A Breath of Eyre

Eve Marie Mont's A Breath of Eyre  is an interesting look at a young girl's coming of age.  Reading it while longing for the greatness of the Gothic romance that Jane Eyre is would be like reading James Patterson expecting Agatha Christie.  I did not really like the "reading" that Emma placed on Jane Eyre, but as a method of propelling a young woman to become her own person, it worked.

Jane by April Lindner

Following her parents' death, Jane must drop out of the respected East coast college she been attending because she is broke.  Nearly homeless, Jane makes a desperate attempt at becoming a nanny through a rather reputable agency.  Surprisingly, Jane is just what the agency has been looking for.  Rock-star phenomenon Nico Rathburn needs a nanny for his six-year-old daughter while he launches his huge come back album and tour.  Practical and calm, Jane fits into her employer's life smoothly.  Drawn to the ominous force of Rathburn's character, she reluctantly discovers a depth of love she never dreamed possible wrapped in a forbidden romance.  Secrets are woven into the fabric of life at Thornfield  Park, dark secrets that may destroy any happiness Jane has found.
Openly based on the Gothic romance,  Jane Eyre, Linder's Jane sets the main character from Bronte's masterpiece smack in the middle of modern day America, cell phones, Internet, American Idol and all.  The premise is interesting, and Linder executes the transition beautifully.  Fully engaged, I moved through the story (even though I was familiar with the plot) rapidly .  Jane was endearing and Rathburn magnetic.  One of the problems was the lack of suspense or thrill that Bronte created in the original, perhaps because I was so well versed in the story or maybe because Linder explained things a little too thoroughly.

Some may love Heathcliffe, I love Rochester because of his faults and Rathburn is equally intriguing.  The romance of the forbidden, the love for someone so imperfect is captured fully in Jane.  An excellent entry novel for the more complex original, this novel is recommended for anyone interested in the classic tales of love, loss, and redemption.

Soulless, An Alexia Tarabotti Novel by Gail Carriger

Miss AlexiaTarabotti has no soul.  She lives in an alternative 19th Century where vampires, werewolves and ghosts live -nearly- side by side with daylight beings (humans).  Generally, she goes unnoticed and frequently ignored as she is also a spinster whose father was Italian. Then, she is attacked by an unusually rude vampire in the library of the Snodgrove's home. She accidentally kills the vampire which brings the powerful, handsome, loud, and werewolf, Lord Conall Maccon into her story. Although he loudly argues with Alexia, he also efficiently cleans up the mess and makes it all disappear.  In spite of his best efforts, Miss Tarabotti is now the central suspect of everyone (vampire queens, werewolf alphas, and strange wax creatures) as more socially gauche vampires appear and other rogue vampires and werewolves disappear.

Thinking that this novel would fall heavily in the steampunk fiction genre, I anticipated more intrigue, more gadgetry, more sci-fi.  Still, I seriously enjoyed Alexia's character.  Her complete loyalty to self, her curious mind, her random observations, and even her insecurities made me laugh, made me like her.  The constant banter between Miss Tarabotti and Lord Macoon was charmingly written.  Their lack of self awareness and control was the central propulsion of the plot. I loved it, just the way I loved Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy; Beatrice and Benedict, and Rhett and Scarlet.

If you are expecting a suspenseful, action dense novel, you may be disappointed.  Part urban fantasy, part romance, part mystery, and a splash of steam punk, Soulless is an excursion into a fascinating alternative world, with delightful characters and plenty of touchy, kissy, descriptive, romance stuff.  Myself, I am anxious to read the second novel, Changeless (a NY Times Best Seller).

Bess Crawford Series by Charles Todd

Mother-son duo, the Todds have created another fabulous protagonist, Bess Crawford, a WWI nurse whose upbringing is not that of a typical British upper class daughter.  Colonel Crawford was stationed in India for Bess's childhood, and as a result Bess is determined, honorable, and carries a strong sense of duty.  In the first of the series, A Duty to the Dead, Bess is injured on the Britannica when it is struck and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea.  Her brush with death spurs her on to fulfill a commitment she made to a dying patient, Arthur Graham.  She must deliver a cryptic message to one of his brothers, Jonathan, in Kent.  Once the message is delivered, Bess feels no sense of relief.  The Graham's treat the message with apparent indifference. As she persists in her duty to Arthur, Bess finds herself embroiled in their family secrets that involve an insane, murderous, older half brother.  And for the first time, Bess's sense of duty places her in life threatening danger.

 Bess's honor draws her into yet another dangerous situation in An Impartial Witness, the second novel in the Bess Crawford series.  Returning to the front after delivering a seriously burned pilot, Lieutenant Evanson, to England for further treatment, Bess notices an obviously upset woman pleading with an indifferent soldier at the train station.  His coolness is striking, but most shocking of all is the fact that the woman is Evanson's wife, Marjorie.  Bess is stunned when weeks later she sees a rough sketch of Marjorie in a newspaper. Marjorie disappeared the very day Bess saw her, and the police need information.  Bess can't help herself, especially after the lieutenant slits his own throat, she begins her own search for the man at the train station, a man who may be the murderer.

In A Bitter Truth, trouble literally lands on the doorstep of Bess's London home.  Huddled against the freezing rain, a woman, Lydia Ellis, is bruised and terrified when Bess finds her.  Tea, a night's rest, and Bess's comforting presence finally convince Lydia to reveal the story of the argument she had with her husband whose response was violence.  Once the story is out, Lydia is ready to return home, and begs Bess to join her.  In Sussex, at Vixen Hall, death is prominent for they are mourning Lydia's brother-in-law Arthur, a recent victim of the war.  The darkness of death soon takes the form of murder, David Hughes, a family friend, is discovered dead the morning after he accidentally revealed a secret while drunk during dinner at Vixen Hall.  A suspect in the case, Bess cannot leave until the true murderer is caught. So, she really can't help herself, stuck; she launches her own inquires that once again lead her into the sites of a killer.

Like their Ian Rutledge series, the Todd's have created a fascinating central character true to the time frame.  Bess is not a modern woman dropped into the past, she is truly a determined woman from World War I.  Her character, her intelligence and her upbringing gift her with the talents and strength required to unravel the marvellous puzzles created by the Todds.  The Bess Crawford series like the Rutledge series presents an in-depth and intriguing look at life during in England during World War I.

And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

The one duty required of Emily as a Victorian woman is to marry and marry well. She want nothing to do with marriage.  Then, she meets Philip, the Viscount Ashton, a single-minded hunter, who proposes marriage and Emily sees that she can escape her nagging, controlling mother.  Right after their wedding and honeymoon, Philip leaves for Africa where he dies of a fever.  Now, Emily is an independent woman, and as a widow can do things she never could as a single young woman.  When she discovers Philip's journals nearly two years later, she discovers a very different man than whom she thought Philip was --a scholar, a collector of antiquities and a man who loved his wife passionately.  As Emily delves deeper into the mystery of her husband, she uncovers danger wherever she goes and juggling the attentions of two powerful suitors, one of whom may be the source of  great trouble just complicates everything.

Always fascinated with history, I love reading historical mysteries, what I usually hate about them is that the heroine is always a modern 20th century woman dropped into an historical setting.  Alexander's protagonist, Emily, is a real turn of the century character.  She matures in emotion, academics, individualism and strength, from a woman whose life has been dictated by her mother, societal norms and briefly her husband to emerge a stronger, albeit flawed, Victorian woman. 

Girl in the Arena

Lyn has grown up in the limelight, mostly because of her mother and fathers. Yes, plural. Seven Gladiators have been father and stepfather to Lyn, but now they are all gone. The last, like the others, was killed in the ring. It was unbelievable! Everything she has wanted to escape, the gladiator life, her mother, and marriage come crashing down one her at once. Suddenly, she is now required to marry her father's killer. Everything in her cries out, but there is another option; she can enter the ring, herself, and fight her father's killer.

I'm not that fond of books that I can't place in a definite time period. Girl in the Arena seems to be set in a parallel world or alternate world. It's in the future in some ways, but also feels very contemporary. This bothered me, but I eventually adapted, mostly because Lyn is a fascinating character, as are her circumstances. She faces life bravely, with a huge, caring heart and mind of a teenager forced to be the grown-up. At the same time, she is a genuine teenager with a stubborness and determination that ties her to her prinicpals and pull her through as she faces and unjust and cruel system.

Obviously, violence is an integral part of the story, but it is certainly not venerated. While the novel has something of a dystopian feel that teens will be drawn to, it's strongest appeal lies in the coming of age story that Lyn transitions through.

Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Just like I fell in love with classic films about cunning cat burglar's like Oceans Eleven , and "Entrapment", I fell in love with Kat and her crew in Heist Society the first novel in Ally Carter's con-man and thief family, the Bishops. I attacked Uncommon Criminals anxious for more clever ruses, slick plans, and danger at every turn.

Definitely NOT disappointed. This time Kat, who has begun working on her own, leaving her crew behind to right the wrongs created by the Nazi thieves, faces the forbidden. She has been asked to steal the Cleopatra Emerald. Uncle Eddie has dictated that no one in the family EVER go after the Cleopatra, and no one has until Kat and her crew set off to get it from an unscrupulous art dealer to return it to it's rightful owner. Kat's plan works flawlessly and that is when the real trouble begins.

Carter's characters are flawed, young, talented and very, very real in spite of their unique circumstances. I love them and can't wait to meet up with them again in the next book.