Bibliophile Support Group

Another Throwback Review, this time from February 2012. Take a looksie: The Game of Triumphs is a YA urban fantasy by Laura Powell. Fifteen-year-old Cat is on her way home, doing her best to avoid human contact as always, when she can’t help but notice a man being chased – a man that asks for her help. But Cat sees the gleam of excitement in his eyes, along with the fear, and figures he’s just a weirdo. Yet something about it all sparks her curiosity, and Cat can’t seem to help pursuing the situation. Doing so brings her to an extravagant party that introduces her to the Game of Triumphs. It’s a centuries-old game played between modern-day London and an alternate, unexplainable reality called the Arcanum where game players embark on challenges having to do with the tarot cards they are dealt, or the card they are trying to win. It’s all a bit confusing to Cat at first, but the intrigue is undeniable. Not long after becoming involved in this enigmatic game, though...

Another throwback review this week! This one was posted originally in July 2009 and is still one of my favorites! Here ya go: Eyes Like Stars in the first book by Lisa Mantchev in the Theatre Illuminata trilogy. Bertie lives on a stage. Her friends are fairies from A Midsummer Night’s Dream . Her crush is Nate, a pirate from The Little Mermaid . And her childhood friend and now frenemie is Ariel, a hunky spirit from The Tempest . That’s right. On the stage Bertie lives on, all those characters from all those plays? They’re alive and bursting with drama. And not just the characters from Shakespeare. Every single play that has ever been written is represented in The Book. The Book that makes all of this possible. The Book that creates the magic. But Bertie isn’t one of these characters; the theatre has taken her in, with a rather murky explanation as to why. It is her home. The only place she knows. However, Bertie isn’t the most gracious of guests. She can’t seem...

Cruel Beauty is a YA retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Rosamund Hodge. Nyx’s birth was the result of a bargain between her father and the evil ruler of their kingdom, the Gentle Lord Ignifex. In order to provide Nyx’s mother with children, the Gentle Lord secured the promise that one of the daughter’s would become his bride. Her father never thought to confirm that his wife would be able to survive the birthing. No one ever does think through their bargain entirely… Since her childhood, Nyx has been being prepared to marry the Gentle Lord – this demon king who caused the death of her own mother. Her family preps her to kill him, to enact the ultimate revenge and save their people from his ongoing bargains and tyranny of curses. So it is that on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx weds the immortal Gentle Lord via a stone proxy in the town church and proceeds to the mysterious castle that no one but the desperate – looking for a deal – ever comes near. Yet Igni...

The Lost Track of Time is a debut middle grade novel by Paige Britt. With her mind full of ideas and bursting with imagination, Penelope has aspirations of being a writer. Yet her mother’s plans for her are quite different – and every minute of Penelope’s days are scheduled and planned, leaving no time for her dreaming since she must use time to be “productive.” But when the unexpected happens – a hole in her schedule lasting an entire day! – Penelope somehow falls into it. Suddenly she is in a wonderful place called the Realm of Possibility that is being destroyed by the Clockworkers, led by the villain Chronos. Thrust into a position where her imagination is desperately needed, Penelope begins an adventure like no other – looking to find the Great Moodler, the one person that can save the Realm of Possibility and answer her many, many questions. The Lost Track of Time was a charming, intelligent, warm novel of brilliant wordplay! Anyone who is familiar with my reading ha...

The Unnaturalists is a YA alt-Victorian steampunk novel by Tiffany Trent. Fascinated with her father’s work in the Museum of Unnatural History, Vespa Nyx enjoys spending her days cataloging the Unnatural creatures of their world. Yet her unusual hobby is growing less and less socially acceptable as she nears seventeen and is expected to be a respectable young lady with marriage prospects. Just when Vespa is beginning to sullenly accept her tedious fate, strange accidents begin to happen at the museum and she finds herself running into a young Tinker boy that believes she has a role to play in the future of New London – as a witch. But witchcraft is the worst possible violation in New London and punishable by death… As a fan of steampunk, I was very excited to read The Unnaturalists and had been wanting to for quite some time. Tiffany Trent excellently presents a fleshed out alternative world with magical creatures, various cultures and even a legend of how New London came ...

The School for Good and Evil: The Last Ever After is the final book in the middle grade fantasy trilogy by Soman Chainani. As a huge fan of The School for Good and Evil and The School for Good and Evil: A World Without Princes , I pre-ordered this last book. If you have not read the prior two books, I would strongly suggest avoiding this review for any potential spoilers – the books are too good to spoil!! I am trusting that you are not continuing to read unless you are already a fan… Back in Gavaldon, Agatha is happy that her prince, Tedros, is not really a prince in her hometown – and neither is she a future queen. Yet, very quickly, she begins to doubt their Ever After. Part of the problem is that Tedros and Agatha’s story has not truly finished yet – it is still being written. Their tale is still connected with Agatha’s old best friend, Sophie. Now enemies with Agatha, Sophie has embraced the now young School Master, whom has convinced her of their love and that love o...

The Color of Magic is the first book in the bestselling Discworld fantasy series by Terry Pratchett. On the back of a giant turtle stands four enormous elephants and on the back of those elephants the Discworld is balanced. As the giant turtle hurtles through space, the inhabitants of the Discworld live a life not grounded so much in logic as much as illogic. One of those inhabitants is Rincewind – a wizard to the most minimal degree, having been thrown out of the Unseen University after absorbing one of the original spells of creation entirely by accident. When his path crosses with Twoflower – a tourist with Luggage that walks by his side on multiple legs – he is pressed upon to act as a tour guide. A tourist is something entirely new to Discworld – after all, why on earth would someone want to see the sights when the sights are as unwelcoming, violent and ridiculous as they are? Two answers: adventure and lunacy. I have long heard of Terry Pratchett – and being a lov...

Frostfire is a contemporary fantasy by Amanda Hocking, as well as the start of the Kanin Chronicles . As an outcast in the powerful troll tribe of Kanin, her half-breed heritage betraying Bryn with something as simple as her blonde hair, there has been one thing she has been determined to do: climb up the ladder of success as a tracker to eventually become one of the King’s Guard elite. When a shocking attempt on her father’s life occurs during her first official tracker duty, that aim is met with another strong aspiration – to catch, and potentially kill, Konstantin, whom before the startling incident was a rising star in the King’s Guard and a secret crush of Bryn’s. Now, four years later, Bryn and all of Kanin are rattled by the kidnapping of changelings. And when a connection to Konstantin is made, will Bryn sacrifice one of her goals for the other? Frostfire appears to be a spinoff of a successful prior Amanda Hocking series called the Trylle Trilogy . I have to say ...

The Well of Lost Plots is the third book in the book lover’s fantasy series Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde. Though it’s been said that these books stand well on their own – I still STRONGLY recommend reading them in order. That means The Eyre Affair first, Lost in a Good Book second and THEN The Well of Lost Plots . To avoid any potential spoilers for the first two books, I also recommend not reading this review unless you’ve read the prior novels. Deal? After burning some serious bridges at her Spec Ops-27 Literary Detective job, being pursued by the power-mad Goliath Corporation and continuing to carry the child of a husband that no longer exists, Thursday had to get away. Where better to get away than inside a book? Being one of the rare individuals that has entered BookWorld as a non-fictional character, Thursday has been granted permission to participate in the Character Exchange program – allowing a character in the unpublished Caversham Heights go on holiday while T...

Angelic Upstart is a YA contemporary fantasy – and third book in the Alex Trueman trilogy – by Martin Dukes. To fully appreciate and enjoy this trilogy, I strongly recommend reading these books in order. First there is Caught in a Moment and then Worm Winds of Zanzibar . If you haven’t read them yet, to prevent being spoiled – don’t read this review! Instead, click on those titles to begin reading about Alex Trueman’s adventures! I’m trusting that the only bibliophiles still reading are caught up with the series… Returning to normalcy is not as easy as you’d think. Not for Alex. After first spending a horrific, mind-bending time in the time-frozen world of Intersticia and then an alternate version of Zanzibar, not to mention the angelic realm of Elysium, normalcy is, well, boring… Plus, he’s been encouraged to cease using his abilities. While his friends adapt back to their reality, Alex struggles – and eventually gets involved with a mysterious, fascinating archangel ...

Lost in a Good Book is an adult fantasy, sci-fi, bibliophile’s dream by Jasper Fforde. It is also the second book in the Thursday Next series – the first of which was The Eyre Affair , read my review here . Truly these books transcend genres and are just stunning achievements in creativity and surrealism. I strongly, strongly recommend reading The Eyre Affair before Lost in a Good Book . Deal??? Thursday – renowned Special Operative in literary detection - is happily married and resting after a duel to the death with dangerous criminal and murderer Acheron Hades. Yet the massive Goliath Corporation – with far too many strongholds in the government – has not forgotten how Thursday entered Jane Eyre to accomplish her feat. Nor have they forgotten to pursue the means of doing so themselves. In order to blackmail Thursday into releasing one of their errant employees – Jack Schitt – from the The Raven, Goliath eradicates someone Thursday loves dearly – leaving her as the only r...

A Wrinkle in Time is a classic sci-fi children’s novel by Madeline L’Engle. I know, I know. This another one of those, “How could you not have read this yet?” books. Well, I’m getting around to them!!! Many of you have probably already read A Wrinkle in Time – but for any of you who haven’t, join me in fixing this literary crime. It’s a stormy, windy night when Meg simply cannot fall asleep in her attic bedroom. Wandering down the stairs she is joined by her beautiful, scientist mother and little brother Charles Wallace. It’s on this night that the mystery of her father’s disappearance begins to unravel. It’s on this night that the marked difference of Charles Wallace becomes all the clearer. It’s on this night that Meg meets Mrs. Whatsit. Thus begins a journey of Meg, Charles Wallace and new friend Calvin O’Keefe – a journey that will reveal that far more is out there in creation than she could have ever imagined – including her father. It’s a journey fraught with pe...

Blackfin Sky is a YA contemporary paranormal debut novel by Kat Ellis. Blackfin is a town where strange things happen. People don’t blink at the abnormal and townsfolk don’t question the unexplained. Yet when Skylar Rousseau heads into school one day and finds everyone staring at her in utter shock – due to the fact that apparently they all saw her dead and buried three months ago – she believes things have gotten a lot stranger. Sky has no memory of dying – in fact, she remembers life as usual for the last three months. She can’t deny, though, that she’s the only one with this perspective. Every single other person in Blackfin is astounded to see her – and for once, they are asking questions. As Sky finds herself beginning to have odd, vivid dreams about a grimy circus in the middle of the woods, she knows that something is up. She becomes determined to find out what has happened to her. Her need to unravel the truth about herself – it just may unravel other truths abou...

The Cracks in the Kingdom is a YA contemporary fantasy and the second novel in the Colors of Madeline books by Jaclyn Moriarty. These books are just too fantastic to muddle up by reading out of order! Definitely read A Corner of White first and only proceed with this review if you have already done so! Understood? At the conclusion of A Corner of White we found out that in the Kingdom of Cello dimwitted teenage Princess Ko might not actually be as dimwitted as she’s led everyone to believe – that instead she’s been pretending the rest of the royal family hadn’t disappeared without a trace a year ago and has been running the government all by herself, secretly, in the meantime. Outwardly running a Royal Youth Alliance as a cheerful publicity stunt, Princess Ko has roped Elliot into her scheme to find her family – and her strong belief that they were taken to the World. Though Elliot really just wants to look for his own missing father, he’s essentially forced to help Princ...

Dreams of Gods & Monsters is the third and final novel in the YA contemporary fantasy Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor. This is definitely a trilogy that you HAVE to read in order. If you haven’t yet read the acclaimed first novel Daughter of Smoke & Bone or the blockbusting second book Days of Blood & Starlight , click on the titles to read my reviews – and go forth and read both books!!! Then you can read this review of Dreams of Gods & Monsters . Got it? Karou made a choice – after a violent attack – that is both a staggering deception to her people, the chimaera, and also their only hope to end the never-ending revenge that plagues their world. Knowing the truth is not easy – nor is following through with a complicated, layered plot to ally with those long considered enemies in order to stop Jael’s machinations that are turning the human world upside down and putting them in terrible danger. This throws Karou together with Akiva – ...

A Corner of White is a YA contemporary mashed with fantasy by Jaclyn Moriarty, it’s also the first book in The Colors of Madeline trilogy. Since leaving their ritzy life behind for Cambridge, Madeline and her mother have barely gotten by with a single sewing machine and beans nearly every night. Sometimes Madeline really wonders why she ran away from that life. So do her friends. Truly, it’s all very mysterious and pretty hard to believe. Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Cello, Elliot has returned home to Bonfire in The Farms after yet another unsuccessful search for his father – who disappeared after an attack by a third-level Purple that left his uncle dead a year and a half ago. Not everyone believes that’s what happened though. There are rumors that his father wasn’t taken at all, but may have murdered his own brother and ran off with the high-school physics teacher. Elliot refuses to believe this. Then, one day, Madeline and Elliot begin to correspond – there’s a lit...

Neverwas is a YA sophisticated haunted house story, and the second in the Amber House Trilogy , by Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed and Larkin Reed. If you haven’t read Amber House , reading Neverwas will not only cause spoilers of the first book – it’ll also be super confusing. Do yourself a favor – read my review of Amber House here and then read the book. Amber House is extremely awesome – you’ll be glad you listened. If you have read the stupendous Amber House , then read on for a brief synopsis of Neverwas . After the death of her grandmother, beloved by her family and community, Sarah Parsons has come to live at Amber House – a centuries-old estate that has been passed down through generations and carries ghostly echoes of the past. Before long, Sarah begins to get a sensation that things are… wrong … somehow. Different. As the American Confederation of States still struggles with segregation, tension is building in town – but even more so in Sarah as she starts to beli...

Tandem is a YA contemporary sci-fi novel featuring the concept of parallel worlds by Anna Jarzab. Sixteen year old Sasha has long gotten over her diehard crush on popular yet nice senior Grant. Yet when he out-of-the-blue strikes up a conversation with her – at the library no less – her heart can’t help but go-a-thumping. When he states interest in taking her to the prom, Sasha can hardly believe it – but Grant is believable and seems to really like her – despite how invisible she’s felt for so long. Of course it was all too good to be true. Stories of parallel worlds where an alternate Sasha is living an alternate life were fairy-tales to Sasha’s as she grew up with her theoretical physicist grandfather after her parents’ death when she was young. Now? All too real. Sasha is thrust into an alternate universe in which the other version of herself is a princess that has vanished less than two weeks before her arranged marriage to a rival country’s prince. And now Sasha i...