51.
Author(s): Gail Carriger
Title: Heartless
Publication: Paperback
Pages: 374 pages
Genre: Steampunk
Acquisition: preordered
Date Completed: June 28, 2011
Rating: ****

The latest Alexia Tarabotti novel - Heartless - has arrived, in which the indefatigable preternatural finds herself balancing supernatural politics and very natural familial growth. In her brusque and logical way Alexia attempts to avoid the continuing assassination plots, moves house, and solve a number of mysteries, both personal and political. Strapped by her "infant inconvenience," Lady Maccon is not quite as maneuverable as in previous novels, but she is no less industrious, and her adventure is no less entertaining.

I do, however, have a few personal complaints about the most recent edition. First, the cover is perfectly awful; while I have enjoyed the previous juxtaposition of a glamorous steampunk model photoshopped on a slightly awkward black and white photograph, the current model, in her very drab attire and with a disturbingly large forehead, simply does not live up to the image previously established.

Secondly, at nine months pregnant with my third child, I found Carriger's descriptions of impending maternity rather skewed. Granted, no two pregnancies are really alike, and I apparently experience uncommonly comfortable pregnancies, but I found myself a little surprised that someone as determined and active as Alexia would find herself so ... overburdened.

However, these are personal quibbles that will not likely influence a general reading, and I think that fans of the series will enjoy experiencing further developments.

50.
Author(s): Ransom Riggs
Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Publication: Hardback
Pages:351
Genre: Fiction, fantasy
Acquisition: Early Review copy
Date Completed: June 17, 2011
Rating: ****1/2

Abe Portman is a man filled with secrets and stories, and he carries with him all the love and admiration that his young grandson Jacob could possibly lavish. Even when Grandpa Portman seems to suffer from dementia in his later years Jacob remains his faithful companion, and the teenage Jacob does what he can to keep his old hero as happy as possible.

When a violent tragedy shakes Jacob's world he finds himself seeking out the world that could have produced such a man - and such stories. Armed with another's memories and the lingering faces of a few photographs, Jacob searches for his grandfather's past, and discovers a reality far more fantastic than even Grandpa Portman's stories could have let on.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a fascinating first novel by Ransom Riggs. Inspired by the scavenged photographs of oddities shared by a group of photography enthusiasts (included for the reader's full pleasure), Riggs spins a tale that is part fantasy, part historical fiction, and all adventure. Though I at times found myself more drawn to the haunting photographs than the narrative itself, the combination of the two creates a captivating narrative.

49.
Author(s): Kathryn Hughes
Title: The Victorian Governess
Publication: Hardback
Pages: 204
Genre: Nonfiction, History, 19th-century
Acquisition: Purchased used from Abe Books
Date Completed: June 12, 2011
Rating: ****1/2

The history of the Victorian governess is a difficult one to write for one very basic reason: a lack of reliable primary source material. Though historians have access to some government and institutional data, and a clutch of letters, magazines, and a few precious journals, the gaps these sources have left remain far more significant than the enlightenment they can provide.

Fiction will tell us that the governess plays an essential role in the lives of upper-middle-class and upper-class households, but what of the real women who toil away in isolated schoolrooms? While some "histories" of the profession feel justified in using fiction as fact in the absence of actual historical documentation, Hughes attempts to construct a history of the governess that is as grounded in reality as possible. Her examination does indeed discuss fictional governesses - in the first chapter, after which her allusions to novels are kept to a minimum. Instead, Hughes relies on what documentation is available, and focuses on the lives of a few known governesses, and the popular publications which discussed the "plight of the governess" during the nineteenth-century, in order to piece together as accurate an analysis as possible.

Hughes' account fully acknowledges the gaps that are inherent in such a project, but uses this absence of information to make a few significant observations about the role of the governess in Victorian society. The volume as a whole is concise and smart, and makes good use of the resources at hand. Overall, I found The Victorian Governess far preferable to Ruth Brandon's Governess: The Lives and Times of the Real Jane Eyres.

48.
Author(s): Victoria Thompson
Title: Murder on Sisters' Row
Publication: Kindle
Pages:
Genre: Cozy mystery
Acquisition: preordered
Date Completed: June 10, 2011
Rating: ****

Brothels, affairs, class bias, and charities all collide in Victoria Thompson's latest Gaslight Mystery, Murder on Sisters' Row. After being called to a mysterious birth, midwife Sarah Brandt is unhappy to find herself in an upscale brothel on Sisters' Row; not because she would have refused, but because she doesn't appreciate being lied to. However, her concerns shift when the delivering mother, in the momentary absence of the madam, begs for Sarah's help in escaping, sending Brandt to the doors of Rahab's Daughters, a charity known for helping prostitutes escape "the life."

However, not everything about this "rescue" is what it seems, and dirty laundry is aired when an unexpected victim is produced. Unable to force his way into certain situations, Detective Malloy is once again "forced" to invite Mrs. Brandt's help, and together they work through a short list of suspects to find who could really want the victim harmed - and had the opportunity to do it.

Murder on Sisters' Row is typical fare from Thompson, and those who enjoy the series won't be disappointed.

47.
Author(s): Laurell K. Hamilton
Title: Hit List
Publication: Hardback
Pages:
Genre: Horror (I still haven't bought into these "paranormal" or "urban fantasy" labels)
Acquisition: Preordered
Date Completed: June 8, 2011
Rating: ***1/2

Alright boils and ghouls, it's June, and we all know what that means - the latest Anita Blake has hit the shelves (sporting an outrageously hideous cover, no less). The twentieth in the series, Hit List opens with Anita and Edward standing over yet another body - only this time they're together to work as Marshalls tracking a serial killer who is hunting down weretigers. What Anita and Edward realize, and the other Marshalls can never know, is that the killings are the work of the Harlequin (I'm not spoiling anything - it says so right at the beginning), as they attempt to manipulate Anita for Mommy Dearest's benefit.

Anita is away from home, away from her harem, and thoroughly distracted - but not too distracted to sense some relationships changing and others beginning. It seems like Hamilton is attempting to placate the readers who have expressed dissatisfaction with the romance elements of the series, and she greatly limits herself in these aspects (I can recall just one "full-romance" scene, and considering it's a plot device she simply can't start ignoring, I think it's the best those readers can hope for right now).

This novel introduces a number of weaknesses in Anita's character, humanizing her in a way we haven't seen before - or at least not for awhile. Even as she grows supernaturally, the reader sees her softening emotionally, and can recognize the toll that her personal relationships are taking on her life - for both good and bad.

The conclusion of the novel, however, is far from satisfactory; the sudden change of heart seems fairly ridiculous, and the conflict itself is resolved far too simply and easily. Events that could have (and perhaps should have) taken a hundred pages to properly develop are presented in just a few, with a neat little wrap-up at the end to put a bow on the whole ordeal.

However, with the exception of that conclusion, I found Hit List enjoyable, and was especially interested in some unexpected character development. And yes, I'm going to keep reading.

46.
Author(s): Juliet Blackwell
Title: A Cast-Off Coven
Publication: Kindle
Pages:
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Acquisition:
Date Completed: June 3, 2011
Rating: ***1/2

Juliet Blackwell's "Witchcraft Mysteries" are not the most compelling cozy mysteries I've read of late, but I feel like the series has promise. The protagonist - a natural witch and owner of a second-hand clothing store in California - leaves something to be desired (for example, she is established as a character with major trust issues - which I can accept - but she willingly accepts a familiar who is likely a spy from another witch she doesn't trust - which I cannot accept), but her developing character promises to be increasingly compelling as the series continues.

The mystery itself takes a backseat, and there are some narrative elements that I would have liked to have seen further developed, but for the second in a series A Cast-Off Coven isn't far off the mark.