In my Mailbox (37)

E eis que é chegada a altura de apresentar a edição número 37 da "mailbox". Esta semana com um livro em português, do Bernard Cornwell. E o "Darker Still" que foi uma das minhas escolhas na rubrica "Waiting on Wednesday". Sem mais atrasos, senhoras e senhores... a "mailbox"! :P

Darker Still - Leanna Renee Hieber

Forbidden (The Demon Trappers) - Jana Oliver 

The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger 

A Spy in the House - Y.S. Lee 

O Rei do Inverno - Bernard Cornwell

E vocês o que receberam na vossa Caixa de Correio (What did you get in your mailbox this week?)?

"In my Mailbox" is hosted by The Story Siren.

Review: A Spy in the House (Y.S. Lee)

A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee

Publisher:  Candlewick Press (2011)
Format: Paperback | 352 pages
Genre(s): Young Adult, Mystery / Thriller, Historical Fiction

Description (GR): "Rescued from the gallows in 1850s London, young orphan (and thief) Mary Quinn is surprised to be offered a singular education, instruction in fine manners — and an unusual vocation. Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls is a cover for an all-female investigative unit called The Agency, and at seventeen, Mary is about to put her training to the test. Assuming the guise of a lady’s companion, she must infiltrate a rich merchant’s home in hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships. But the household is full of dangerous deceptions, and there is no one to trust — or is there? Packed with action and suspense, banter and romance, and evoking the gritty backstreets of Victorian London, this breezy mystery debuts a daring young detective who lives by her wits while uncovering secrets — including those of her own past."

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS!

"A Spy in the House" is the first book in a new series featuring Mary Quinn, a Victorian heroine.

It is 1858 and Mary Quinn (formerly a street urchin) is drafted into "The Agency", a mysterious organization where all the agents are (apparently) women. The supposition that women are easily ignored because they are considered beings of inferior understanding is what drives this Agency. According to the leaders, women make the better spies.

So, Mary is sent on her first mission: to be a paid companion to the daughter of a rich merchant who seems to be smuggling jewels. She is to keep her ears open and report back. Seems like a fairly simple mission... except that Mary isn't happy with just sitting back and listening; and there is James Easton, a handsome engineer who is also investigating her charges.

At first glance, "A Spy in the House" looks like a fun mystery with lively characters, plenty of suspense and some romance. It is an entertaining read, sure. But there are too many inconsistencies with the plot construction and world building.

While I recognize Mary is not your typical female (she is an agent after all) I still didn't understand James' reactions to her behavior. He seems to take the fact that she's a sleuth and dresses like a boy more or less in stride. It's something that you see a lot in historical romances, but there it has a purpose. In a YA book that is first and foremost a historical mystery I really don't think it worked. I mean, Mary might be ahead of her time but she still has to conform to the norms of Victorian society. That didn't happen... there were a few occasions when her reputation would have been severely compromised. It kind of bothered me because if she was trying to prove that women are better spies then the best thing to do was to behave as a model of Victorian female perfection... which she didn't.

Another problem I had with the book: Mary and James didn't seem all that smart. She agrees to enter "a partnership" with a virtual stranger (James) because he told her he was investigating the Thorolds (the family she was meant to watch); he believed her story about investigating the disappearance of a maid, yet wasn't suspicious even once when she seemed more interested in the Thorold's financial records.

Also, the chemistry between James and Mary? Not good.

Overall: "A Spy in the House" was an interesting debut, with a compelling mystery, yes, but still rather lackluster. The mystery, the characters' behavior and the world building were implausible really. While I liked the book in general I felt there were many flaws in the portrayal of Victorian life, beliefs and behavior.

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Waiting on Wednesday (7)

Esta semana no "Waiting on Wednesday" temos uma sequela! O segundo livro da série "Deviants" sai aparentemente no início do ano que vem e desde que li "Vesper" estou com muita curiosidade em saber como se vai desenvolver a história de Emily. Aqui está a minha opinião do primeiro livro, se estiverem com curiosidade. :)

Havoc (Deviants, #2) - Jeff Sampson

Editora: Balzer + Bray

Data de Publicação: 24 de Janeiro de 2012

Páginas: 352

Idioma: Inglês

Descrição (GR): "Emily Webb thought life would return to normal after the death of the man who attacked her and her fellow “Deviants.” Or as normal as it could be, after discovering that she has nighttime superpowers . . . and she’s a werewolf. But when Emily awakes one night to find an otherworldy Shadowman watching her, she knows the danger has only just begun.

So Emily and her pack-mates set out to find the people who made them what they are, and why. But as they get closer to the truth, they realize they aren’t the only ones in town with special powers: The most popular girls in school might just have a secret of their own–and they might just have it out for Emily.

With shadowy beings stalking them, a mysterious company doing all it can to keep the truth hidden, and the secrecy of her new identity in jeopardy, life threatens to spiral out of control for Emily. Soon these dangers will come together in one terrifying confrontation that may force her to make the toughest choice of her life . . . so far."

E vocês? De que livros é que estão à espera? (What books are you anxiously waiting for?)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Review: Drink, Slay, Love (Sarah Beth Durst)

Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst

Publisher:  Margaret K. McElderry (2011)
Format: Hardcover | 386 pages
Genre(s): Romance, Young Adult, Humor

Description (GR): "Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire... fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil... until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops.

Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don't exist), and they're shocked she survived. They're even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl's family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King's feast -- as the entrees.

The only problem? Pearl's starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she's definitely dead if she lets down her family. What's a sunlight-loving vamp to do?"

WARNING: Contains some SPOILERS!

Eh. How to start this review? Ah yes. There are vampires in this book. Lots of vampires. If you are tired of vampires... read this!!

Pearl is a vampire. A bad vampire (or a good one, depending on your point of view). She lives in a basement, can't stand the sun and snacks on Brad the ice-cream boy every other night... she doesn't sparkle, sure, but that is a minor detail.

One day, after snacking (again) on Brad, she sees something that does spark... and isn't supposed to exist: a unicorn. A unicorn that stabs her in the heart with its shiny horn.

Pearl thinks she's done for, so when she wakes up on her doorstep safe and sound the next dawn she is puzzled. And even more when she discovers she can actually stand in daylight! Her parents are pretty happy and she soon has a mission: to infiltrate the local high school and round up some cattle people to feed the vampire king. Easy peasy? Not so much when you actually talk to the food. And start to grow a conscience.

Features evil (and not sparkly) vampires, very sparkly unicorns, scheming high schoolers and newbie vampire hunters. Oh and 80's TV shows.

"Drink, Slay, Love" was the funniest book I've read in a while. Sarah Beth Durst really managed to write a great vampire themed parody - ok, maybe her Twilight snark had something to do with the fact that I loved this book, but I'm pretty sure that it was the rest too. Like how she managed to make the most ridiculous-sounding plot ever work really well. Or how there wasn't insta-love. Or how Pearl seemed so genuine and truly grew throughout the book.

Pearl is a delightful heroine. She really is pretty mean at the beginning, but she's never a character you don't like. From page one she has charisma.

I must say I wasn't very enthused with Evan or Bethany (the other main characters in the story) but I did like Tara and Pearl's adventures in the track team with Sana made me think of Japanese shoujo manga (may it be because it was a track team? Or because the girl was named "Sana"? Eheh.) Pearl's family was hilariously evil and Uncle Pascha was great with his long chess game and his Shakespeare quotes.

The story was pretty standard but the author's humorous prose and the characters made it an easy, engrossing read.

There is not much more to say about the book, except that it was a funny, good read. It was what Insatiable by Meg Cabot would have been if the author had managed to write really amusing characters. I really liked Pearl, she was a great protagonist and was amazed at how the author managed to turn an idea that could have gone badly wrong into a gripping story. I think people who are tired of the old cliches of vampire (and YA paranormal) fiction will probably like this.

I don't really do this at all, but I just have to add a "notable quote" from this book. Ah!

"After three gulps of AB-negative, she said. "I saw a My Little Pony refugee. Horselike. Kind of glowy. Big sharp horn. It looked as if it had jumped off a poster from the bedroom of an eight-year-old girl. (...)"

--- "Drink, Slay, Love", page 17.

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In my Mailbox (36)

Nova edição de "In my Mailbox". Esta semana recebi o livro mais recente da Maggie Stiefvater (a autora de "Shiver"), "The Scorpio Races". É sobre cavalos marinhos assassinos. O.o LOL!

The Scorpio Races - Maggie Stiefvater 

The Shadow Reader - Sandy Williams

E vocês o que receberam na vossa Caixa de Correio (What did you get in your mailbox this week?)?

"In my Mailbox" is hosted by The Story Siren.

Review: Shut Out (Kody Keplinger)

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Publisher:  Poppy (2011)
Format: Hardcover | 273 pages
Genre(s): Romance, Young Adult

Description (GR): "Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part,Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention

Then Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. But what Lissa never sees coming is her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling..."

"Shut Out" is a quick, easy read just like "The DUFF", Keplinger's first novel was.

Kody Keplinger tries her hand at writing a modern, teen version of the Greek play "Lysistrata" by Aristophanes with her new novel.

The main character is Lissa Daniels, girlfriend of the quarterback of the football team. Except in her school there isn't only a football team... there's also a soccer team. And they've been at each other's throats forever. So Lissa decides to take action and she and the other players' girlfriends decide to withhold sex until the rivalry is over.

Like I said before I enjoyed this book. I liked the fact that the author managed to tackle an important issue: sex in high school, how differently boys and girls view it and are treated. This matter is handled in a rather obvious manner as the girls get together, talk and basically rehash all the ideas that usually form the core of teen mentality on sex (and of many adults as well, unfortunately). Keplinger exposes the double standard existent in our society concerning sex and gender.
Of course, like I said, the author is 'obvious' about it but I think it's important to pass the message and this is a teen book after all, so the fact that she isn't exactly 'subtle' didn't bother me very much.

Sex and gender issues aside, "Shut Out" is basically a teen romance with all the stereotypes that come with the genre: the jerk boyfriend, the sexy hero (here named Cash Sterling which is as bad as Griffin King, really) and the torn heroine. Misunderstandings and lust ensue.

The characters were pretty much stereotypes and weren't particularly well developed.

Overall, "Shut Out" was a fun, quick read that uncovers the views and prejudices of our modern, supposedly equal society concerning sex. This is explored in a light manner but it still makes an important point: that when we talk about sex there is no normal, no definite rules and that the double standard is actually upheld by both men and most women due mostly to education and wrongful perpetuation of old values. It's not exactly a subtle, layered book but it entertains and tries to address an important subject and that has some merit.
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Review: Mercy (Rebecca Lim)

Mercy by Rebecca Lim

Publisher:  HarperCollins (2010)
Format: Paperback | 281 pages
Genre(s): Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

Description (GR): "An electric combination of angels, mystery and romance, MERCY is the first book in a major new paranormal series.

There's something very wrong with me. I can't remember who I am or how old I am, or even how I got here. All I know is that when I wake up, I could be any one. It is always this way. There's nothing I can keep with me that will stay. It's made me adaptable. I must always re-establish ties. I must tread carefully or give myself away. I must survive. "

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS! 

"Mercy" is an 'angel book'. And I don't usually have much luck with books about angels; I disliked "Hush, Hush" immensely, thought "Fallen" was awful and was even disappointed with "A Touch Mortal". The only exception was "Unearthly" which I thought was a real breath of fresh air.

So I've had "Mercy" on my shelf for a while now but I've been a bit weary of reading it. All this to say that I picked this book up with strong reservations but it ended being a great read!

Mercy doesn't know who or what she is; not really. She doesn't even know if her name is Mercy. She only knows that she takes over random people's bodies again and again, living borrowed life after borrowed life without having any control over when she wakes up in a different one.

She's been living like this for what is seems like forever, losing old memories and building new ones. The only thing that keeps her anchored are her dream conversations with beautiful Luc.

When Mercy wakes up in the body of teenager Carmen Zappacosta she prepares herself for a new life and a new set of memories. She soon becomes immersed in Carmen's life, an insecure girl who sings at a choir and is boarding with a family torn apart by the disappearance of their daughter, Lauren, two years ago. While pretending to be Carmen, Mercy tries to find out what happened with the help of Lauren's twin brother Ryan and at the same time begins to piece together what happened to her.

So... why is "Mercy" different from other YA books with angels?

Rebecca Lim did a brilliant job when creating Mercy that's why. Most YA paranormals feature a supernatural character that is hundreds of years old, but they don't act it. They act like teenagers. Which I can understand, to a point. These books try to appeal to young adult readers after all.

But Lim shows us that you can write a character who's very old and in a teen's body but still realistic. Mercy's voice is weary, tired of life, sardonic at times. She's been through a lot, through lives and it shows. At the same time, the fact that she loses her memories makes her lack the sort of wisdom an immortal being would have. She experiences things over and over again but they never lose their 'freshness' completely. As such she is always level with humans.

Mercy was then, the reason I loved this book so much. Her characterization is great. Other characters are interesting as well, sufficiently multi-layered (especially Ryan and his parents), but Mercy was the real stroke of genius.

As for the story, I liked it well enough. The "mystery" was pretty straightforward, although I must say that the author made me doubt my suspicions once or twice; still the villain ended being who I thought it was.

I preferred to read about Mercy's journey to find herself and her identity. It's not yet over, because she doesn't really know everything, but it seems to be shaping up to be a rather epic and engrossing story.

That's why I'll be getting the rest of the books as soon as possible.

Overall, "Mercy" was, like "Unearthly" a breath of fresh air. I loved Mercy as a character and as the protagonist; she was strong and focused, not flighty like so many heroines in YA books. I really liked what I glimpsed of her story and I want to know more. There is almost no romance in this book, so probably not everyone will enjoy it if they like romance with their books, but I loved the story just the way it was. Recommended!

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