Book Review: Remembrance by Meg Cabot

Members of the Vise Library were selected to review Remembrance.  We received a copy of Meg Cabot's book for an honest review.

About the book:

Fifteen years after the release of the first Mediator novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot returns with a deliciously sexy new entry to a fan-favorite series. Suze Simon—all grown up and engaged to her once-ghostly soulmate—faces a vengeful spirit and an old enemy bent on ending Suze's wedded bliss before it begins.

You can take the boy out of the darkness.

But you can’t take the darkness out of the boy.

All Susannah Simon wants is to make a good impression at her first job since graduating from college (and since becoming engaged to Dr. Jesse de Silva).

But when she’s hired as a guidance counselor at her alma mater, she stumbles across a decade-old murder, and soon ancient history isn’t all that’s coming back to haunt her. Old ghosts as well as new ones are coming out of the woodwork, some to test her, some to vex her, and it isn’t only because she’s a mediator, gifted with second sight. 

From a sophomore haunted by the murderous specter of a child, to ghosts of a very different kind—including Paul Slater, Suze’s ex, who shows up to make a bargain Suze is certain must have come from the Devil himself—Suze isn’t sure she’ll make it through the semester, let alone to her wedding night.

Suze is used to striking first and asking questions later. But what happens when ghosts from her past—including one she found nearly impossible to resist—strike first?

What happens when old ghosts come back to haunt you?

If you’re a mediator, you might have to kick a little ass.

Suze is back and she's brought Jesse, Paul & all of the ghosts she helps go to the other side with her.  It's been a few years since we've heard from her and this story fills us in on everything that has happened since the last Mediator book.  Jesse is in his medical residency and Suze is on her way to becoming a counselor.  They both have their plans but those could be in jeopardy for so many reasons.  One of those roadblocks in her way is Paul, a not so friendly person from her past, and he is trying to strike a deal with her that could harm Jesse.  Suze is also dealing with a very angry (and dangerous) ghost.  She has to dig into the past in order to find out why the ghost is hurting people.  Like all the other books in this series, Cabot delivers so much wit through this character.  I was laughing at all of Suze's crazy antics and the adventures that she experiences.  Fans of these books will love the addition to this series.  I am so glad that I was able to visit with Suze and friends again!

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About the author:

Meg Cabot is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of books for both adults and tweens/teens. There have been over 25 million copies of Meg's nearly 80 published books sold in 38 countries. Her last name rhymes with habit, as in "her books can be habit forming." She currently lives in Key West, Florida with her husband and various cats. 

Meg's first ever adult book in the Princess Diaries series, "Royal Wedding", will be available in Summer 2015, along with an installment of the series for younger readers, "From the Notebook of a Middle School Princess". "Remembrance", a new book in the Mediator series will be available in February of 2016.

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Book Review: Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers

Members of the Vise Library were selected to review Assassin's Heart.  We received a copy of Sarah Ahiers' book for an honest review.

About the book:

With shades of Game of Thrones and Romeo and Juliet, this richly imagined fantasy from debut author Sarah Ahiers is a tale of love, lies, and vengeance. Fans of Kristin Cashore and Rae Carson will devour the flawlessly crafted action and inventive world building.

Seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana is a trained assassin. She was born into one of the nine clipper Families in the kingdom of Lovero who lawfully take lives for a price. As a member of the highest-ranking clan, loyalty to Family is valued above all, but that doesn't stop Lea from getting into a secret relationship with Val Da Via, a boy from a rival clan. Despite her better judgment, Lea has fallen in love with him; but she's confident she can anticipate any threat a mile away.

Then she awakens one night to a house full of smoke. Although she narrowly escapes, she isn't able to save her Family as their home is consumed by flames. With horror, she realizes that Val and his Family are the only ones who could be responsible. Devastated over his betrayal and the loss of her clan, there's just one thing on her mind: making the Da Vias pay. The heart of this assassin craves revenge.

Lea Saldana is living the life her family has been called to:a clipper assassin for the Goddess of death.  Her family has always been the top assassin family, until recently anyways.  Their numbers are no longer what they once were and another assassin family, the Da Vias, is the sworn enemy to the Saldana Family.  Lea has a secret though: she has been secretly dating a member of the Da Via family, Val.  They are in "love" or so Lea thinks until the night her entire family is killed by the Da Via Family.  Lea doesn't know if Val is involved but she decides that the whole Da Via Family must pay for the murder of her family.  Lea survives the attack and flees to another area to plot her revenge.  She seeks out an exiled member of her family (her uncle) in order to gain secrets of the Da Via Family.  Her plans do not go exactly as planned: her uncle refuses to help, a lawman has it out for her, she is being hunted by multiple assassin families and she meets someone posing as a clipper.  

Assassin's Heart is a very thought out world and the concepts are very interesting.  There is a lot of tension and action to make this such an enjoyable read!  Lea is very good at her job, but she also isn't perfect.  She has to think through her plans and constantly adapt.  There are so many twists and turns to this book about faith and loyalty.  I think readers will enjoy the world building and character development of this book.  This book releases in February!  Make sure to check our Popular Collections shelf for this one; you wont be disappointed!

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About the author:

I was born on a February afternoon 2 minutes before my twin sister. Angels wept or something, I suppose.

After a happy childhood filled with fun and family, I obtained a BA in English with an emphasis in fiction writing from the University of Minnesota, during which I was a bookseller. I also spent a semester as the fiction editor of The Wayfarer, the literary magazine for the U of MN.

I am currently enrolled in Hamline University's MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults and am repped by Mollie Glick of Foundry Literary + Media

I live in a suburb of St Paul, MN in a house I own with my twin sister. We share the house with our brother, 3 dogs, 4 guinea pigs, 2 cockatiels, fish and occasional foster animals from the shelter.

Besides writing and reading, I enjoy dogs, animals, my family, board games, yard games, video games, cooking, gardening and dressing up for the MN Renaissance Festival.

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Book Review: Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman

Members of the Vise Library were selected to review Blackhearts.  We received a copy of Nicole Castroman's book for an honest review.

About the book:

In this stunningly creative debut, Nicole Castroman reimagines the origins of history's most infamous pirate--Blackbeard--and tells the story of the girl who captured his heart and ultimately set him on his path of destruction.

When Edward "Teach" Drummond, son of one of Bristol's richest merchants, returns home from a year at sea, he finds his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn't love and sick of the high society he was born into, all Teach wants is to return to the vast ocean he calls home. There's just one problem: he must convince his father to let him leave and never come back.

Following the death of her parents, Anne Barrett is left penniless. Though she's barely worked a day in her life, Anne takes a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks and Anne longs to escape the confines of her now mundane life. How will she ever achieve her dream of sailing to Curaçao--her mother's birthplace--when she's trapped in England?

From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn together by a shared desire for freedom, but kept apart by Teach's father, their love is as passionate as it is forbidden. Faced with an impossible choice, Teach and Anne must decide whether to chase their dreams and leave England forever--or follow their hearts and stay together.

Castroman's novel offers a unique perspective on how Blackbeard became to be and how he settled down the path of not being Edward Teach (who was a pretty put together guy).  Anne is a maid that works for Edward's father.  She is the daughter of a slave and a respected business man.  However, Edward's father does not know this.  Anne was brought to this house by her (not-so-nice) half brother after both of her parent's died.  At first, Anne has a rough encounter with Edward, but over time they both realize how much they have in common: feeling trapped, no capabilities to make their own decisions, enjoying the simple life and caring about much more than titles and money.  They form a unique bond and have plans to leave London until both of them are tricked by several people.  

I enjoyed the backstory of what made Blackbeard "Blackbeard."  You find out how the names Queen Anne and Blackbeard came to be.  There are several twists to this book that made for a very enjoyable read.  I think readers will enjoy the plot of this book and how the story shows how Edward evolves.  There really isn't anything not to like about this book,  but seriously who doesn't love a good pirate story? :)  Our copy will be available for checkout when this book releases in February!

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      Parnassus Books

About the author:

Nicole was lucky enough to come with her very own best friend...she has a twin sister who can read her mind and finish her sentences for her. 

At the age of 13, she went to Europe for the first time and it changed her life. She loves learning about different people, languages and cultures and speaks fluent German. She knows enough Spanish to get herself into trouble and can still read the Cyrillic alphabet from when she studied Russian.

She received her B.A. from Brigham Young University and has lived in Germany, Austria and two different places called Georgia. One is located on the Black Sea. The other is the state of Georgia where she now lives with her handsome husband and two beautiful children who continue to amaze her.

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Book Review: Starflight by Melissa Landers

Members of the Vise Library were selected to review Starflight.  We received a copy of Melissa Landers' book for an honest review.

About the book:

Solara Brooks needs a fresh start, someplace where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. The outer realm may be lawless, but

it's not like the law has ever been on her side.

Still, off-world travel doesn't come cheap; Solara is left with no choice but to indenture herself in exchange for passage to the outer realm. She just wishes it could have been to anyone besides Doran Spaulding, the rich, pretty-boy quarterback who made her life miserable in school.

The tables suddenly turn when Doran is framed for conspiracy on Earth, and Solara cons him into playing the role of her servant on board the Banshee, a ship manned by an eccentric crew with their own secrets. Given the price on both Doran and Solara's heads, it may just be the safest place in the universe.

It's been a long time since Solara has believed in anyone, and Doran is the last person she expected to trust. But when the Banshee's dangerous enemies catch up with them, Solara and Doran must come together to protect the ship that has become their home-and the eccentric crew that feels like family.

Before I review this book, I can't help but mention how gorgeous the cover for this book is!  I love all of it: this ship, the planet, the gold from the ship.  Basically, it is fabulous.  This book centers around the characters Solara (the girl who is anxious to make a new life for herself as a mechanic on another planet after being pegged a criminal) and Doran (the spoiled rich boy  who has always been mean to Solara).  In order for Solara to be able to afford travel to the area that she has gained employment, she must travel with Doran as his servant.  He makes her life far from easy and in the end it backfires on him.  At some point during their journey together Solara is able to switch the bands that identify her as Doran's servant.  Of course, Doran is mad when he finds out what happened, but there is nothing he can do about it once he learns that the authorities are after him for some unknown crime.  The two are able to secure passage on a ship of misfits that takes them across the galaxy and through some pretty sticky situations.  The two learn that the image that they had of the other may not be an accurate representation.  There are some surprises and great characters too.  This books is full of adventure that never has a dull moment.  You will not be disappointed once you get your hands on this book!

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About the author:

Melissa Landers (melissa-landers.com) is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn't afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public--just ask her husband and three kids. She lives outside Cincinnati in the small town of Loveland, "Sweetheart of Ohio."

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Book Review: Curio by Evangeline Denmark

Members of the Vise Library were selected to review Curio.  We received a copy of Evangeline Denmark's book for an honest review.

About the book:

Grey Haward has always detested the Chemists, the magicians-come-scientists who rule her small western town. But she has always followed the rules, taking the potion the Chemists ration out that helps the town’s people survive. A potion that Grey suspects she—like her grandfather and father—may not actually need.

By working at her grandfather’s repair shop, sorting the small gears and dusting the curio cabinet inside, Grey has tried to stay unnoticed—or as unnoticed as a tall, strong girl can in a town of diminutive, underdeveloped citizens. Then her best friend, Whit, is caught by the Chemists’ enforcers after trying to protect Grey one night, and after seeing the extent of his punishment, suddenly taking risks seems the only decision she can make.

But with the risk comes the reality that the Chemists know her family’s secret, and the Chemists soon decide to use her for their own purposes. Panicked, Grey retreats to the only safe place she knows—her grandfather’s shop. There, however, a larger secret confronts her when her touch unlocks the old curio cabinet in the corner and reveals a world where porcelain and clockwork people are real. There, she could find the key that may save Whit’s life and also end the Chemists’ dark rule forever.

To be honest, I have never read a Steampunk novel before this book by Evangeline Denmark.  So I was intrigued by the concept of Curio and decided to give it a shot.  I do not know if I can do it justice by describing what it was about (I will do my best).  Grey is the heroine of this novel and in her world, there is a group of people that set limitations on others.  Grey has lost her brother and there is a secret that her family is keeping from her.  She has been spurred into action after trying to help the person that is essentially her best friend, Whit.  In order to help Whit, she travels to another world through a curio cabinet.  There is a bunch of stuff that happens (read the book) but Grey stumbles upon something even bigger than she thought possible.  What she learns could possibly save her family and other people that are being mistreated in her world.  This book involves a lot of world building that was unique to me.  This book overall is about injustice (and fighting it), being strong, love and going on an adventure along the way.  I think readers will enjoy the adventure and all of the great characters involved.  This books releases today and is available in our popular collection.  Give it a try!

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About the author:

Evangeline Denmark cannot sing. This tragic discovery led to bouts of angst-ridden poetry writing in her teens, an ill-advised relationship with Edward Fairfax Rochester, and the compulsive creation of her own fictional worlds. 
Having found her true voice, Evangeline writes fiction with hints of whimsy, glimmers of fantasy, and strokes of the supernatural. Her debut novel, Curio, sets coming-of-age and first love against a backdrop of steam-propelled greed and societal repression. For a peek into the origins of the Curio world check out the prequel novella, Mark of Blood and Alchemy.
Evangeline lives in Colorado with her husband, an engineer with a sense of humor and an artistic streak, two ravenous sons who steal her laptop and demand dinner, a cat, two turtles, and a cattle dog who runs the house.

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