edward, wanting to live his life before wasting away. Wanting the chance to live, to experience the world, before its ripped from his hands by duty or death. Or both.  It's like we're given better versions of them, versions that wouldn't have existed back in the 16th century. Like they're historical version of modern teens.

I found this book funny, intriguing, and I kept reading in order to see how things played out after historical accuracy was mostly cast aside. Knowing the authors were drawing from actual events that would change the course of England's future, I wanted to know how they would change things. How they would bring in fantasy elements. How they would work in the looming religious war that was about to take hold of England for decades. If Lady Jane would still lose her head as she does in the history books. A little slow in some spots, brought on by a fair amount of internal pondering by the main characters, but still fun to read. I'd recommend this to readers who don't mind a little poking fun and rearranging of history coupled with stubborn characters and complicated magic.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title to review from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.)

Me on A School for Unusual Girls

Title: A School for Unusual Girls
Author: Kathleen Baldwin
Release Date: May 19, 2015
Publisher: Tor Teen

It's 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England's dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don't fit high society's constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies—plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war. After accidentally setting her father's stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible—until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads—or their hearts...

A School for Unusual Girls is intriguing and mysterious, an introduction to a group of misfit girls who spend their days learning how to uncover secrets and escape dangerous traps. But the danger is closer than they think.

Georgiana is intelligent, scientific. She's been left broken by unfeeling parents who think she's wasting her life with books and experiments. She's a rare girl for the time period and for the upper class: she's not interested in balls or afternoon teas and she doesn't put much weight on finding a rich, titled husband. She's a practical girl, and so she's constantly tossed aside. But at Miss Emma Stranje's school for young ladies who are a bit too hard to handle, she finds herself. It's there that Georgie learns the truth about the school, about the girls. About herself. That her practicality and scientific leanings are greatly desired. At the beginning, when she fears the school, it's because she doesn't understand why she's there. She doesn't know what her opinion of herself, coated in fear and embarrassment, will change. Georgie won't have to worry about being ridiculed and scolded by her parents anymore. Someone will find her interesting.

The school is a very curious school. It would have to operate under the radar, discreetly, under the noses of society, because young women would've had little freedom to act on their interest and desires of they strayed from the 'common' or 'normal' ones that most proper young ladies had. The girls of Stranje House were sent there because they fell outside the norm and their families either didn't know what to do with them or wanted to be rid of them because they didn't understand them. It's disheartening, but the girls have finally found a place for themselves.

The book left me intrigued as the plot took a rather interesting turn near the end, changing from a historical novel to an alternate history novel. Anything is possible as one might've already guessed after meeting the different young women of Stranje House, but it's especially so now. I was annoyed at how the true purpose of the school wasn't explained to Georgie nearer to the beginning, saving her from panicking and constantly yelling at everyone. They purposely held off on telling her, which seemed foolish. It didn't seem like they enjoyed having her shout at them that she didn't understand what was going on. With how the book ends I'm curious as to what might happen next, especially since it looks like a different girl will be the narrator. I would recommend this to those looking for intelligent girls operating outside society's borders, and secrets and spies.

(I borrowed a copy of this book from the library.)

Me on Manners & Mutiny

Title: Manners & Mutiny
Author: Gail Carriger
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group imprint)

Lessons in the art of espionage aboard Mademoiselle Geraldine's floating dirigible have become tedious without Sophronia's sweet sootie Soap nearby. She would much rather be using her skills to thwart the dastardly Picklemen, yet her concerns about their wicked intentions are ignored, and now she's not sure whom to trust. What does the brusque werewolf dewan know? On whose side is the ever-stylish vampire Lord Akeldama? Only one thing is certain: a large-scale plot is under way, and when it comes to fruition, Sophronia must be ready to save her friends, her school, and all of London from disaster—in decidedly dramatic fashion, of course.

Manners & Mutiny is the final book in what's become an adventurous, clever, witty, and entertaining series. Unique characters. Conflict upon conflict up on torn loyalties. Vampires and werewolves and young ladies flashing fans in order to send secret messages.

Sophronia is, as always, Sophronia. Looking for the hidden truths in peoples' actions. Looking to uncover the plot of the Picklemen. But with her past transgressions and actions being held against her, it's harder and harder for her to find those in positions of authority at Madmoiselle Geraldine's to believe her claims. Difficult, yes, but Sophronia isn't one to back down. She soldiers on, worrying about her friends, worrying about Soap. Wondering if Agatha is right, that she now assumes the worst of people, even her own family. Does she? After her time at finishing school, does Sophronia now no longer trust anyone? Does she assume that everyone lies, that everyone has something to hide? Pessimistic, yes, but the past few years have taught her to be suspicious, taught her to observe and discover. Training to be an intelligencer does change one.

As with the previous books, there is no shortage of mystery or deception, of truth-seeking or secret-uncovering. Of Picklemen-hunting or sootie friendship-making. But this is certainly the most dastardly plan Sophronia has ever had to untangle and thwart. The one that might reveal the most about this secretive intelligencer world of hers. The one that, if mishandled, might bring down society as they know it. Fortunately, Sophronia isn't one to back down and will go down with the ship, so to speak, if that means saving the day.

This series is dangerous, comical, intriguing, full to the brim with the impossible, and I've enjoyed it immensely. It took some time for me to enjoy the first, to allow myself to be immersed in this world, because it requires full immersion. This series needs you to listen, to watch and observe and follow Sophronia during these years at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. It needs to to believe in airships and mechanimals, in vampires and werewolves, in the impossible. Now that it's all over, I should like to re-read it, see what secrets, if any, are given away early. A great series to read for those looking for steampunk and a story that mainly focuses on adventure and intelligence with a dash of female friendship and romance thrown in for fun.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Hachette Book Group Canada through NetGalley.)

Me on The Conjurer's Riddle

Title: The Conjurer's Riddle
Author: Andrea Cremer
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Publisher: Philomel Books (Penguin imprint)

Charlotte leads her group of exiles west, plunging into a wild world of shady merchants and surly rivermen on the way to New Orleans. But as Charlotte learns more about the revolution she has championed, she wonders if she's on the right side after all. Charlotte and her friends get to know the mystical New Orleans bayou and deep into the shadowy tunnels below the city–the den of criminals, assassins and pirates–Charlotte must decide if the revolution's goals justify their means, or if some things, like the lives of her friends, are too sacred to sacrifice.

The Conjurer's Riddle is a look into revolution and rebellion, the secret-gathering and the spying, the hard journeys and the dangers. The heavy cost.

Charlotte is driven, soft-hearted, and passionate about her chose cause, about saving her friends. But doubt lingers, as it always does. Things aren't the same as they were in the Catacombs or in the Floating City. On their journey west, in New Orleans, Charlotte learns how different things are. How duplicitous and two-faced. How her ideas and reasons for fighting back might differ from other members of the resistance.

In terms of the romance, I still feel that Jack is the only option for Charlotte. I still don't understand why a love triangle was added in the first book why Coe suddenly went from person Charlotte barely knew to romantic entanglement. Charlotte is still drawn to Jack, still attracted to him, still hating him and worrying about him, while Coe just seems there. But there wasn't much time for Charlotte to worry about her feelings for most of the book. She was far too busy travelling, learning secrets, or trying to stay hidden and alive. The romance takes a back seat to Charlotte's journey and the still hidden mysteries of Grave. So hidden, so mysterious.

The Resistance is still fighting back against the Empire, fighting to be free from an oppressive ruler from across an ocean. When you fight back as part of a rebellion, you fight for your beliefs, your friends and family. But at what cost? Destruction of property? Injury? Death? Is revolution the only answer? This book, this series, will always scream America to me. Their idea that freedom is a right, that no one can take it from you, but if it ever is taken you can fight to regain it. Is violence ever the only answer? As a Canadian, it feels so American to go in guns blazing to fight for freedom. It feels like it's all they have, like their identity as American is based on freedom and without it they're nothing.

I'm still intrigued by this world, I think the building of it is creative. To speculate on what a country would look like had a major event in its history not happened, if someone else was still in control. If it was a mixture of colonies and disputed territories. It's a dangerous world Charlotte's in, one filled with deception and the impossible. I want to know more. What is the Resistance's endgame plan? What are Grave's secrets, the ones that even he doesn't know? What else is out there for Charlotte to discover? A great follow-up to the first book.

(I received an advance copy of this title from Penguin Random House Canada.)

Me on Wolf by Wolf

Title: Wolf by Wolf
Author: Ryan Graudin
Release Date: October 20, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group imprint)

The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule the world. To commemorate their Great Victory over Britain and Russia, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor's ball. Yael, who escaped from a death camp, has one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler. A survivor of painful human experimentation, Yael has the power to skinshift and must complete her mission by impersonating last year's only female victor, Adele Wolfe. This deception becomes more difficult when Felix, Adele's twin brother, and Luka, Adele's former love interest, enter the race and watch Yael's every move. But as Yael begins to get closer to the other competitors, can she bring herself to be as ruthless as she needs to be to avoid discovery and complete her mission?

Wolf by Wolf is dangerous. Deadly. Deceptive. It's a race against time, a race towards revenge and away from the past. A race of secrets and lies and plots and plans.

Yael is a survivor of the death camps where German troops sent Jews to die. Yael is a soldier for the resistance, their secret weapon in a highly dangerous but hopeful plot of assassinating Adolf Hitler. Yael is an impossible thing, experimented on in the camps and made to be able to skinshift, to shed her own appearance and take someone else's. Yael is strong, powerful, passionate. She knows pain, suffering, death. Few things can break her. She rarely shows her true self to the world, the part of her that lives inside herself. The little girl that spent days on a train. The girl that was filled with chemicals until everything she was was stripped from her. She will get her revenge. But first she must survive the race.

This is the plot of the Reistance: to win the Axis Tour with Yael as Adele. But plots and plans are never so simple, never without complications. Disguise herself as Adele Wolfe? Yes, Yael can do that. Learn Adele's mannerisms and habits? Days are spent studying the files created on her, detailing her life. Recreate the secrets and relationships she had with those racing with her? With Luka? With Felix? Impossible. Yael can only hope that she says the right thing, knows the right thing. But secrets are called secrets for a reason. There are some things Adele Wolfe kept so hidden no one else knows. Yael's job goes from highly difficult to nearly impossible when these two appear in the race, up in her face. Yael knows how to fight, not how to handle family and personal relationships.

This is an exploration of survival and resistance, of oppression and hatred. Of defiance. The crimes of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialists were great and horrific. No human being deserves to be treated like that. Like they were unclean, trash, less than human, because of the colour of their skin, hair, or eyes. Because of their faith. Because of something they have no control over or cannot change. This alternate world is frightening, steeped in fear and caution. A must-read for historical YA fans, for fans of alternate histories. For those looking for a fast-paced story about a survivor and the lengths some go to for revenge.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Hachette Book Group Canada.)

Day 5 - E.K. Johnston

It's day 5! It's time for a Q&A with one of my favourite internet people. :) Seriously, if you haven't read her books or you're not following her on Twitter, you're doing it wrong.

E.K. Johnston is a forensic archaeologist by training, a book seller and author by trade, and a grammarian by nature. She spends a great deal of time on the internet because it is less expensive than going to Scotland. She can probably tell you, to the instant, when she fell in love with any particular song, but don't ask her, because then it will be stuck in both of your heads. Her first book, The Story of Owen (March 2014, Carolrhoda Lab), was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award (2015), a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (Top Ten) (2014), and a Kirkus Prize Nominee for Young Readers' Literature (2014). Next came the sequel, Prairie Fire (March 2015, Carolrhoda Lab), and coming later this year is A Thousand Nights (October 2015, Disney*Hyperion). You can find her on her website or on Twitter at @ek_johnston.

Q: For those who've been living under a rock and haven't yet read your awesome books, what is Prairie Fire about? Because it's not just about being a dragon slayer, is it? It's so much more layered and complicated than that.

A: PRAIRIE FIRE is the sequel to THE STORY OF OWEN, so it's still about music and dragons and Canada, but I've sent them on quite a road-trip, so it's a larger scale. Basically, Owen and Siobhan have finished high school, which means Owen has to join the Oil Watch, and Siobhan isn't going to let him do it alone. It seems like a pretty straightforward decision, but everything gets complicated pretty much right away.

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (183)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: The Spiritglass Charade
Author: Colleen Gleason
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Publisher: Chronicle Books

From Goodreads:

After the Affair of the Clockwork Scarab, Evaline Stoker and Mina Holmes are eager to help Princess Alix with a new case. Seventeen-year-old Willa Aston is obsessed with spiritual mediums, convinced she is speaking with her mother from beyond the grave. What seems like a case of spiritualist fraud quickly devolves into something far more menacing: someone is trying to make Willa "appear lunatic," using an innocent-looking spiritglass to control her. The list of clues piles up: an unexpected murder, a gang of pickpockets, and the return of vampires to London. But are these events connected? As Uncle Sherlock would say, "there are no coincidences." It will take all of Mina's wit and Evaline's muscle to keep London's sinister underground at bay.

Contrary to my struggle to suspend my disbelief while reading the first book, I did enjoy it. It was interesting and fun, it was different. It showcased two rather similar but different young women trying to solve problems while struggling with their weaknesses (stubbornness, more often than not). And so I'm looking forward to reading more.

Me on The Strange Maid

Title: The Strange Maid
Author: Tessa Gratton
Release Date: June 10, 2014
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Signy Valborn was seven years old when she climbed the New World Tree and met Odin Alfather, who declared that if she could solve a single riddle, he would make her one of his Valkyrie. For ten years Signy has trained in the arts of war, politics, and leadership, never dreaming that a Greater Mountain Troll might hold the answer to the riddle, but that's exactly what Ned the Spiritless promises her. A mysterious troll hunter who talks in riddles and ancient poetry, Ned is a hard man to trust. Unfortunately, Signy is running out of time, and she and Ned take off across the ice sheets of Canadia to claim Signy's destiny.

The Strange Maid is an epic journey if there ever was one, a journey through destiny and fate, through riddles and dreams. The journey of one girl racing toward a battle that could change everything.

Signy searches for an answer to a riddle she can't solve on her own, a riddle that speak of her destiny. There is no part of her that doesn't not want to be a Valkyrie, but like a Valkyrie of old. A warrior, one of power and strength, of doing battle against enemies. But that's not what a Valkyrie does anymore, not so much, and it seems to bother her. There is a core of strength and fire that runs through Signy, and it felt more and more that not being like a Valkyrie of old, a death maiden, a strange maid, would be wrong.

I find Ned to be rather interesting. Like Signy, I'm curious about him. Where he comes from, what his secrets are. Why he seems to speak the truth but in riddles. It's also interesting thinking about what's said as truth, what Signy believes to be true, and what Signy knows is true. How trust works, how we decide who to trust for different reasons.

I love the world-building, the alternate Norse mythology-centric world, the gods and goddesses, the epic tales of heroes and monsters. This felt different than the previous book. Deeper into the mythology, darker. The thrill of battle and revenge, the purpose behind a sacrifice, the mournful wails and knife-sharp pain of death. The allusions to Beowulf and the epic feel of Signy's journey.

Gratton's writing is filled with story and description, nothing unnecessary given and nothing important left behind. I would recommend reading The Lost Sun before this, though, the two are connected in some ways. Even though the book takes place over the course of some months, it felt like no time had passed from beginning to end. When I reached the last page, I wished it wouldn't end, that the journey would continue. That I could read more about Signy Valborn, the strange maid.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Random House through NetGalley.)

Me on The Inventor's Secret

Title: The Inventor's Secret
Author: Andrea Cremer
Release Date: April 22, 2014
Publisher: Philomel (Penguin imprint)

Charlotte has lived on the edge of Britain's industrial empire, hiding deep in the Catacombs, ever since she can remember. She and her fellow refugees are preparing for the day when they can join the Resistance and fight against the crown. But when an exile with no memory seeks shelter in their camp, he brings with him new dangers and secrets about the terrible future that awaits them all. His presence compels them to leave the safety of the Catacombs to seek answers in Britannia's exquisite Floating City. But Charlotte finds more than just answers there, and navigating a world of high society and political intrigue turns out to be more treacherous than the revolution itself.

The Inventor's Secret is curious and complicated, a tale of revolution and technology, of the elite and the down-trodden, of the ruthlessness of truth and the lengths those who want to hide and reveal it go to. It's an entertaining adventure in an alternate past filled with intrigue, secrets, and clockwork.

Charlotte is a girl born into a revolution who will one day fight against the Empire and its continued hold on America. She understands some of the world but not all of it. In the beginning she takes action, she searches for answers when secrets are concealed in front of her, but as the book progressed I found her taking on more of a reacting role. Being in a foreign setting like the Floating City, where she knows nothing of polite society and its shining traps, it's understandable, but there were times when I wished she took on a more active role. When I wanted her to demand to be told the truth. Hopefully, she'll take a more active role in the next book.

It's also understandable that Charlotte would know nothing, or next to nothing, of romance. There's no time in her life for it, for mooning over young men. All she needs to know is how to scavenge and how to survive. When the romance was introduced, I didn't mind it, I welcomed it. It was ragged at the beginning because she felt conflicted, but then the twist occurred and I lost interest. It felt rather rushed and more like a plot device, it didn't happen naturally. It felt like it was there only to add tension and conflict to the romance.

I'm often fascinated by steampunk when it appears in books, by technology not involving electricity, by machines that run on steam and clockwork gears, by gleaming silver and polished bronze crafted to look like objects or animals used for practical purposes. Here it works, and I'm curious as to where the author will take it.

In a way, steampunk seems to go hand in hand with alternate history. Here, there's no creation of the United States as we know it in the present day. No freedom or liberty but the British elite living off the blood and sweat of the working class. Poverty, near slavery. What will it take for the revolution to finally rise up and fight back? And what will the cost be?

I would agree that there is an adventure here, that it's full of action, tension, secrets, and lies. I'm curious about the world introduced here, the different machines, the secret Charlotte and her friends have discovered. I want to know more about the mission and the adventure.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Penguin Canada.)

Me on The Story of Owen

Title: The Story of Owen
Author: E.K. Johnston
Release Date: March 1, 2014
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books

Listen! For I sing of Owen Thorskard: valiant of heart, hopeless at algebra, last in a long line of legendary dragon slayers. Though he had few years and was not built for football, he stood between the town of Trondheim and creatures that threatened its survival. There have always been dragons. As far back as history is told, men and women have fought them, loyally defending their villages. Dragon slaying was a proud tradition. But dragons and humans have one thing in common: an insatiable appetite for fossil fuels. From the moment Henry Ford hired his first dragon slayer, no small town was safe. Dragon slayers flocked to cities, leaving more remote areas unprotected. Such was Trondheim's fate until Owen Thorskard arrived. At sixteen, with dragons advancing and his grades plummeting, Owen faced impossible odds armed only with a sword, his legacy, and the classmate who agreed to be his bard. Listen! I am Siobhan McQuaid. I alone know the story of Owen, the story that changes everything. Listen!

The Story of Owen is entertaining, unique, and Canadian to the core. The dragons may come flying out of fantasy but this book is very present and relevant in a real world setting, a small down with real and intelligent people trying to protect it, a group of characters that can't help but make you laugh and cry and listen intently to the tales of their heroism.

Owen and Siobhan are both interesting in their own ways, Owen and his dragon slaying, his knowing that he will be a dragon slayer like his parents and his aunt before him, his acceptance and strength, and Siobhan with her understanding, her support, her attitude. It's a curious friendship they have, one that began because of proximity and continued through tutoring and her acceptance to become a bard. To tell the tales of Owen and his dragon slaying.

This story is told in such a compelling way, in a style befitting a bard. I couldn't turn away from this book, it was almost as if I could hear Siobhan recounting the tales of Owen and his father and aunt as she saw them, calling out to the good people of the town and sharing tales of bravery and fortitude. Or about how he was failing algebra and she was brought in to tutor him. Siobhan also provides historical backstories on the dragons, the men and woman that slay them, and the countries that try to protect their people and carbon emissions.

Because of the dragons, history as we know it has been altered, tweaked and played with. Dragons are seamlessly woven into our world until it becomes Siobhan and Owen's world. A world where dragons set barns and houses alight so they can feed off of the charred remains. A world where dragon slayers are recruited to do battle for their country, to face off against sharp teeth and burning flames.

While I knew this would take place in a small town, I didn't expect to get so involved in Trondheim and the politics of dragon slaying in a small town. It lead to the comparison of small towns and large cities, how both are important but the towns are often overlooked because of the needs of the cities. But it doesn't mean those small towns aren't important.

This book is so Canadian when it comes to humour and character, a little easy-going but practical and thoughtful. Almost every Canadian or Southern Ontario reference made me laugh, including the mental image of a dragon flying straight into Toronto during a hockey game. It's certainly an intriguing look at what it's like in a small Canadian town when everyone comes together to protect it, protect their homes. It's so Canadian, with the small-town hero and the people around him, and the one to tell his story (while being involved herself). I want more of this town, more of these characters, and more from this author. What an adventure.

(I received an e-galley of this title from the author through NetGalley.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (146)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: The Inventor's Secret
Author: Andrea Cremer
Release Date: April 22, 2014
Publisher: Philomel (Penguin imprint)

From Goodreads:

New from Andrea Cremer, the New York Times bestselling author of the Nightshade novels, comes an action-packed alternate-history steampunk adventure.

In this world, sixteen-year-old Charlotte and her fellow refugees have scraped out an existence on the edge of Britain’s industrial empire. Though they live by the skin of their teeth, they have their health (at least when they can find enough food and avoid the Imperial Labor Gatherers) and each other. When a new exile with no memory of his escape or even his own name seeks shelter in their camp he brings new dangers with him and secrets about the terrible future that awaits all those who have struggled has to live free of the bonds of the empire’s Machineworks.

The Inventor’s Secret is the first book of a YA steampunk series set in an alternate nineteenth-century North America where the Revolutionary War never took place and the British Empire has expanded into a global juggernaut propelled by marvelous and horrible machinery. Perfect for fans of Libba Bray's The Diviners, Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel, Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan and Phillip Reeve's Mortal Instruments.

More steampunk. I hope it's good steampunk. I'm slightly wary of the American setting, but there's an adult steampunk series I've been slowly reading and they travel outside of the UK, so it can work. The world-building here will have to be spot-on.