54.
Author(s): Jessica McCann
Title: All Different Kinds of Free
Publication: Kindle, free
Pages:
Genre: Fiction
Acquisition:
Date Completed: July 15, 2011
Rating: ****

There exists even today a cultural divide along the East coast of the United States; an imaginary line continues to mark people as being either "Northern" or "Southern," with special modifiers reserved for those from the "Deep South." As a Marylander, I never really felt like a "Southerner," although our state was once a slave-holding state, and we are in fact below the Mason-Dixon line. However, evidence of Maryland's slaveholding past is still visible; there remain plaques and memorials in downtown Annapolis, where slaves were once brought by boat to American soil, and signs along highways will remind travelers of the names of former plantations, and mark the birth places of important abolitionist figures.

Still, to read a novel of American slavery that is set (at least partially) in such an intimately familiar location is a bit surreal.

Jessica McCann's All Different Kinds of Free tells the story of Margaret Morgan, a former Maryland resident who is kidnapped from her home in Pennsylvania along with her children, and sold into slavery. The "bounty hunter" responsible for her bondage is brought to trial for his actions, and the subsequent Supreme Court trial is recognized as one of the motivating events for the Civil war. Unfortunately, little is known of the poor woman whose life is literally stolen by Prigg the bounty hunter, and her personal consequences are not marked as significant in history books. McCann embraces this shadowy figure and gives her not only a life but a voice, and it is her story that is the focus of this 2011 novel.

While All Different Kinds of Free contains many of the same elements of the endless slave narratives we now have access to (both fictional and nonfiction), McCann's story is intriguing for her protagonist - a woman who, the readers believe - is never a slave until someone accuses her of running. Her story is one of an adult woman forced into this hideous institution, and shows how someone who is well and truly free can adjust (temporarily) and fight for what she has lost. i found the narrative to be both intriguing and heartbreaking, and would certainly recommend it.

53.
Author(s): Natalie Hevener Kaufman and Carol McGinnis Kay
Title: "G" is for Grafton
Publication: Hardback
Pages: 336
Genre: Mystery
Acquisition: purchased used
Date Completed: July 1, 2011
Rating: ***1/2

What do you get when you combine two college professors and a love of contemporary genre fiction? "G" is for Grafton. Kaufman, a political scientist, and Kay, a Shakespeare professor, are both faculty members at the University of South Carolina at the time of publication, and together they have endeavored to provide an examination of the Alphabet Mysteries by Sue Grafton.

The result of their conjoined efforts is a blend of careful explication, analysis, and personal response that has come from the obviously enthusiastic interest in the contemporary mystery series. Treating novels "A" through "M" (the extent of the series at the time), Kay and Kaufman present an almost encyclopedic categorizing of the world of Kinsey Millhone, with some psychoanalysis for good measure.

The content of the book itself is at times dry, but for a casual fan of the series (who has, admittedly, stepped aside for quite awhile), the book proved to be a wonderful reintroduction into Kinsey's world, and helped revamp interest in the series. At times it feels as if Kaufman and Kay are attempting to write Kinsey to be the character they want her to be, but the majority of the information is no less trustworthy for this analysis, and some of the information - such as Grafton speaking of Kinsey directly - can be a real treat.


52.
Author(s): Lara Adrian
Title: Deeper Than Midnight
Publication: Kindle
Pages:
Genre: Supernatural romance
Acquisition: preordered
Date Completed: July 1, 2011
Rating: ***1/2

The Order's fight against Dragos and his evil plans has been long and hard ... and there's no true end in sight. The evil mastermind remains one step ahead of the Breed warriors at every turn, and though they may strike out with some success, each success is met with retribution on the part of their enemy. In the latest installment it seems they are no closer to stopping the mad vampire than they were when they first discovered his existence.

The romantic focus of Deeper Than Midnight is Hunter, and his unexpected attachment to a breedmate saved from one of Dragos' labs. Together they represent two classes of victims produced by the labs - the women used for the "breeding program," and the offspring that are then raised as weapons instead of individuals. Hunter is an intriguing character largely for his past, which comes into focus in this text. While his humanizing developments happen a little too quickly and easily, this seems to be characteristic of most supernatural romances with "complicated" male counterparts.

While I enjoyed the romance aspects of the novel, I am at this point fairly frustrated with the "pending vampire Doomsday" that has been inching along, and that frustration will probably keep me from pursuing the series in the future.

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.

45.
Author(s): Victoria Thompson
Title: Murder on Lexington Avenue
Publication: Kindle
Pages:
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Acquisition:
Date Completed: May 29, 2011
Rating: ****

When an avid supporter of the movement against ASL (and of eugenics) is found dead in his business office, Malloy has no shortage of suspects; his partner makes it immediately clear that no one who knew him liked him, his (deaf) daughter expresses satisfaction at the news, and countless motives begin to surface - including an unknown pregnancy, which brings Sarah Brandt into the picture.

As the series continues I believe it must be increasingly difficult for Thompson to conceive of situations in which a reputable midwife can find herself involved in a murder investigation, but I found this particular situation to be successful. Likewise, I enjoy the personal developments with which Thompson peppers his stories, although I maintain that she is a terrible terrible tease.

44.
Author(s): Kresley Cole
Title: Dreams of a Dark Warrior
Publication: Kindle
Pages:
Genre: Romance
Acquisition:
Date Completed: May 19, 2011
Rating: **1/2

This one had a plot twist that made it very difficult for me to accept the ending - namely, the male protagonist literally and excruciatingly tortures the female protagonist, and a number of her friends and loved ones. Redemption and "love" come far too quickly and easily, even with the understanding of what drives him to commit these acts in the first place. Cole's female characters are very quick to understand and forgive in the first place, but the extreme circumstances that lead to this union just give me the creeps.

43.
Author(s): Kresley Cole
Title: Demon from the Dark
Publication: Kindle
Pages:
Genre: Romance
Acquisition:
Date Completed: May 15, 2011
Rating: ****

42.
Author(s): Kresley Cole
Title:Pleasure of a Dark Prince
Publication: Kindle
Pages:
Genre: Romance
Acquisition:
Date Completed: May 12, 2011
Rating: ***1/2