Tag Archives: 50BookPledge2011

Spells, Aprilynne Pike #50BookPledge

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Spells is the second book in Aprilynne Pike’s YA series about Laurel, a sixteen year old girl who just recently discovered she is really a Fall fairy. She has a human boyfriend, David, and is very much attracted to a fellow fairy, Tamani. As a Spring fairy, Tamani is below her in the fairy social hierarchy, so there’s an interesting tension between him being her guide to the fairy world, and thus someone on whom she depends, and him having to walk behind her and having to ask her to ask him to dance. Spells has Laurel spending a summer in the fairy world and learning how to be a fairy. When she goes back to the human world, she then has to deal with trolls, and with David encouraging her to live a more fully human life.

I didn’t read Wings, the first book in the series, but it’s fairly simple enough to catch up, with Pike giving enough background to keep me in the loop without boring those who have read Wings. I did have some unanswered questions though, which I suppose must have been tackled in Wings – what’s this land that Laurel is supposed to protect, why are the trolls after it, and is there any reason (other than her being the only fairy raised as a human) that Laurel is special to the fairy world?

There are some interesting elements in the story. I like how Pike depicts Laurel’s more complicated relationship with her parents now that they know she’s a fairy; Laurel’s mom’s reaction in particular is very realistic. I also like the social hierarchy in the fairy realm, mostly because it enhances the Tamani/Laurel romance. Laurel is clearly uncomfortable with it, and there’s the hint that Laurel may some day lead a fairy revolution. I enjoyed learning about the fairy world, especially about the potions class.

That being said, Spells didn’t grab me. Possibly, there was just too much fairy school and not enough troll-fighting, but I actually liked the fairy realm parts all right. I think it’s more that with such amazing YA series in the market (Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians), this one just pales in comparison. Spells has an okay story, with okay characters and some interesting elements, but it’s nothing special. If you’re an Aprilynne Pike fan, or a fan of fairies in general, and you think you’ll be interested in this story, the paperback of Spells and the hardcover of the third book in the series, Illusions, are both coming out this April.

Bitten, Kelley Armstrong #50BookPledge

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I read this book after about half a dozen people recommended it to me on Twitter. I also learned that she was doing a book signing in Indigo Yorkdale on April 3rd, so I wanted to find out if I liked her books in time to still have the opportunity to get my book signed. Final verdict: count me in on the Kelley Armstrong bandwagon.

Bitten is the story of Elena Forbes, the only female werewolf in existence, who tries to live a normal human life in Toronto (love that detail, actually, especially since Armstrong really uses Toronto landmarks and streets in her book). Her human boyfriend, Philip, is remarkably understanding of Elena’s late-night walks, where, unbeknownst to him, she turns into a werewolf and runs around the city (where was your partner last night, eh?). Pack Alpha Jeremy (my newest literary crush) summons her back to deal with a mutt crisis. Mutts are Pack-less werewolves, and in Bitten, unknown mutts are killing humans in Pack territory, putting the Pack in danger of discovery. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, for Elena, reuniting with the Pack means living with Clay again, the hot werewolf who was once engaged to Elena, and who clearly still has sparks with her. While reading the book, I called the experience “good wolfy fun,” but in all seriousness, even putting hormones aside, Bitten is such an enjoyable read.

Armstrong has created some fascinating characters, and put them in difficult situations. Elena is a strong, independent woman. In a twist from the ordinary, love interest Clay uses her as bait to draw out the bad guys. While quite understandably pissed off, she admits she would’ve been more pissed off if he’d thought her too weak to take care of herself. Smaller and physically weaker than the other, all-male werewolves, Elena nevertheless gives as good as she gets, and makes for some action-packed fight scenes. Clay is also a compelling character – physically attractive, hot-tempered, total bad boy type who obviously loves Elena. He is overall a bit too aggressive to be my literary crush in this book, but towards the end, he shows a very appealing vulnerability. Jeremy as the Pack is a strong leader who commands respect, but also gets overwhelmed by the mutt attack. Even the bad guys are interesting – each has his own motivations and long-term schemes behind their actions, and just watching them interact is like watching politicians try to negotiate for the best deal.

Bitten has compelling characters and an exciting story with emotional pull. It’s the first of Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series, and I’m definitely looking forward to reading the rest of it.

The Baker Street Letters, Michael Robertson #50BookPledge

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As a major Sherlock Holmes fan, this title grabbed my attention immediately. I picked it up, even though a rational part of me warned it was probably a coincidence, and Baker Street Letters had nothing to do with the detective at 221B Baker St at all. To my delight, the summary on the book cover promised a story about a pair of lawyer brothers who happen to lease 221B Baker Street and so receive letters addressed to Sherlock Holmes. I thought this book would be a Sherlockian tale, and I was both excited to read something Sherlockian and wary that Robertson would screw up his treatment of such an icon.

Fair warning: it has absolutely nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes other than the Baker Street address. That being said, it’s a solid enough mystery, with likable enough characters. Twenty years ago, an eight-year-old girl writes to ask Sherlock Holmes for help in finding her missing father. Family black sheep Nigel Heath decides to track the letter writer down. When he is suspected of murder, his rich, successful brother Reggie follows him to LA, and also gets involved in the case. Reggie’s on-again/off-again girlfriend Laura, an actress who is by far the most intelligent in their detective team, also comes to LA to help out. The letter writer’s father had been a geological surveyor investigating possible subway tunnel routes, and there are people who seem desperate to get the documents from the father that the girl had included in her letter to Sherlock Holmes.

It’s not spectacular, and if I decide to read the next book in the series, The Brothers of Baker Street, I’ll borrow it from the library. I don’t think it’s even that I was disappointed that the Sherlock Holmes connection was ultimately nothing more than a gimmick (story would so worked equally well if the eight-year-old girl had written to Nancy Drew or Hercule Poirot or even sent a message in a bottle). I love all sorts of mysteries, ranging from Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie to Diane Mott Davidson (Goldy Schulz’s catering mysteries) and Laura Levine (the hilarious Jaine Austen series). Baker Street Letters is definitely an enjoyable read, but it’s not a series I’ll keep my eye on.

The best part of Baker Street Letters is the relationship between the Heath brothers – Reggie and Nigel clearly have an intense rivalry, but just as clearly feel genuine concern and affection for each other. Laura is an engaging character, and her romance with Reggie (and past potential for romance with Nigel!) is a fun little subplot that really just makes you realize how dense Reggie is when it comes to love. The secondary characters are interesting enough, and in fact, my favourite character is probably a female grad student who helps Reggie out. The mystery is convoluted enough that I didn’t guess the answer till fairly close to the big reveal scene. Decent book, overall.