The Wall. William Sutcliffe. 2013. Walker.  304 pages.

The Wall is a thought-provoking coming of age novel. What is missing from Joshua's life is peace. He HATES his step-father, and readers learn there is good reason for this. But it isn't just family turmoil leading to his uneasiness. Perhaps it all starts when Joshua discovers a tunnel that goes under the wall, a tunnel that he explores. He visits the other side of the wall, he walks the streets, sees the "enemy" up, close, for the first time perhaps, and realizes that there aren't really any discernible differences. The way Joshua's father RANTS about them, he expected the "them" to be obvious threats, but that isn't the case. In fact, one of "them," a pretty young girl, risks her life to help him get back to his own side (he becomes lost). He can't forget the girl he met, can't forget her kindness and her needs. He feels he can help her, but is it the kind of help she'd welcome? That her family would welcome? The Wall gives readers an opportunity to see a boy's social awareness awaken. Joshua begins to think, deeply think about the world around him, to test what he's been taught, to make his own decisions about what is right and what is wrong.

Read The Wall

• If you enjoy thought-provoking coming-of-age stories

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Sever. Lauren DeStefano. 2013. Simon & Schuster. 371 pages.

Sever was certainly an intense read. If I had to describe it in just one word, I'd say it was bittersweet. This is the final book in the trilogy which perhaps explains why to a certain degree.

The novel opens with Rhine recovering, Linden and Cecily are determined to care for her. Linden may not believe the "outrageous" claims about his own father that Rhine is sharing with him and his oh-so-young wife. But. He still cares what happens to her. And since Rhine is so unwilling to go back to the mansion, and since she isn't strong enough to leave on her own, he comes up with an alternative arrangement. He has a mysterious uncle, an uncle that his first love, Rose, adored; Rhine can go to stay with him until she's ready to leave. Rhine is still determined to find her twin brother.

This allows Rhine time to contemplate how she feels about Linden, to decide if she really wants to annul her marriage with him, to make plans on how to find her brother and possibly stop him from traveling down a dark and dangerous path. While there she begins to learn more about who she is, who her brother is, who her parents were. Her parents apparently have a reputation in the scientific world--a legacy. And some of what she learns changes her...

The world Rhine has lived in has always been ugly...and Sever is a balance between hope and despair.

Read Sever

• If you have read the first two in the series (Wither; Fever)
• If you enjoy dystopian thrillers
• If romance isn't the most important element in your science fiction!

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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A Dash of Magic. Kathryn Littlewood. 2013. HarperCollins. 384 pages.

Well. I liked it more than the other book I recently read with a talking cat and rat.

A Dash of Magic is the sequel to Kathryn Littlewood's Bliss. Rosemary, our heroine, is trying to redeem the situation. The family's oh-so-magical cook book was stolen by "Aunt" Lily in the first novel, and this second novel is the family's attempt to get it back. Rose has challenged their nemesis Lily to participate in a world-famous French bakery contest. The family first flies to Mexico to meet their great-great-great-whatever grandfather who has another copy of the cook book, only in a language no one else seems to be able to decipher. Along with a talking cat, the Bliss family heads to Paris...

It's a playful fantasy with some coming-of-age themes. Rose does lack in confidence in both books. If I can remember to skip the recipes, I enjoy these books.

Read A Dash of Magic

• If you enjoyed Bliss
• If you enjoy children's fantasy novels
• If you enjoy children's books with a cooking theme
• If you enjoy children's books set in Paris

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Bliss. Kathryn Littlewood. 2012. HarperCollins. 374 pages.

I enjoyed reading Kathryn Littlewood's Bliss. This middle grade fantasy was quite fun. Bliss is set in a small town where the Bliss family has a bakery. The parents have named their children: Thyme (Ty), Rosemary (our heroine), Sage, and Parsley (Leigh). The Bliss family has a secret, a secret that Rosemary hasn't always known. The family is magical, their is a bit of magic in each recipe. These magical spells help the town run smoothly. Soon after the novel begins, the parents are called away to another town to handle an emergency. The parents leave their children and Chip in charge of the bakery. Though Rosemary has recently been trusted with a key, she's also warned by her parents NOT to look into the family's secret cookbook. "Aunt" Lily has been waiting for such an opportunity. Rose's parents haven't been gone very long at all when this new relative appears ready to help them all. Is she trustworthy? Well, Rosemary doesn't really think so. But. She sure does know how to flatter every single member of the family. NO one has ever made Rose feel so special...

Most of the book is the misadventures resulting when the children are disobedient and try to do magic on their own. Things get quite messy!

Read Bliss

• If you enjoy children's books with a cooking theme
• If you enjoy children's fantasy novels 

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop. Kate Saunders. 2013. Random House. 304 pages.

The title is so promising, but I was disappointed overall. If you'd like to spend time with an immortal talking cat, an immortal talking rat, the ghost of a famous elephant, three magical eleven-year-olds (who had no clue they were magical until chapter two or three), and a frustrated evil genius, then this is the perfect book for you. It's insane really, which may be just what a fantasy lover is looking for. It's set in London. It's set in an old chocolate shop. It features a SECRET AGENCY dealing specifically with all things magic: ghosts, goblins, etc. The premise to this wild book starts off simply: a family inherits a house on Skittle street. The family decides to move there instead of selling. Only the two children (twins) see and hear the two magical residents of the house: a cat and rat. They learn of their family's past. There were magical triplets who ran a chocolate shop together. One turned evil and murdered his two brothers. The bad guy--the murderer--is immortal, he's still got evil plans that need to be stopped. And, of course, these two are the ONLY ones able to do it!

I like my fantasy to be a little tamer, and a lot saner! It was too much for me. But it might be just right for other readers.

Read The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop

• If you enjoy British children's fantasy
• If you enjoy fantasy books like Reality Leak by Joni Sensel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or The Mysterious Benedict books.

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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This month I read 43 books. It was a GREAT month for loving books. And it was a great month for series!

My top five:

The Case of the Late Pig. Margery Allingham
Ruth. Elizabeth Gaskell.
Faro's Daughter. Georgette Heyer.
Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) Robin LaFevers. 
The False Prince. Jennifer A. Nielsen.



Middle Grade Fiction:

1. Understood Betsy. Dorothy Canfield Fisher. 1916. 176 pages.
2. Clementine and the Spring Trip. Sara Pennypacker. 2013. Hyperion. 160 pages.
3. Treasure Island. Robert Louis Stevenson. 1883. 311 pages.
4. The Golden Road. L.M. Montgomery. 1913. 213 pages. 
5. The Little Prince. Antoine de Saint-Exupery. 1943/2013. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 112 pages. 

Young Adult Fiction:

1. The False Prince. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2012. Scholastic. 342 pages.
2. The Runaway King. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2013. Scholastic. 352 pages.
3. Grave Mercy. Robin LaFevers. 2012. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 560 pages.
4. Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) Robin LaFevers. 2013. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 387 pages.
5. The Other Countess. Eve Edwards. 2011. Random House. 352 pages. 
6. The Queen's Lady. Eve Edwards. 2012. Random House. 336 pages. 
7. The Rogue's Princess. (Lacey Chronicles #3). Eve Edwards. 2013. Random House. 272 pages.
8. Orleans. Sherri L. Smith. 2013. Penguin. 336 pages.
9. The Lightning Dreamer. Margarita Engle. 2013. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 182 pages. 
10. Anne of the Island. L.M. Montgomery. 1915. 272 pages.
11. Anne's House of Dreams. L.M. Montgomery. 1917. 227 pages.
12. Dear Enemy. Jean Webster. 1915. 236 pages.  
13. Daddy Long Legs. Jean Webster. 1912. 208 pages.

Adult Fiction:

1. Faro's Daughter. Georgette Heyer. 1941. 288 pages.
2. The Inimitable Jeeves (Jeeves). P.G. Wodehouse. 1923. 225 pages.
3. Hamlet, Revenge! Michael Innes. 1937. 312 pages.  
4. The Case of the Late Pig. Margery Allingham. 1948. 144 pages. 
5. Lord Edgware Dies (OR Thirteen at Dinner). Agatha Christie. 1933. 260 pages. 
6. The Corinthian. Georgette Heyer. 1940/2009. Sourcebooks. 261 pages.
7. Cranford. Elizabeth Gaskell. 1851. 257 pages.
8. Ruth. Elizabeth Gaskell. 1853. 432 pages.  
9. Why Shoot a Butler? Georgette Heyer. 1933. 352 pages. 
10. The Talisman Ring. Georgette Heyer. 1936/2009. Sourcebooks. 316 pages.    
11. Peril at End House. Agatha Christie. 1932. HarperCollins. 287 pages. 

Christian Books:

1. Phoebe Deane. Grace Livingston Hill. 1909. 224 pages.
2.  Comforts From The Cross: Celebrating the Gospel One Day At A Time. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick. 2009. Crossway. 152 pages. 
3. Love's Long Journey. Janette Oke. 1982. Bethany House. 240 pages. 
4. The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey Into Christian Faith. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield. 2012. (September 2012). Crown and Covenant. 150 pages. 
5. The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon. Steven J. Lawson. 2012. Reformation Publishers. 145 pages.  
6. Gods at War: Defeating the Idols That Battle for Your Heart. 2013. Zondervan. 240 pages. 
7. Thru the Bible Commentary: Jeremiah and Lamentations. J. Vernon McGee. 1997. Thomas Nelson. 216 pages. 
8. The Child's Story Bible. Catherine F. Vos. (1938, 1949, 1958,) 1969. Eerdman's Publishing Company. 733 pages.   
9. Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself. Joe Thorn. Foreword by Sam Storms. 2011. Crossway Books. 144 pages.
10. Moonlight Masquerade. Ruth Axtell. 2013. Revell. 352 pages.  
11. All of Grace. Charles Spurgeon. 142 pages.
12. Revelation 1-5. (Thru the Bible Commentary Series) J. Vernon McGee. Thomas Nelson. 152 pages. 
13. Thru the Bible Commentary Series: Revelation 6-13. J. Vernon McGee. Thomas Nelson. 192 pages. 
14. Taking God Seriously. J.I. Packer. 2013. Crossway. 160 pages.

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Anne's House of Dreams. L.M. Montgomery. 1917. 227 pages.

Anne's House of Dreams is a lovely book in L.M. Montgomery's Anne series. It opens with Anne marrying Gilbert Blythe. The two honeymoon in their new home on the other side of Prince Edward Island. The two adjust to life together and settle down within the community. There are plenty of kindred spirits to be found, though in this book and in subsequent books, they are now known as 'the race that knows Joseph.' Readers meet Captain Jim and Cornelia Bryant--two extremely vibrant and eccentric characters. Who could not love Captain Jim? And isn't Cornelia fun?!

Leslie Moore is also Anne's friend, but their friendship is strained at times. Anne being too happy by her friend's reckoning. Leslie has had a sad life: her younger brother killed in a farm accident, her father committing suicide, having to protect her mother from the harsh realities of life by agreeing to marry a horrible man, being trapped in an abusive marriage, etc. When readers first meet Leslie, her husband is deserving of pity himself, a tragic sea accident having changed him dramatically, he has the mind of a child but the strength of a man. And then there is Susan Baker! Susan plays a much larger role in other books in the series--particularly Rilla of Ingleside.

The book chronicles the first few years of Anne's married life. There is a focus on friendship, family, community. There is also a mingling of hope and sorrow.

Favorite quotes:

"Stoutness and slimness seem to be matters of predestination."

"Jane was not brilliant, and had probably never made a remark worth listening to in her life; but she never said anything that would hurt anyone's feelings--which may be a negative talent but is likewise a rare and enviable one."

"Ah, there's the rub," sighed Anne. "There are so many things in life we cannot do because of the fear of what Mrs. Harmon Andrews would say."

"That evening Green Gables hummed with preparations for the following day; but in the twilight Anne slipped away. She had a little pilgrimage to make on this last day of her girlhood and she must make it alone. She went to Matthew's grave, in the little poplar-shaded Avonlea graveyard, and there kept a silent tryst with old memories and immortal loves."

"My very happiest moments have been when I had tears in my eyes--when Marilla told me I might stay at Green Gables--when Matthew gave me the first pretty dress I ever had--when I heard that you were going to recover from the fever. So give me pearls for our troth ring, Gilbert, and I'll willingly accept the sorrow of life with its joy."

"It's rather hard to decide just when people are grown up," laughed Anne.
"That's a true word, dearie. Some are grown up when they're born, and others ain't grown up when they're eighty, believe ME."

"Soul ache doesn't worry folks near as much as stomach-ache."

"Our library isn't very extensive," said Anne, "but every book in it is a FRIEND. We've picked our books up through the years, here and there, never buying one until we had first read it and knew that it belonged to the race of Joseph."

Fun with Captain Jim:

"Life may be a vale of tears, all right, but there are some folks who enjoy weeping, I reckon."

"I've kind of contracted a habit of enjoying things," he remarked once, when Anne had commented on his invariable cheerfulness. "It's got so chronic that I believe I even enjoy the disagreeable things."

"Heretics are wicked, but they're mighty interesting. It's jest that they've got sorter lost looking for God, being under the impression that He's hard to find--which He ain't never."

"But it ain't our feelings we have to steer by through life--no, no, we'd make a shipwreck mighty often if we did that. There's only the one safe compass and we've got to set our course by that--what it's right to do." 

Fun with Cornelia:

Anne looked in some surprise at the white garment spread over Miss Cornelia's ample lap. It was certainly a baby's dress, and it was most beautifully made, with tiny frills and tucks. Miss Cornelia adjusted her glasses and fell to embroidering with exquisite stitches.
"This is for Mrs. Fred Proctor up at the Glen," she announced. "She's expecting her eighth baby any day now, and not a stitch has she ready for it. The other seven have wore out all she made for the first, and she's never had time or strength or spirit to make any more. That woman is a martyr, Mrs. Blythe, believe me. When she married Fred Proctor I knew how it would turn out. He was one of your wicked, fascinating men. After he got married he left off being fascinating and just kept on being wicked. He drinks and he neglects his family. Isn't that like a man? I don't know how Mrs. Proctor would ever keep her children decently clothed if her neighbors didn't help her out."
As Anne was afterwards to learn, Miss Cornelia was the only neighbor who troubled herself much about the decency of the young Proctors.
"When I heard this eighth baby was coming I decided to make some things for it," Miss Cornelia went on. "This is the last and I want to finish it today."
"It's certainly very pretty," said Anne. "I'll get my sewing and we'll have a little thimble party of two. You are a beautiful sewer, Miss Bryant."
"Yes, I'm the best sewer in these parts," said Miss Cornelia in a matter-of-fact tone. "I ought to be! Lord, I've done more of it than if I'd had a hundred children of my own, believe me! I s'pose I'm a fool, to be putting hand embroidery on this dress for an eighth baby. But, Lord, Mrs. Blythe, dearie, it isn't to blame for being the eighth, and I kind of wished it to have one real pretty dress, just as if it waswanted. Nobody's wanting the poor mite--so I put some extra fuss on its little things just on that account."
"Any baby might be proud of that dress," said Anne, feeling still more strongly that she was going to like Miss Cornelia.
"I s'pose you've been thinking I was never coming to call on you," resumed Miss Cornelia. "But this is harvest month, you know, and I've been busy--and a lot of extra hands hanging round, eating more'n they work, just like the men. I'd have come yesterday, but I went to Mrs. Roderick MacAllister's funeral. At first I thought my head was aching so badly I couldn't enjoy myself if I did go. But she was a hundred years old, and I'd always promised myself that I'd go to her funeral."
"Was it a successful function?" asked Anne, noticing that the office door was ajar.
"What's that? Oh, yes, it was a tremendous funeral. She had a very large connection. There was over one hundred and twenty carriages in the procession. There was one or two funny things happened. I thought that die I would to see old Joe Bradshaw, who is an infidel and never darkens the door of a church, singing `Safe in the Arms of Jesus' with great gusto and fervor. He glories in singing-- that's why he never misses a funeral. Poor Mrs. Bradshaw didn't look much like singing--all wore out slaving. Old Joe starts out once in a while to buy her a present and brings home some new kind of farm machinery. Isn't that like a man? But what else would you expect of a man who never goes to church, even a Methodist one? I was real thankful to see you and the young Doctor in the Presbyterian church your first Sunday. No doctor for me who isn't a Presbyterian."
"We were in the Methodist church last Sunday evening," said Anne wickedly.
"Oh, I s'pose Dr. Blythe has to go to the Methodist church once in a while or he wouldn't get the Methodist practice."
"We liked the sermon very much," declared Anne boldly. "And I thought the Methodist minster's prayer was one of the most beautiful I ever heard."
"Oh, I've no doubt he can pray. I never heard anyone make more beautiful prayers than old Simon Bentley, who was always drunk, or hoping to be, and the drunker he was the better he prayed."
"The Methodist minister is very fine looking," said Anne, for the benefit of the office door.
"Yes, he's quite ornamental," agreed Miss Cornelia. "Oh, and very ladylike. And he thinks that every girl who looks at him falls in love with him--as if a Methodist minister, wandering about like any Jew, was such a prize! If you and the young doctor take myadvice, you won't have much to do with the Methodists. My motto is--if you are a Presbyterian, be a Presbyterian."
"Don't you think that Methodists go to heaven as well as Presbyterians?" asked Anne smilelessly.
"That isn't for us to decide. It's in higher hands than ours," said Miss Cornelia solemnly. "But I ain't going to associate with them on earth whatever I may have to do in heaven.

"Thank goodness we can choose our friends. We have to take our relatives as they are, and be thankful if there are no penitentiary birds among them."

"Do you know, Cornelia," said Captain Jim gravely, "I've often thought that if I wasn't a Presbyterian I'd be a Methodist."
"Oh, well," conceded Miss Cornelia, "if you weren't a Presbyterian it wouldn't matter much what you were. Speaking of heresy, reminds me, doctor--I've brought back that book you lent me--that Natural Law in the Spiritual World--I didn't read more'n a third of it. I can read sense, and I can read nonsense, but that book is neither the one nor the other."
"It is considered rather heretical in some quarters," admitted Gilbert, "but I told you that before you took it, Miss Cornelia."
"Oh, I wouldn't have minded its being heretical. I can stand wickedness, but I can't stand foolishness," said Miss Cornelia calmly, and with the air of having said the last thing there was to say about Natural Law.

 Fun with Susan:

Is it not funny nobody ever asked me to marry him, Mrs. Doctor, dear? I am no beauty, but I am as good-looking as most of the married women you see. But I never had a beau. What do you suppose is the reason?"
"It may be predestination," suggested Anne, with unearthly solemnity.
Susan nodded.
"That is what I have often thought, Mrs. Doctor, dear, and a great comfort it is. I do not mind nobody wanting me if the Almighty decreed it so for His own wise purposes. But sometimes doubt creeps in, Mrs. Doctor, dear, and I wonder if maybe the Old Scratch has not more to do with it than anyone else. I cannot feel resigned then. But maybe," added Susan, brightening up, "I will have a chance to get married yet. I often and often think of the old verse my aunt used to repeat:
There never was a goose so gray but sometime soon or late Some honest gander came her way and took her for his mate!
A woman cannot ever be sure of not being married till she is buried, Mrs. Doctor, dear, and meanwhile I will make a batch of cherry pies. I notice the doctor favors 'em, and I do like cooking for a man who appreciates his victuals."

 "And did you notice his ears and his teeth, Mrs. Doctor, dear?" queried Susan later on. "He has got the nicest-shaped ears I ever saw on a man's head. I am choice about ears. When I was young I was scared that I might have to marry a man with ears like flaps. But I need not have worried, for never a chance did I have with any kind of ears."

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Orleans. Sherri L. Smith. 2013. Penguin. 336 pages.
Understood Betsy. Dorothy Canfield Fisher. 1916. 176 pages.
Clementine and the Spring Trip. Sara Pennypacker. 2013. Hyperion. 160 pages.
The Rogue's Princess. (Lacey Chronicles #3). Eve Edwards. 2013. Random House. 272 pages.
Grave Mercy. Robin LaFevers. 2012. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 560 pages.
Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) Robin LaFevers. 2013. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 387 pages.
 Phoebe Deane. Grace Livingston Hill. 1909. 224 pages.

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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New Loot:

• Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart-Lovelace
• The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
• Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould
• The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
• The Bookends of the Christian Life by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington
• The Close Shave  

Leftover Loot:

• Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley
• The Essence by Kimberly Derting
• The Gate Thief by Orson Scott Card
• Iscariot by Tosca Lee
• Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland H. Bainton
• The Great Race by Rev. W. Awdry
• Secret of the Green Engine

 Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Orleans. Sherri L. Smith. 2013. Penguin. 336 pages.

Orleans is intense and I suspect unforgettable. The novel is set after the Delta and/or the Gulf Coast have been cut off from the rest of the United States. (There being an actual wall to prevent people from entering/exiting.) The reason is simple: Delta Fever is too contagious and there isn't a cure. Everyone is infected with the fever, but each blood type responds differently to the disease or virus. This separates everyone into groups or tribes according to blood type.

Fen, our heroine, is O positive. But soon after the novel begins, her tribe is attacked. Her chieftain, Lydia, goes into premature labor because of the attack. The baby survives, she doesn't. Fen and the baby are what is left of this tribe, and Fen is desperate to provide a better life for this baby. Her goal is ambitious and dangerous. She wants to find a way to smuggle the baby out before it catches the fever. She wants to reach the wall.

Sometimes helping, sometimes hindering, Fen's ambitions is a young scientist named Daniel. Daniel dreams big too. He is desperate to find a cure. That is why he is there illegally.

Orleans is incredibly intense and impossible to put down. If you enjoy disaster and/or survivor fiction, then this one is a must read! It is extremely creepy in places, which I think will definitely appeal to some readers! But even if you don't like horror elements, you may find yourself hooked.

Read Orleans

• If you enjoy great world-building
• If you enjoy meeting strong heroines
• If you enjoy survivor or disaster novels
• If you enjoy dystopian or post-apocalyptic fiction
• If you like darker stories with some horror elements

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Rogue's Princess. (Lacey Chronicles #3). Eve Edwards. 2013. Random House. 272 pages.

When I first started The Rogue's Princess, I was hesitant. I was not liking the "historical" presentation of Puritans. All the details felt too on-the-surface and not quite genuine. I wasn't sure I was going to like Mercy Hart or her family. But. Once Mercy goes to her friend Ann's house for supper and meets Kit Turner (Christopher Turner), a player (actor) we first met in The Queen's Lady, I stopped caring. What Edwards does really well is right distracting--absorbing--love stories. If you believe the love story between the hero and heroine, everything else ceases to matter almost. I do think her characters are at times a little too modern, but, as I'm reading the story I don't care.

Kit Turner was an interesting hero. I definitely enjoyed getting to know him better and seeing things through his perspective. I did enjoy spending time with the youngest Lacey brother, Tobias. Though he isn't my favorite or best Lacey brother!

I have enjoyed all three books, but I haven't exactly LOVED any of them. They are purely fun, quick and enjoyable reads.

Read The Rogue's Princess

• If you enjoyed the first two books in the series
• If you enjoy historical romance

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) Robin LaFevers. 2013. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 387 pages.

 At first, I didn't know what to think of Dark Triumph. The opening chapters were so dark and creepy. What Sybella, our heroine, has had to live with her whole life is almost too horrible to describe. But her story, though dark, is necessary for the reader to know, to understand. Both Sybella and "the Beast" were characters first introduced in Robin LaFevers Grave Mercy. I thought they were interesting in the first novel, but after reading the second novel they were so much more than that. I LOVED them. I think I loved them even more than I loved Ismae and Duval.

Secrets. Lies. Betrayals. Murders. Sybella has seen and heard too much; she was born into one of the cruelest, darkest families in Brittany. Her escape to the convent to be trained as Death's handmaiden--an assassin--was too brief. For better or worse, Sybella's "purpose" is a dark one. She wants justice, justice for all the lives lost at her father's hand, all the lives lost because of her father's orders, all the lives lost on the battlefield because her father is a traitor to the duchess. She's a killer. She feels she kills justly, men who deserve to die, but she's a killer whether or not she's following her Lord's orders or not.

One of the orders she receives early in the novel is to rescue one of the men captured by her father. A man readers came to know as "the Beast." She knows it won't be easy, but, she knows it's right. For she knows that in saving his life, in giving him his freedom, she'll be doing good for the Duchess. The news he carries back to her may help her cause. But what Sybella never expected was to be "rescued" by the prisoner AS he makes his escape. The Beast and Sybella traveling together...as a team...to the Duchess...it's something!

And that's just the start, of course!

Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph might not be for every reader. There is so much darkness in the second book, mainly involving Sybella's past and present. While at first I was hesitant to visit those dark places and learn Sybella's truths, I soon cared too much to stop reading. If the first book focused on politics with the threat of war, the second novel focuses on politics and inevitable WAR.

I would definitely recommend reading the two books in order. And if you've got the time, it might be a good idea to reread the first novel. Dark Triumph and Grave Mercy overlap by a little bit. And the politics and war might make more sense if you've recently read Grave Mercy. 

Read Dark Triumph

• If you enjoyed Grave Mercy
• If you're a fan of Robin LaFevers
• If you enjoy dark historical novels focused on war and politics

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Grave Mercy. Robin LaFevers. 2012. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 560 pages.

Last summer, I reviewed Robin LaFevers' Grave Mercy. It was LOVE. To sum up Grave Mercy in many words: Politics. Romance. Drama. Dysfunctional Families. Poison. Murder. Betrayal. Mystery. Suspense. To sum it up in just two: assassin nuns. The novel is set in Brittany in the late 1480s.

Ismae, our heroine, is one of Death's handmaidens. She's a trained assassin, trained by a convent of nuns dedicating their lives to serving St. Mortain (Death). The nuns are loyal to the Duchess of Brittany, and the victims are often her political enemies--foreign or domestic--those that pose the greatest threat to Brittany's independence.

While we do see her first few jobs carried out, most of the novel focuses on one job in particular. The abbess wants her to team up with Duval, the Duchess' older brother and her most trusted friend and advisor. She's to pose as his mistress, and travel with him to the Duchess' household. There she will "help him" find any possible traitors...

I wanted to reread Grave Mercy because the second novel in the series, Dark Triumph, is releasing soon. I thought the second novel would read better if I took the time to reread the first novel. And I think this was very beneficial. Especially since this is a novel heavy in politics. While I read Grave Mercy in one night the first time, I took my time for the reread. I think I was better able to absorb the politics at a slower pace. I was able to focus more on the minor characters as well. The first time, it was ALL about the romance--that was the only thing I cared about. This time, I was able to appreciate the story as a whole.

Read Grave Mercy

• If you're a fan of Robin LaFevers
• If you're a fan of historical romance, with a fantasy feel to it (mythology/supernatural)
• Also if you're a fan of mystery/suspense/political thrillers

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Clementine and the Spring Trip. Sara Pennypacker. 2013. Hyperion. 160 pages.

 Clementine has to be one of my favorite heroines. I just LOVE spending time with her. I love reading about her family life AND I love reading about her school days too. She always has an opinion, and she's always got something on her mind! In this book, Clementine is excited but nervous about an upcoming field trip to Plimoth Plantation. At first she felt comfortable about going because she was going to partner with fourth grader, Margaret. (Clementine is in third grade.) Clementine was going to help Margaret by doing all the "dirty" work, and Margaret was going to help Clementine by teaching her to eat quietly. The "rule" of the fourth graders being that no noisy foods are ever allowed. But when a new student arrives, a girl named Olive, well, plans change. The teacher assigns Olive to Clementine, and with the teacher and the principal telling Clementine that this will be a GOOD thing, she has to accept her disappointment. But noisy eating isn't the only thing worrying Clementine and her classmates, no, there is the dreaded bus number seven with "the cloud." This is the SMELLIEST bus ever, a thing of nightmares. And oh how the kids like to make comparisons as to what it smells like and why!!!

The novel is great fun focusing on Clementine at school and home. I would definitely recommend this series.

Read Clementine and the Spring Trip

• If you love children's books
• If you're looking for a heroine to love and adore (like Ramona, Moxy Maxwell, or Ida May, etc.)
• If you've enjoyed Clementine, The Talented Clementine, Clementine's Letter, Clementine, Friend of the Week, Clementine and the Family Meeting.

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Understood Betsy. Dorothy Canfield Fisher. 1916. 176 pages.

Understood Betsy is a quick and lovely read. Elizabeth Ann has always lived with Aunt Frances, but, when a new situation develops which makes this impossible, Betsy goes to Vermont to stay with her other relatives: Aunt Abigail, Uncle Henry, Cousin Ann. At first, Betsy is timid and unsure. She has had great practice at feeling that way--Aunt Frances almost always feels that way too. That is why they can understand one another so very perfectly. In her new home, Betsy learns that she can do almost anything. In her new home, she learns she has some gumption after all! She can be resourceful, brave, strong, determined. She's a whole new person in just a few weeks! If her new family had a motto, it would probably be you learn to do by doing.

The novel is about Betsy's first experiences in the world: getting a cat, watching that cat have kittens, making a new friend, learning to take care of herself, learning to be responsible, learning to help others and think of others, etc. Readers also learn a little history alongside Betsy.

Favorite quotes:

She knew all about reading lessons and she hated them, although she loved to read. But reading lessons...! You sat with your book open at some reading that you could do with your eyes shut, it was so easy, and you waited and waited and waited while your classmates slowly stumbled along, reading aloud a sentence or two apiece, until your turn came to stand up and read your sentence or two, which by that time sounded just like nonsense because you'd read it over and over so many times to yourself before your chance came. And often you didn't even have a chance to do that, because the teacher didn't have time to get around to you at all, and you closed your book and put it back in your desk without having opened your mouth. Reading was one thing Elizabeth Ann had learned to do very well indeed, but she had learned it all by herself at home from much reading to herself.

A dim notion was growing up in her mind that the fact that she had never done a thing was no proof that she couldn't.

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Once Upon A Time
Host: Stainless Steel Droppings
Dates: March 21-June 21
# of Books: Quest the First, five books

What I read

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What I hope to read:


Stardust by Neil Gaiman
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
The Adventures of Pinochhio by Carlo Collodi
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta
Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta
Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang



© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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New Loot:

• Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons
• Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley
• The Essence by Kimberly Derting
• Hold Fast by Blue Balliett
• The Gate Thief by Orson Scott Card
• Iscariot by Tosca Lee
• Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland H. Bainton

Leftover Loot:

• Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
• The Great Race by Rev. W. Awdry
• Secret of the Green Engine

 Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.
 
© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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 The Other Countess. Eve Edwards. 2011. Random House. 352 pages.
The Queen's Lady. Eve Edwards. 2012. Random House. 336 pages.
Anne of the Island. L.M. Montgomery. 1915. 272 pages.
The Inimitable Jeeves (Jeeves). P.G. Wodehouse. 1923. 225 pages.
Treasure Island. Robert Louis Stevenson. 1883. 311 pages.
Faro's Daughter. Georgette Heyer. 1941. 288 pages.
Comforts From The Cross: Celebrating the Gospel One Day At A Time. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick. 2009. Crossway. 152 pages.
Love's Long Journey. Janette Oke. 1982. Bethany House. 240 pages.
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey Into Christian Faith. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield. 2012. (September 2012). Crown and Covenant. 150 pages.


© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Runaway King. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2013. Scholastic. 352 pages.
The Golden Road. L.M. Montgomery. 1913. 213 pages.
The Little Prince. Antoine de Saint-Exupery. 1943/2013. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 112 pages.
Hamlet, Revenge! Michael Innes. 1937. 312 pages.
The Case of the Late Pig. Margery Allingham. 1948. 144 pages.
Lord Edgware Dies (OR Thirteen at Dinner). Agatha Christie. 1933. 260 pages.
The Corinthian. Georgette Heyer. 1940/2009. Sourcebooks. 261 pages.
The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon. Steven J. Lawson. 2012. Reformation Publishers. 145 pages.
Gods at War: Defeating the Idols That Battle for Your Heart. 2013. Zondervan. 240 pages.
Thru the Bible Commentary: Jeremiah and Lamentations. J. Vernon McGee. 1997. Thomas Nelson. 216 pages.
The Child's Story Bible. Catherine F. Vos. (1938, 1949, 1958,) 1969. Eerdman's Publishing Company. 733 pages. 
Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself. Joe Thorn. Foreword by Sam Storms. 2011. Crossway Books. 144 pages.

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Anne of the Island. L.M. Montgomery. 1915. 272 pages.

Anne of the Island is one of my favorite books in the Anne series by L.M. Montgomery. This is the book that focuses on Anne's college years. Readers meet Anne's best friends from her college years: Priscilla Grant, Stella Maynard, and Philippa Gordon. Anne receives oh-so-many proposals in this one. One proposal comes from her very best friend, Gilbert Blythe. But Anne knows herself, knows that she could never settle for anything less than her IDEAL man that she's crafted in her imagination. It's a good thing she meets him at college! From their first meeting until the BIG day he proposes, she's almost certain that he is oh-so-perfect for her. True, he doesn't have a sense of humor, well, much of one. And true, he isn't really the sort you share things with. But, oh, he knows his poetry. His name is Royal Gardner...

Anne isn't the only one trying to make big decisions in this one. There is the unforgettable Philippa Gordon. Take her as she is--for better or worse--for there will never be another. Though she has dozens of beaus, wealthy beaus too, she falls hard for the one man she's sure will never be able to accept her...for he's a minister!

Though the book focuses on her college years, Anne is able to visit Avonlea almost every year. And there are plenty of chapters set in and around Avonlea. So readers are able to keep up with the characters they've come to love: Marilla, Rachel Lynde, Davy and Dora, Diana, etc.

The last few chapters of this one are oh-so-magical.

Favorite quotes:

"We mustn't let next week rob us of this week's joy."

"I suppose we'll get used to being grownup in time," said Anne cheerfully. "There won't be so many unexpected things about it by and by--though, after all, I fancy it's the unexpected things that give spice to life."

"When I'm grown up I'm not going to do one single thing I don't want to do, Anne."
"All your life, Davy, you'll find yourself doing things you don't want to do."
"I won't," said Davy flatly. "Catch me! I have to do things I don't want to now 'cause you and Marilla'll send me to bed if I don't. But when I grow up you can't do that, and there'll be nobody to tell me not to do things." 

"But FEELING is so different from KNOWING."

"Facts are stubborn things, but as some one has wisely said, not half so stubborn as fallacies."

"What's my conscience? I want to know."
"It's something in you, Davy, that always tells you when you are doing wrong and makes you unhappy if you persist in doing it. Haven't you noticed that?"
"Yes, but I didn't know what it was. I wish I didn't have it. I'd have lots more fun. Where is my conscience, Anne? I want to know. Is it in my stomach?"
"No, it's in your soul," answered Anne, thankful for the darkness, since gravity must be preserved in serious matters. 

"All life lessons are not learned at college," she thought. "Life teaches them everywhere." 

"Mrs. Lynde was awful mad the other day because I asked her if she was alive in Noah's time. I didn't meant to hurt her feelings. I just wanted to know. Was she, Anne?" 

"I think it's quite natural that a nine-year-old boy would sooner read an adventure story than the Bible. But when you are older I hope and think that you will realize what a wonderful book the Bible is." 

"Miss Stacy told me long ago that by the time I was twenty my character would be formed, for good or evil. I don't feel it's what it should be. It's full of flaws."
"So's everybody's" said Aunt Jamesina cheerfully. "Mine's cracked in a hundred places. Your Miss Stacy likely meant that when you are twenty your character would have got its permanent bent in one direction or 'tother, and would go on developing in that line. 

"What are you reading?"
"Pickwick."
"That's a book that always makes me hungry," said Phil. "There's so much good eating in it."

"The year is a book, isn't it, Marilla? Spring's pages are written in Mayflowers and violets, summer's in roses, autumn's in red maple leaves, and winter in holly and evergreen."

"We are never half so interesting when we have learned that language is given us to enable us to conceal our thoughts."

"When you've learned to laugh at the things that should be laughed at, and not to laugh at those that shouldn't, you've got wisdom and understanding."

"There is a book of Revelation in every one's life, as there is in the Bible. Anne read hers that bitter night, as she kept her agonized vigil through the hours of storm and darkness."

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Faro's Daughter. Georgette Heyer. 1941. 288 pages.

I absolutely loved Georgette Heyer's Faro's Daughter. In the first chapter, readers meet Mr. Ravenscar (Max) as he visits with his sister, Lady Mablethorpe. She wants him to to prevent an imprudent match of his nephew with an unsuitable young woman, Deborah Grantham. This "vulgar" woman lives in a gaming house with her aunt! He goes to visit the young lady in the gaming house, even gambles with her for a while. His conclusion: she's not a good match for a gentleman, certainly, but she might be easily bought off. Instead of talking with his nephew, he'll talk to her instead and offer her money if she promises to never marry the boy.

Readers just don't see this from his point of view, however, readers also get to meet Deborah for themselves. And Deborah finds Ravenscar's offer insulting and infuriating. How dare he assume she could be bought off! Though she hadn't any plans on marrying Adrian, she know plans to do just that. Well. If she has to. She's hoping that that won't be necessary after all. If only she could get Adrian to fall in love with someone else...

Ravenscar and Deborah hate each other so much, their interactions are so intense. They bring out the worst in each other...

I loved this one so much! It's a great read cover to cover. So many interesting characters and stories.

Read Faro's Daughter

• If you love Pride and Prejudice, North and South, Much Ado About Nothing, etc. Romance stories where the hero and heroine HATE each other before they fall in love...
• If you enjoy Georgette Heyer
• If you enjoy Regency romances, historical romances

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Treasure Island. Robert Louis Stevenson. 1883. 311 pages.

I was surprised by how much I liked Treasure Island. I didn't really expect it to be my kind of book. And, in a way, it still isn't. (I'm not going to feel the same devotion to Jim Hawkins that I feel for Anne Shirley.) But it is a GOOD adventure story. Plenty of drama, action, adventure, surprise, and danger. It is a life-or-death adventure book abounding with good guys and bad guys.

Jim Hawkins is our hero. Though he isn't always confident in his abilities to be A HERO, Hawkins is the hero that he needs to be when it counts, the hero he needs to be in order to save the day. Jim Hawkins' father owned an inn. One day a former pirate (Billy Bones) comes for an extended stay at the inn. He hires the young boy (Jim) to be on the lookout for a one-legged pirate (Long John Silver). He does NOT want to meet up with this pirate--or really any other pirate for that matter. But he is found by a few pirates before long. Jim's life is messy in that his own father is dying and this pirate is dying; the same doctor sees after both men. The pirate brought with him a sea chest (with a treasure map). Having this chest at the inn brings danger and excitement. Eventually it takes Hawkins to sea with others--some good guys, some bad guys--all in search for this treasure on an island. Of course, the good guys aren't aware that the others are "bad" and have murderous intentions. But readers learn this information right along with Hawkins...

While the novel is interesting before they reach the island, the book REALLY becomes interesting once they reach the island.

Read Treasure Island

• If you like watching pirate movies or reading pirate stories
• If you like adventure stories
• If you like coming-of-age stories

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Other Countess. Eve Edwards. 2011. Random House. 352 pages.

I enjoyed The Other Countess by Eve Edwards. I think readers who enjoy historical romance set during the Elizabethan period will especially love it. Readers meet two young women worthy of being heroines. (The second heroine, Jane, will be the star of the second book.) The heroine of The Other Countess is a young woman named Eleanor (Ellie). Her father is a mess, he's so obsessed with alchemy, so Ellie has had to raise herself essentially and care for her father as best she can. Will, the hero, has a definite grudge against Ellie's father, but, he at first doesn't recognize Ellie as being her father's daughter--the last time he saw her she was a child, it was the day he was throwing her and her father out of his estate. But now Ellie is oh-so-beautiful. And he is madly in love with her until he makes the connections. Even when he does learn the truth, he can't quite forget her as he "should." He has several opportunities to help her, to show her kindness, to save her...

The Other Countess has some drama and adventure in it as well reminding readers that life either in the country or at court was never problem-free. Ellie, as a beautiful young woman, is at risk from unwanted attention...

Read The Other Countess

• If you enjoy historical fiction set during the Elizabethan period
• If you enjoy historical romance

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Queen's Lady. Eve Edwards. 2012. Random House. 336 pages.

I enjoyed reading The Queen's Lady. Readers first meet the heroine, Jane, as a character in the first novel, The Other Countess. This novel is set several years later. Jane, now a widow, is facing new troubles. Her stepsons are unhappy that Jane received anything from their father. They are after the ring, the money, the land. Her father is also anxious to get control of his daughter once again, he wants to arrange a marriage--of his choosing, of course--for her. But Jane, well, Jane is fond of James Lacey. She even tells him so. But while he loves her too, he's not ready to commit just yet. He needs time to recover from the horrible things he witnessed as a soldier.

There is a second romance in The Queen's Lady. Milly, a seamstress and friend of Jane, is in love with James' servant, Diego, an African slave. He wasn't always James' servant. Milly is someone he knew a long time ago when he was serving someone else. The focus is on both relationships equally.

I find the characters interesting, for the most part. There are definitely plenty of villains to hate! And I definitely cared for Jane in this novel. But. I'm not sure that I "love" either book.

Read The Queen's Lady

• If you enjoyed The Other Countess
• If you enjoy historical fiction set in the Elizabethan time period
• If you enjoy historical romance

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Inimitable Jeeves (Jeeves). P.G. Wodehouse. 1923. 225 pages.

The Inimitable Jeeves is my favorite Wodehouse yet. (I've also read The Man With Two Left Feet and My Man Jeeves.) I loved this short story collection because it is all devoted to Bertie and Jeeves! Featured stories include: "Jeeves Exerts the Old Cerebellum," "No Wedding Bells for Bingo," "Aunt Agatha Speaks Her Mind," "Pearls Mean Tears," "The Pride of the Woosters is Wounded," "The Hero's Reward," "Introducing Claude and Eustace," "Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch," "A Letter of Introduction," Startling Dressiness of a Lift Attendant," Comrade Bingo," "Bingo Has a Bad Goodwood," "The Great Sermon Handicap," "The Purity of the Turf," "The Metropolitan Touch," "The Delayed Exit of Claude and Eustace," "Bingo and the Little Woman," and "All's Well."

These stories introduce one of Bertie's friends, Bingo Little. He is quite the character. He is always falling in love with someone. And there's always drama that Bertie and Jeeves get drawn into! But Bingo Little isn't the only source of drama! There's also Bertie's family, including Aunt Agatha and two of his cousins, Claude and Eustace, to name a few. Some of the stories are set in the city, others take place in the country. All are delightful!!!



My favorite sequence of stories is "The Hero's Reward," "Introducing Claude and Eustace," and "Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch." In this sequence, Bertie finds himself accidentally engaged to a girl, Honoria, a young woman that Bingo was once quite smitten with! Sir Roderick is Honoria's father, and their lunch together is quite delightful! He's not quite sure he likes Bertie, not quite sure Bertie is sane... enter an insane number of cats, fish under Bertie's bed, and a stolen hat... and you've got an unforgettable chapter!

Read The Inimitable Jeeves

• If you like short stories
• If you love short stories
• If you hate short stories
• If you enjoy P.G. Wodehouse
• If you want more Bertie and Jeeves
• If you love to laugh

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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