The Season by Sarah MacLean (Review by Angela)

Synopsis:Seventeen year old Lady Alexandra is strong-willed and sharp-tongued -- in a house full of older brothers and their friends, she had to learn to hold her own. Not the best makings for an aristocratic lady in Regency London. Yet her mother still dreams of marrying Alex off to someone safe, respectable, and wealthy. But between ball gown fittings, dances, and dinner parties, Alex, along with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi, manages to get herself into what may be her biggest scrape yet.


When the Earl of Blackmoor is mysteriously killed, Alex decides to help his son, the brooding and devilishly handsome Gavin, uncover the truth. But will Alex's heart be stolen in the process? In an adventure brimming with espionage, murder, and other clandestine affairs, who could possibly have time to worry about finding a husband? Romance and danger abound as this year's season begins!


Review:
This book is set during one of my favorite time periods, Regency England. Alex, the heroine who hates balls and dress fittings, is lively, witty, and entertaining. Obviously modeled after Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennet, she is intelligent and headstrong, not caring what other people think. Her friends Ella and Vivi are also delightful and help add humor to the story, and the mystery of the Earl’s death adds excitement throughout the book. Gavin, the Earl’s son, is a charming rogue and the hero of the story. My only wish is that the characters of Ella and Vivi were developed more, as they were very interesting and didn’t get enough attention. However, The Season was very entertaining and a fun, light-hearted read, and I can’t wait to read Sarah MacLean’s next novel.

-Angela


Bella Aire's Note: I just wanted to add that Angela really raved about how much she loved this book after she had read it. After turning in her review, though, she mentioned that she felt she didn't rave enough in her review- mainly because she had written it late at night and was tired. So she requested that I emphasize just how fabulous she found The Season (okay, so fabulous may be my word, but she definitely loved it). So there you have it. Angela found The Season rave-worthy.



The Season can be purchased here.


Visit Sarah MacLean's blog here (I totally love reading this blog- the NSCGs are followers!).

Geek Fest Details...Part Three

Geek Fest Details are a series of posts that inform readers of Geek Fest plans. Geek Fest is set to occur during the second week of March. Make sure to stop by!

Today we reveal...


Author Guest Blogs
Jody Gehrman (The Triple Shot Betty books, Notes From the Backseat, Tart, Summer in the Land of Skin)
Justina Chen Headley (North of Beautiful, Girl Overboard, Nothing But the Truth)

Contest
Daughter of the Flames by Zoe Marriott (This link will offer a sneak peek!)

More to come later.

And I'd like to thank everyone for the positive feedback- it means a lot!

Geek Fest Details...Part Two

Who will we be revealing today?

Author Guest Blogs
Eileen Cook (What Would Emma Do?, Unpredictable)
Tina Ferraro (The ABCs of Kissing Boys, How to Hook a Hottie, Top Ten Uses For an Unused Prom Dress)

An Author Note
Nancy Werlin (Impossible, Black Mirror, and so much more...)

Interiew
Deb Caletti (The Secret Life of Prince Charming, Honey Baby Sweetheart, and even more...)

I'd love to hear any feedback on the NSCG author choices, so feel free to leave comments!

A Few Geek Fest Details...Part One

Today, I've decided to release a few Geek Fest details. Geek Fest will be a celebration for all the self-proclaimed geeks out there, hosted by the reviewers at The Not So Closet Geeks. Originally, the Fest was planned for late March, but it's been moved up to the second week of March for various reasons.

Geek Fest should begin on Sunday, March 8th. The end date is still a bit unset, though at an estimate, I'd say Friday, March 13th.

I've decided to release the details for a few of our events for Geek Fest slowly until the Fest occurs. Note: the "event details" will mostly be the names of the authors guest blogging for us.

The order in which I post the details will have no actual influence over the order in which everything occurs during Geek Fest.

So...for the part one details, we have:

Author Guest Blog
Zoe Marriot (author of Daughter of the Flames and The Swan Kingdom)

Blogger Guest Blog
Adele of Persnickity Snark (and many other blogs)

An Author Note
Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments Series- City of Bones, City of Ashes, and, in March, the long awaited City of Glass)

I'm extremely excited about Geek Fest and can't wait to share everything with you. Keep watching the blog to find out more.

The Better to Hold You by Alisa Sheckley (Review by Alana)

Synopsis:

Manhattan veterinarian Abra Barrow has more sense about animals than shehas about men. So when her adored journalist husband returns from aresearch trip to Romania and starts pacing their apartment like a cagedwolf, Abra agrees to move with him to a rural mansion upstate in order to save her marriage.

But while there are perks to her new life, particularly in the bedroom,Abra soon discovers that nothing in the bucolic town of Northside iswhat it seems. The local tavern serves a dangerous, predatoryunderworld. Her husband has developed feral new appetites and a rovingeye, and his lack of humanity isn’t entirely emotional. As the moon waxes full, Abra must choose between trusting the man she married, taking a chance on a seductive stranger, or following her own animal instincts.

REVIEW:

The Better To Hold You was definitely one of those "guilty pleasure" books. With an interesting plot full of twists and turns, Alisa Sheckley managed to hold my attention to the very end. I began the novel expecting a typical "reality meets fantasy" story, but Sheckley creates characters and situations that defy the norm, completely updating commonly held beliefs about love and lycanthropy. Her creative storytelling allows the reader to easily believe some of the less realistic aspects of the tale, like the ease with which Abra is able to drop everything for her husband and the over-the-top campiness of her mother/daughter relationship.

I found myself surprisingly rooting for Abra throughout all of the trials and tribulations she underwent, and felt genuine delight in the goodness of Red even as his coincidental appearances stretched believability. As the story went on, I became more and more emotionally committed and connected to each of the characters, feeling Abra's shock, passion, and disgust at the changes in her new life and empathizing with Hunter's shift in worldview as he struggles to come to terms with whom- or what- he's become. On the whole, the book was darker and more substantial than I had anticipated, both of which contributed to a great read. Sheckley's skill at blending horror and romance is obvious to even the casual reader.

However, like every book, The Better To Hold You has its flaws. The major problem I had with the novel revolved around character development for the main antagonist, Hunter. His switch from loving-yet-absentminded-husband to maniacal villain seemed too immediate, with little fluid segue in between. He becomes a stereotype of the characteristic abusive husband, albeit with a supernatural twist. The abrupt introduction of Magda in all of her murderous glory seemed, again, slightly contrived. Nevertheless, if you're looking for a book to stimulate, scare, and entertain you, I'd highly recommend The Better To Hold You.

-Alana Melendy (Brand New NSCG Reviewer!)

The Better To Hold You was released yesterday! Buy it on Amazon here.

If you'd like to read an excerpt, check it out here.

Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee (Review by Bella Aire)

Description:
Meet Maybelline Mary Katherine Mary Ann Chestnut, named for two Miss Americas and her mother Chessy's favorite brand of mascara. Chessy teaches the students in her charm school her Seven Select Rules for Young Ladies, but she won't tell Maybe who her real father is -- or protect her from her latest scuzzball boyfriend. So Maybe hitches a ride to California with her friends Hollywood and Thammasat Tantipinichwong Schneider (aka Ted) -- and what she finds there is funny, sad, true, and inspiring . . . vintage Lisa Yee.


Review:

Absolutely Maybe surprised me in the best of ways. It was more serious than I had originally assumed, and the writing style was very well developed. The tone was darker for the majority of the novel than I had expected, as well, except for the time spent in Sam’s house (read it, and you’ll understand of what I’m speaking).


If you ask me to sum up Absolutely Maybe, I wouldn’t say it’s about the road trip a girl and her friends go on or about a girl finding her father. This novel is all about Maybe and her relationships. And that is where the strength lies*. I found that there wasn’t a single stereotyped relationship in the entire novel (excluding one, but I won’t mention names since that would give part of the story away). The relationship between Maybe and her mother was particularly remarkable.


But you know what really hit me? How different Maybe’s perception of herself was from what other people saw. Here’s this amazing girl who doesn’t even realize how extraordinary she is or how important she is to others.


One complaint about Absolutely Maybe: I did NOT agree with Ted or Hollywood’s treatment of Maybe when they first arrived to the city. But particularly Ted. No matter what the situation may be, true friends should stick together or at least take care of each other. I thought a random security guard’s treatment of Maybe was far better than that of her so called “best friend”. Strangely enough, after this initial problem, Ted turned out to be not that bad at all. So I didn’t feel that everything in his character really matched, if that makes sense.


So? The verdict? Absolutely Maybe is a great book. And I absolutely would recommend reading it.


always,

~bella aire~


*NOTE: The “strength in relationships” displayed here reminds me of another book I have read recently with phenomenal relationships- The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti. My review for that will be up in March. Comparing the relationships in TSLPC and Absolutely Maybe might be great for discussions if any book groups are interested.



Absolutely Maybe can be purchased here.

Or visit Lisa Yee here.

Response

Themed weeks are no strangers to the blogosphere.

This one has many theme weeks (ex. Wilderness, Children's, France) with reviews, interviews, themed blog topics, and much more. It occurred earlier in 2008, I believe:

http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/special-features/theme-weekspart-weeks/

Becky's blog had a week dedicated to Jazz with tons of reviews, poetry, and other fun stuff:

http://blbooks.blogspot.com/search/label/jazz%20week

This is a movie blogger's themed weeks. Lots of reviews. But you know what? I bet if there was a way for her to gets interviews and guest blogs from producers and actors, she would've included that too.

http://www.rachelsreelreviews.com/2007/04/theme-week-log.html

Same here with Mutant Reviewers:

http://mutantreviewers.com/80sweek.html

Teen Read Week is themed as well.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=mZmFQ97_2fx5kC4C_2bGLM0F6w_3d_3d

I'm sorry for any problems that may have arisen from my geek-themed week. I came up with the theme when I came up with our blog's name in SUMMER 2008. I got a ton of inspiration from Book Chic's summer guest blogs, interviews, reviews, and giveaways (not themed as far as I know unless you count the YA factor as a theme). I've never had a specific time frame for how long the theme would last, but I liked how "Geek Week" rhymed, so I went with that. But I did remember that in an October myspace post, it was mentioned that the NSCGs were getting together for a "geekfest". I liked that name too, but chose the rhyming one instead.

For various and perhaps obvious reasons, the name has officially been changed to Geek Fest. Geek Fest will mainly be author guest blogs, some author "notes" and maybe some blogger guest blogs too. A few new reviews may be added, and right now there are three contests planned.

It's all about geeks. I've always loved the intellectual camaraderie I've felt with other self-proclaimed geeks. It's a pretty amazing feeling, and I'd like to share it through Geek Fest. I'll write more about the geekdom during the Fest.

I'm still looking for bloggers willing to guest blog on anything geek-related. It can even be on how much of a book geek you are. Interested? Email me at not_so_cg[at]yahoo[dot]com.

If someone really has a problem with Geek Fest, please privately send me an email to the address above. I'm completely willing to compromise as much as I am able.

In My P.O. Box

All credit for starting this feature goes to The Story Siren: http://www.thestorysiren.com/

Here's what the NSCGs received this week..

ATTN: Book Bloggers!!!

After glancing over this, readers may wish to check out the most recent NSCG post entitled "Response".

Hey, the NSCGs have a special "Geek Fest" planned in March. There will be guest blogs, notes, and a few contests. Everything will revolve around the subject of being a geek.

I've thought about it and have decided that book bloggers should be included as well. If any of you guys are interested in writing a guest blog on a positive geek-related experience, embracing the inner geek, or just about being a geek, email the NSCGs here: not_so_cg[at]yahoo[dot]com.

I can only take five, at most seven bloggers, so email me if you are interested. Make sure to include your name and site url in the email.

Polls!

Three polls have been added to our blog today (on the left bar). We are trying to understand more about our readers, so please check them out when you have the chance. I've noticed that under the ages part of the poll, 18-19 has been left out, so just include those ages under 20-30.

Also: On my computer at least, the myspace link gets cut off, so I'll type it again here: http://www.myspace.com/not_so_cg

-the NSCGs

Sophomore Undercover by Ben Esch (Review by Bella Aire)

(For those who noticed: when my brain is tired, it makes mistakes. Apparently my exhausted mind thought Dixie + Nguyen = Nixie. I'm afraid I combine words by accident all too frequently in real life, and now it has crept into my writing. I apologize to the author, Ben Esch, for messing up the name.)

I approached this book with a good amount of optimism. No, girls like me probably weren’t the target audience here. This is a book about a guy written by a guy. But I have loved certain books written by guys. To name a few, I love LA Meyer’s fabulous Jacky Faber series (…though I have decided that LA Meyer either got some insider girl’s info from his wife or is a female mind reader. Wasn’t there a Mel Gibson movie about that?), James Patterson’s Maximum Ride Series, and all of John Green’s work. I have also held a fondness for certain books written from a male’s point of view: again, John Green’s work, JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series (a given), JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series (another given), and Susan Juby’s Getting the Girl (this book will appear again later in this review), among others. So I’m not all that biased when the guy/girl differential is presented to me. I realize this is not the case for all female readers. For those who are interested in broadening their perspectives by finding a guy writer/POV book to admire, the list above is highly recommended.

Sophomore Undercover is a good book. We have Dixie, an aspiring journalist. He discovers some suspicious drug-related activity going on with the bullying football team at his school and decides to pursue it as a story. Dixie is also one of those suspicious people who jumps to conclusions easily and doesn’t do things halfway, and this is what makes the story happen. The whole investigative male high school journalist card brought back memories of Susan Juby’s Getting the Girl. The main characters of Sophomore Undercover and Getting the Girl are actually very similar in temperament. And both books have terrific humor. But the tones are completely different; each is very distinct. Sophomore Under is original in its own way.

The plot for Sophomore Undercover is a simple one. The actual writing in the book is simple, as well, though not by any means poor. Occasionally we’ll find a crude reference here and there, but really. It’s a novel about a guy written by a guy. What on earth could readers expect? Here’s a small issue with this writing: the age group for Sophomore Undercover is 14 and up (I suspect the occasional crude references came into play for this rating), but the writing itself seems closer to 12 and up for a reader's range. Its audience will mainly be YA male readers, who, unfortunately, make up a smaller group into today’s reading world. This makes for a very small reading population. Still, I am hoping that books such as Sophomore Undercover will increase and encourage this market. There aren’t nearly enough male YA books out there (I’m not saying there aren’t any YA male books/readers, I’m just saying that any book in the YA section of a bookstore has roughly a 10:1 chance of being female rather than male.)

The strong point of Sophomore Undercover is the humor. It kicks in about a third of the way through, and it’s great. I love it when books make me laugh. It wasn’t that Dixie’s brand of humor is all that funny; it is definitely Dixie’s creator, Ben Esch, who deserves the credit here. Ben puts Dixie into all sorts of hilarious situations throughout the story which brightens Sophomore Undercover tremendously.

Sophomore Undercover’s most blatant flaw was its females. All the females in this story didn’t really seem all that convincing. I understand that the novel is supposed to be far fetched. But I definitely felt like the women were very mannish and un-feminine in this novel. Perhaps it is because meek Dixie brings out the aggressive side of girls. I am unsure.

What I am sure of, though, is that if Ben Esch focuses on his humor for his future writing, and gets a better female perspective, he will certainly create a hit. Yes, I’ve mentioned that his humor is great. But what is even more obvious in Sophomore Undercover is its potential.

Sophomore Undercover made a good, funny book. I challenge all female readers to step out of their comfort zone. Try out Sophomore Undercover or one of the other male POV/writers mentioned above. You might surprise yourself.

Always,
~bella aire~

Sophomore Undercover can be preordered (released on February 24, 2009) here:
http://www.amazon.com/Sophomore-Undercover-Ben-Esch/dp/1423113039/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235086336&sr=8-1

Visit Ben Esch’s site here: http://www.benjaminesch.com/

Daughter of the Flames Contest!

My review of Daughter of the Flames is posted here:
http://not-so-cg.blogspot.com/2009/02/daughter-of-flames-by-zoe-marriott.html

I really loved it, so when I found out about a contest, I was happy to share a link:
http://thebookgirlreviews.blogspot.com/2009/02/contest.html

This contest also has a ton of other good books as well so don't miss it!

always,
~bella aire~

In My P.O. Box

There was a bunch of stuff this week, so I'm only posting the cover pictures...
This feature was begun by the brilliant Story Siren: www.thestorysiren.com

A Red Hot Valentine's Day by Various Authors (Review by Bella Aire)

Description:

Cupid is hot to trot!

One fateful weekend at a country estate, a beautiful, well-bred widow is caught between a rock and a very hard place when she must choose between two deliciously irresistible lovers...in Lacy Danes's seductive tale of courtship à la mode, Torn Desires.

Long-distance lovers Edie and Ty are counting the hours until their scorching Valentine's Day reunion, each titillating the other with steamy letters describing their erotic journeys. And getting there is definitely half the fun in Megan Hart's wickedly wild Get There.

Eternal damnation has its perks—especially for a voluptuous succubus who is about to receive a very special, very hot Valentine's Day "gift" from her demon lover...in Jackie Kessler's ode to paranormal passion, Hell Is Where the Heart Is.

London's most irresistible rake has one week to prevent the woman he loves from marrying another. And he plans to do so by adeptly employing his most well-practiced arts—seduction...sensation...and erotic love—in Jess Michaels's sumptuous feast of juicy Regency romance, By Valentine's Day.

Review:
A Red Hot Valentine’s Day is certainly a romantic read that will make a wonderful Valentine’s Day gift.

Like most books, Red Hot has both strong and weak parts. It’s weak part for me was the unfortunately placed first story of this anthology. The opener to this book was Lacy Dane’s Torn Desires, which I found disheartening. The characters were very close to being completely undeveloped, and the word choice was very odd. Perhaps this story will suit other people’s tastes better, but it was certainly not for me.

When I started reading Get There by Megan Hart, I was very relieved. Get There is a much stronger story. The correspondence between Edie and Ty is of good quality, and the tale itself is very cute and sweet. At this point, readers may begin to suspect that this is an anthology where the stories get better and better throughout.

BANG! Hell is Where the Heart Is is like a bolt of electricity. This story is chock full of passion. Plus, it includes characters from an actual series that Jackie Kessler writes, so if you like this story, there is more where that came from. I really liked this particular story. It easily captured my interest. I will be keeping a look out for Kessler’s work in the future.

After reading By Valentine’s Day, readers’ earlier suspicion about a “better and better” theory will be confirmed. Jess Michaels’ charming story is a perfect way to wrap up this love-themed anthology. It has the best story line of the four stories and is a delightful mix of adorable and sizzling. Colin, the “irresistible rake” of this story, is one of my favorite romantic heroes from recent reading. What most impressed me, though, is the history Michaels painted. Creating a good, strong history between characters in a short story is an admirable feat. I truly loved By Valentine’s Day, and can’t wait to read more from this author.

So, the moral of this story? Do not be daunted by the beginning of A Red Hot Valentine’s Day. The rest of the anthology more than makes up for it. As the cover claims, this book really is “better than a box of chocolates”. And speaking of this cover…isn’t it fabulous?

Always,
~bella aire~


A Red Hot Valentine’s Day can be purchased here: http://www.amazon.com/Red-Hot-Valentines-Day-Avon/dp/0061689394/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234218906&sr=1-1
(Did you know that Amazon is offering one day shipping for this book? *Hint Hint* for male procrastinators...)

An Eternal Giveaway!

Eternal Grand Prize Giveaway Package: in celebration of the Feb. 10 release of Eternal (Candlewick), author Cynthia Leitich Smith is giving away several prize packages, some including signed copies of the novel, tie-in T-shirts, finger puppets, stickers, guardian-angel tokens, and more! See details here: http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2009/02/eternal-grand-prize-giveaway-package.html

Deadline midnight CST Feb. 9! All Cynsational readers are eligible to win!

Daughter of the Flames by Zoe Marriott (Review by Bella Aire)

Description:

In a world of clashing cultures, a girl fights for freedom — and finds a surpring romantic ally — after learning a startling truth about her identity.

Inside an ancient temple in the mountains, fi fteen-year-old Zira trains in the martial arts to become a warrior priestess who can defend the faith of the Ruan people. Bearing a scar on her face from the fire that killed her parents, the orphaned Zira is taught to distrust the occupying Sedornes. Terror strikes when the forces of the tyrannical Sedorne king destroy the only home she knows. To survive, Zira must unravel the secrets of her identity, decide her people’s fate — and accept her growing feelings for a man who should be her enemy.

Review:

Daughter of the Flames opened beautifully. Readers enter into a vibrant new world where the unfortunate people have been suppressed by a brutal tyrant. The dynamics of this novel were wonderful. Marriott’s style is lightly reminiscent of the classic fairytale of old. The characters each had distinct personalities, especially the heroine, Zira.

The passion that Zira feels for what she believes in shines through Daughter of the Flames. But the truly captivating aspect of her personality is how she learns to not let her passion override her sense. Zira’s emotional growth in this novel was remarkable. She begins the story seeing the world only as an individual would, but by the end, she is able to view things by looking at the whole of a situation and at what is best for the general good.

Other characters display depth; even the villain of the story has a story to tell. Marriott did a wonderful job in Daughter of the Flames. The bright fantasy had a soft but heady scent of fairytale, which complemented the tone delightfully. Modern girls will love this novel, particularly readers who are fans of heroines with a backbone. Zira never once gave into the unfortunately common damsel-in-distress syndrome, and the readers will be left with a marvelous sense of empowerment.

Daughter of the Flames is highly recommended by the NSCGs.

Always,

~bella aire~

Daughter of the Flames (release date: February 10, 2009) can be preordered here:

http://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Flames-Zo%C3%AB-Marriott/dp/0763637491/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234144925&sr=1-1

Visit Zoë Marriott here:

http://www.zoemarriott.com/

Teaser Tuesdays- My Bonny Light Horseman

Teaser Tuesdays are from: http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!

Oh, yes. I am rereading L.A. Meyer's incredible My Bonny Light Horseman again. Why? Simply because Jacky Faber novels equal LOVE.

Now it's time for the teaser:
"Joseph," I cry, "this is none other than David Jones, my old brother from the Dolphin, from when we were ship's boys together!"

"I know who he is, and he don't look much like a boy to me," says [Joseph] Jared, his voice cold.


Hmmmm...those who know me well are very suspicious of whether or not my choosing this page was "random". And, I must say, they have a right to be suspicious, mainly because I have an unhealthy obsession with Joseph Jared. Some girls are crazy about vampires with sparkling eyes, but for me, it's this Sailing Master who has my heart...which may be a little amusing to those who have read the Jacky Faber novels, since Jaimy Fletcher is usually the main man.

If there are any other Joseph Jared lovers out there, you must let me know. We must band together! I've heard there is strength in numbers.

always,
~bella aire~