One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire

I’ve reviewed the October Daye Series, confessing that it is a guilty pleasure of mine to follow the series.  This most recent book, the fifth in the series, was very enjoyable.  In One Salt Sea Toby Daye has to solve the kidnapping of the princes of the Undersea Duchy of Saltmist.  There has been bad blood between the land and the sea kingdoms, including death threats, so the Land Duchy of Saltmist is the first suspect.  Which will mean war between the Land and Sea, and frankly, the Land armies are not up to challenge.   

I can’t really talk about this book without giving away the ending.  So, if you haven’t read it yet and want it to be a surprise, here’s a quick review: if you’ve enjoyed the other books in the series, you’ll love One Salt Sea.  You get more details about the world, the rules of faerie, the special abilities and complex histories of the different races.  Toby’s family also makes another appearance.  There are things about the “changeling’s choice” that I find a little odd, but they are dealt with well in this book.  I have yet to understood why a faery would choose to be in a relationship with a human in this world, since half-blooded children are scorned by seemingly all purebloods, including their parents, and if the children choose to be human then they are killed.  It’s like a lose-lose situation for everyone.  But for Toby’s family, it comes to an acceptable resolution. 

Spoiler Alert --  

I’ve wondered for a while how the love triangle between Toby, Tybalt, and Connor was going to be resolved.  Toby seems by turns amused and irritated by Tybalt and Connor being jealous of one another, posturing, and then teaming up to save her.  Connor’s death was really unsettling, but isn’t death supposed to be that way?  At first I wished that there had been more to it, that he hadn’t simply died because of negligence.  If only Toby or anyone had been more aware of the situation, then he could have lived.  He would have been asleep for the next hundred years, still effectively separating him and Toby (unless she changed the balance of her blood again).  But as the story continued and we are finally given the history behind the Selkies, and why the Sea Witch despises them so, I could see a certain elegance in Connor’s death.  It was integral to setting up future works.  A point that I brought up in my earlier review of the series was that Seanan McGuire seemed to hold the lives of her characters very cheap.  People died at an alarming rate, often without really providing more beyond a higher body count and a couple of people to irrationally blame October for their troubles.  I think that her view on death has changed a little, or she has at least learned to handle it better.  Even one of the villains of the piece gets a shot at redemption. 

This was a satisfying read, finally, and I look forward to the next book.

Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln's Mother...

Wicked Plants:  The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other
Botanical Atrocities, by Amy Stewart.
Guest Review by Jennifer Cuddeback

My reading passions run more towards nonfiction, and so I was invited
to give a review of a recent nonfiction read for this blog to help add
variety.

Wicked Plants, written by Amy Stewart, is a layman's foray into
botanical warfare, and is handled with aplomb.  If you're looking for
a narrative book, this is not it - I wanted to get that out of the way
in the beginning.  It's written rather like an encyclopedia, except
instead of being arranged alphabetically, it is arranged thematically.
Steward often gives historical uses or perspectives on the plants she
discusses, such as how certain plants got their names.  For example,
the plant we call Jimson Weed owes it's name to the colony at
Jamestown and to it's use during the Revolutionary War.  Steward's
auto-didactic style ranges from literature and ancient history to
little known facts, and the connections she makes are quite
interesting to the lay reader.  There is again no central narrative or
plot to tie the information together, but the book holds a wicked
fascination all its own even without that.  The reader might wish for
more details about some plants - more anecdotes or references - and
occasionally the layout is confusing.  For instance, one plant may
appear in one area while a very similar and related plant appears in a
completely different place.  However, the overall feel of the book
holds together well.  The book is illustrated with etchings of the
plants by Briony Morrow-Cribbs and clever, descriptive drawings by
Jonathon Rosen (which do occasionally detract from the overall flow of
the text).  For a pocket guide to backyard menaces, Wicked Plants is
certainly worth a place on any bookshelf.

Switched, a Trylle novel, by Amanda Hocking

First, a little background:
          This book is, and has been, available in ebook.  Switched, the first in a trilogy, will be released in print for the first time January 24, 2012.  Each book in the series will contain a bonus, never-before-released short story to entice current fans to buy the new media. 

As I started reading this teen book, I couldn’t help but compare it to Twilight.  Which is a shame.  What did we compare teen books to before Twilight? 

Switched has an archetypal set up: a girl moves to a new school, where she feels isolated and misunderstood.  Fortunately she is beautiful.  There is a boy, Finn, dark haired and pale, who stares at her.  She is intrigued but slightly creeped-out by this.

And while I’m sure other books have used this before Twilight, that book is all I could think about.  How does Finn stand out from Edward?  Will everyone fall in love with Wendy like they did Bella?

Finn reveals that Wendy is not who or what she thinks she is.  She is a Trylle.  (And, of course, a princess.)  He is her tracker, and her guide as she enters the world of her people.

Once the novel moved away from the school and into the world of the Trylle, I enjoyed the book.  The Trylle are trolls with inborn magical abilities.  Most have some control over the elements.  Some have more power, such as persuasion or telekinesis.  Their entire hierarchy is based on the power of a bloodline and their inherited wealth.  That wealth is gathered through their changelings, Trylle babies exchanged with human ones, left to be raised by the human world’s elite. 

It seems that their desire for money and a life of leisure has stunted their powers.  With bloodlines getting weaker, there are strict guidelines as to who can marry, and procreate, with who.  Which reminds me of something pointed out in the Wheel of Time series: if the most powerful do not have children (or in this case, have very few children) then the bloodlines will naturally diminish.  I have the feeling that once this new princess, who is uncommonly attached to her human pseudo-family, is in power these rules will be overthrown, leading to resurgence in Trylle power. 

And most importantly of all, she can be with the one she loves.

But will she choose Edward or Jacob?  I mean…Finn or Rhys, or her arranged match, Tove?

Overall, I enjoyed the book.  It was a light read typical of teen paranormal romance.  Parts of it were very predictable, like everyone chastising Wendy for breaking social rules while refusing to explain key information.  Wendy is a likeable character who offers just enough surprises to keep me reading.  The Trylle world was interesting enough for me to keep reading, and I'll probably continue the series once it is in print. 

Death in the Stocks, a historical mystery by Georgette Heyer

One of my favorite authors is Georgette Heyer.  I just wanted to get that out there. 

There are books of Heyer's that I haven't enjoyed as much as others or characters that I've found annoying, but even those books have amazing historical detail, quirky characters, and an imaginative plot.  I've read nearly all of her historical romances and a couple of her historical fiction.  I had never before read one of her mysteries, typically set around the '20s, before reading Death in the Stocks. 

I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

The main character, Toni, is a great leading lady.  She's outspoken, from a family of quirky and outspoken people, and young enough to seek help.  Toni and her brother are the main suspects in the murder of their half-brother Arnold, who was found dead in a set of stocks at the center of a sleepy weekend town.  Everyone seems to have a great motive for killing him.  Jilted lovers.  Angry servants.  A relative itching for money, who would inherit upon Arnold's death.  A black-mailer, and an embezzler.  In true Heyer fashion, there are a few twists and surprises, but they all make sense considering the characters, the time period, and their situation.  The secondary characters are interesting and necessary, as murders pile up and alibis must be maintained.   There are a couple of love interests as well to keep situations lively. 

If you are looking for a quick, light read, I would definitely recommend Death in the Stocks by Georgette Heyer.