Urania

Review: A Spy in the House (The Agency #1) by YS Lee

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6698199What can I say? I am absolutely smitten with mystery novels set in Victorian England of late. I finished one prior to this and just fell in absolute love. So I rushed out to find another. Although the two books were different, this spy mystery did not disappoint me!

I’ve always loved stories that have a disadvantaged young person that is suddenly given a second chance in life. This novel starts with a very young Mary Lang about to be hanged for house burglary. In the days that follow Mary suddenly finds herself in unusual circumstances and is given a second chance in life. As she grows up into a young adult she finds that, although she is very thankful for her second chance, she is somewhat unfulfilled at her current occupation of teaching at a school for young ladies. Once she confesses this, her life is suddenly sent in an entirely different direction.

As much as I loved this book, I did find parts of the mystery and the story to be somewhat farfetched. By all of that aside, I loved the characters and the banter between the two main players, Mary and James. I also appreciate the fact that YS Lee did not find it necessary to turn a young 17-year-old Mary into some wonder spy that conquers the world and makes all the right decisions. The fact that she accepts helps from others, even seeks out advice at times, makes many mistakes and perhaps uses bad judgement really lends to the fact that Mary is, after all, only 17 years old.

This series is 4 books long and even before I finished the last sentence in this first installment I was already excited to begin starting the second book.

Finally I have to say that the most intriguing part of the book is the barely touched upon background of Mary’s own past. I look forward to most of the solving of Mary’s own history…..I was also sooo excited to see the “friend” Mary met in the warehouse at night might end up making an appearance in the later books as one of Mary’s closest companions….or at least I hope that is the case…..but I can’t say anymore, as I must be off to meet up with Mary and her next spy adventure!!!

Until next time…

Urania xx

Buy it now A Spy in the House by YS Lee

Review: Slade House by David Mitchell

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24499258Anyone that knows me already knows I am not a huge fan of short stories…However, there have been a few stories in anthologies that I have read that have helped me find some new (to me) authors that I want to read more of. This novel isn’t part of an anthology, however, it was interesting enough and entertaining enough to make me add Mitchell to a list of authors that I want to read more of. I did love the different characters that each told a new chapter in this book. I loved the concept of Slade House. The only real complaint I can make is that I wanted more. I wanted the full meal deal and not just the fast food shortened version I received. It was also more than a little bit creepy. A perfect late autumn read. Even better if it’s on a cold night whilst a storm is brewing outside…that way you have a valid excuse to hide under some warm covers…

I can’t wait to read another (longer) work of David Mitchell so I can read it, review it and share my thoughts of with fellow readers….

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by Netgallery for an honest review

Buy it now Slade House by David Mitchell

Review: August, October by Andrés Barba

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25074166It’s hard to write a review for a book that you cared nothing about. As with all books I read, I went into this one with high hopes. Having read the description I found myself intrigued with how the author would handle this story. At the end of the day, I wasn’t happy. Nothing about it made me comfortable. The fact that the main character goes back at the end to seek some sort of….I don’t even know….Forgiveness? Justification? Admission? Redemption? Repentance? Again….I don’t even know….the fact that he goes back in the end…and the way it was handled…it just somehow made it even worse in my eyes. Doesn’t matter if the girl saw no wrong in what he did….it WAS wrong….it doesn’t matter if he physically had intercourse with her or not….it WAS wrong…the fact that she was mentally challenged? That made it even MORE wrong (if that’s even possible).

I don’t want to bash this author. I don’t even want to make this an issue over rape vs ???? what could I possible insert here to replace what happened in *anyone’s* mind? I….okay….I’m just flummoxed as to anything to say about this book…I always try to stress to people who I believe a negative review from me or anyone else shouldn’t really detour someone from giving a book a try…that it might just be me that didn’t connect with the book….I often go away from a book that I didn’t enjoy and know just the right person that might love the book….with this one, I’m just hard pressed to find anyone that would enjoy it. I don’t like saying that…

After still pondering how I could write a review with at least one redeeming thought the day after, I can only come up with this…

When Tomas’ aunt is dying she makes it very clear that she has come to the end of her life and is very disappointed that she is quite *ordinary*. This theme is often seen throughout the novel. As Tomas reflects on how he viewed his parents and how he sees them the night as they sleep…again, no longer larger than life, but ordinary…

I am left with this thought….There are much worse things in life than to be *ordinary*. Tomas and his *friends* are a perfect example of this. Perhaps Tomas plays along to the tough crowd hoping to avoid this *ordinariness* that he is so afraid of becoming….but in the process he loses all hope for ordinariness, let alone greatness….

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Buy it now August, October by Andrés Barba

Review: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

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18405Reading this novel 20 years after reading it the first time was a bit of a shocker. I won’t lie. Reading it as an adult…well, again, I was shocked in places. I sometimes feel it’s pointless to review a book that has millions of reviews already….however, I would be remiss if I just skipped over this novel and acted like there was no inspiration drawn from it. Even though there is no possible way for me give a review worthy of the book.

Parts of this book made me uncomfortable in my own skin. It’s hard to put into words the hypocrisy and the love that members of the South had for their slaves. Or even the same that the slaves had for the South. Harder still to see so many fight for a way of life that was in many ways just a matter of pride. I think Scarlett was a horrible person in many ways. She lacked intelligence when it came to understanding people and any type of “book sense”, but I think her feelings about the war and the South were often spot on, no matter how many would disagree. There are just so many things in this novel that one could review about…so I give up…a million thoughts are running rampant through my mind right now…it’s impossible to pin one down before another one goes running off in another direction…so I shall stop and leave you with an unfinished review…go read this book. It’s worth the weight of the book in your hands to read. One almost needs to feel the weight to appreciate the weight inside the pages as well….

I only wish to say that when I read this book as a teenager, I wasn’t so completely in love with Melanie as others were, in fact I had little to no patience for her. I had no time for Ashley from the very start, I wasn’t drawn to him in any way, shape of form. I thought Rhett Butler was one of the most honest, handsome, and daring men every. I didn’t know if I loved or hated Scarlett. And finally, I think the ending was one of the most brilliant endings of all time.

20 years later, those feelings haven’t changed a bit….they are probably the only constants I have with this epic novel…..I’m so very glad I made the commitment to revisit this novel…

Until next time…

Urania xx

Buy it now Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Review: The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman

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22430677Hip Hip Hooray!!! I am soooooooooooooo glad I picked this book to read out of the thousands I have on my TBR list….I’m not at all sure that I could have found any other book like it….what a delightful change!

I don’t even know where to begin….I mean, I’m very sure that many people would find a book that starts with a 10-year-old girl, born and raised in a whorehouse fighting her way into a boxing ring, against both men and women, completely horrible….I admit to finding myself cringe at bits of this tale! Especially once the reader finds out that the boxing is some of the more pleasant bits of the story!

No, the novel isn’t all about boxing. Yes, it’s a huge part….HOWEVER, the actually boxing takes up only a small portion of the novel…..

Not only do you have the one young girl who grows up right before your eyes, you have several other key characters…and Freeman ties them all together with ambition, lies, deceit, obsession, love, and hate. You have key players that would do anything for one another….and those that are nothing short of unfeeling opportunists..you see what lengths some will go to for loyalty and how others feel not an ounce of it and look out only for themselves….

Finally we find out that the old adage is true….beauty comes from within and has nothing really to do with how a person looks….

What I especially loved about this book is that we see the flaws in the characters we love…and at times, as much as it pains me to say, for the characters we absolutely hate, Freeman made us feel pity for them…

I should also point out that for a very long time now, I start out all excited about a book but my enthusiasm often wains after a short while….I can still enjoy the novel and the story and the characters, but I lose my feelings of excitement over the whole experience…..with this novel….I have to say…..it only built and built….that hardly EVER happens…..sometimes my enthusiasm doesn’t leave me….but I can’t ever recall a book that had me liking it from the very start and my love growing with each new chapter….near the end of the book I had to walk away for a bit because I was NOT willing to say goodbye to some of the characters that I was so enjoying….I was also fearful that it would not have a happy ending….I’m not a reader that has to have a happy ending for a book…but I really wanted it for some of these people….

I know this book isn’t for everyone….however, I don’t really care….I absolutely loved it and I encourage everyone to step outside their comfort zone and give it a try….I won’t hesitate to recommend this to any and everyone…and that isn’t something you’ll see me doing often…

Until next time….

Urania xx

Buy it now The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman

Review: Saturn Run by John Sandford

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24611668I can’t say I expected this to be the best Sandford book I’ve read…and trust me, I’ve read them all (even the art one he did way back when), but I certainly didn’t expect it to the worst. I was wrong. The thing I love most about Sandford (and he is the ONLY author I’ve read every single year for the last 20 plus years) is his dialogue between characters. I absolutely love the relationships he builds between people via dialogue….it doesn’t matter if they are life long friends, or complete strangers. He has a gift for dialogue that I’ve never seen matched.

This book had none of that. Sandford presented us with some characters that could have been phenomenal. There were there. However, the building up of their characters and the thrill of discovering what makes them tick just wasn’t. There actions made them seem flat and uncaring, simply because we weren’t allowed to have insight to them. Sandford simply dropped tantalizing bread crumbs, and we found ourselves excited to finally get to the tasty cake at the end….to reach the end of trail and be met with only an empty package.

The book was bogged down with endless details of things the reader didn’t need to know….yes, we needed to know how grave the situation was at times…and how smart the characters were to overcome any obstacles…but I think Sandford could have spent less time in those details and more with the details of the relationships of the main characters.

I will say that I can see this playing out 50 years from now. I will also say that this novel and how politics played into it gave me very little faith or hope for the human race. The value placed on human life was non existent. As was the care for the tax payers money and the lies and deceit that played into hiding this information from the general public. Yes, that might sound political. It probably is. However, this novel was chock-a-block of politics….

On a side note, and completely unrelated, Sandford has now done a couple of books outside his normal crime thriller genre. I sincerely hope he isn’t bored with it all. As a writer he is completely free to write whatever he chooses. However, I would be totally gutted if he gave up that genre. I can honestly say I find his Pey books better with each new release. He is the ONLY and I stress ONLY writer that has ever managed to keep me so engaged with a character for any amount of time….let alone 20 plus years….

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Buy it now Saturn Run by John Sandford

Review: A Song of Shadows by John Connolly

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24565629I *really* like this Charlie Parker guy! Besides Parker, I also really enjoy the other characters in this series as well. In many ways, we get to know and love Charlie simply by watching how others act and respond around him. It’s not something I’ve thought about much before. Usually a character is revealed simply by how they act and respond to situations. By what they say and do. Here, Connolly does a superb job of showing Parker’s character by those that go out of his way to help him. To watch over him. We learn to love Parker by the love they show him.

The father/daughter relationships in this novel….just wow….I can’t give much away, but I will say —- the last line gave me chills and I almost cried aloud that it ended! I’ll be counting the days until I start the next in the series!

This novel starts with Charlie recuperating from an injure he obtained in the last novel. It also has him in the midst of a few murders….and nazis. We revisit some of the crimes from the Holocaust. I have to admit, I have not really gave much thought to those war criminals after the fact. It brings up some important moral issues as well. Can one ever commit a horrendous crime simply because of the circumstances they found themselves in? Furthermore, can you be removed from those circumstances and form that day forth do wonderful things and to help the human race? Should any of that good change how you should be dealt with in regards to the original crimes?

How often are criminals sought after only because of political pressure? Where does moral obligation come into play?

Finally, I encourage you to read this novel. Not just because Charlie Parker is so great. Not because of how much you love his friends. Not because of all of the inter-workings of some really complex and interesting relationships….

But because this book left me with a yearning to learn more about history. I found myself putting down this novel…not because I was bored. But because I wanted to run to the internet and look up more about war criminals and history. Because I wanted to better understand how some of the things discussed in this novel could have happened. I don’t think I found many clear answers. However, I did have discussions about it. And so very many questions! Sometimes in life, it’s really good to just ask the questions….even if you don’t get all the answers you seek….at least you’ve thought enough to ask them….

Confused? Read the book….you’ll understand then….

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Buy it now A Song of Shadows by John Connolly

Review: Ghostboy, Chameleon & the Duke of Graffiti by Olivia Wildenstein

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25242652If you’re into YA genre this book is perfect for you. Predictable in parts, but not in others. I appreciate that Wildenstein kept this book honest all the way through. She didn’t try to make us feel better at the end and protect her readers from real life as so many others do.

If I have any complaints, I suppose that I wish she had left out some of the smaller side-stories and focused more on Ghostboy. The concept of “Ghostboy, Chameleon & the Duke of Graffiti” was brilliant. I absolutely loved it and how it came about. I feel the smaller side-stories going on with all of the friends, perhaps took away from the main focus of this novel. It’s not that I minded them. I just felt at times that we could have better understood the connection between Ghostboy and Duke and Chameleon if we had more time to share with them and to see the relationship develop. I would have liked to see another 200 pages of the adults in the story and the three main characters….

I realise that 320ish pages is the magic number for novels for the last 20 years…I just wish this one gave us a wee bit more….As much as I enjoyed this story, I just left it feeling a little sad and unsatisfied. Not because of the ending but because of the lack of depth I felt from the characters. Just like Ghostboy fades and goes invisible, I knew that all these wonderful characters were there, but they too were fading in and out of focus…I just needed more to solidify them forever in my heart…

Until next time…

Urania xx

Review copy provided by Netgalley for an honest review…

Buy it now Ghostboy, Chameleon & the Duke of Graffiti by Olivia Wildenstein

Review: A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn

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23160039What can I say? I absolutely loved this book I adored it! Enjoyed every word of it. I hated for it to end. I hope this is a long series. Please! Pretty please. Let this be a long series!

Okay, the dirty bits out of the way first….I imagine there will be more than a few people who claim the heroine, Veronica Stillwater is annoying. That she’s too arrogant, or silly, or doesn’t know half of what she *thinks* she does. All of that is true. But dangnabbit, I loved her anyway! Besides, if everyone has different personalities, why can’t someone have one exactly like Miss Stillwater? Independent, promiscuous, and outspoken…all of that in a time where ladies were better known to be quiet and subservient. I find it refreshing for an author to show us a heroine that is strong and independent. At no time does Miss Stillwater give up her independence. At no time does she succumb to being a victim. At no time does she play coy. At no time is she anything other than what she proclaims to be…. #yougogirl

The other bit that readers might object to….the mystery bit solved. I realise that many people will say it’s unbelievable. That it just wasn’t feasible. All I can say is, HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!? Have you actually read any history books? Have you not seen what depths that people will go to for power? What lengths they will go to in order to obtain power? Sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction…and although this is indeed fiction, the outrageousness of the entire scenario makes it very believable for me.

Now let’s get to the good bits….oh wait….those WERE good bits! hahahahaha…..seriously, those bits DID in fact bother me at the start….but then I realised that they were only bothering me because I KNEW people would find fault with them….then towards the end, I decided to say screw it…I LOVE THIS BOOK….if you don’t….well you’re the nutter…not me!

And finally…let’s discuss Stoker….OH MY GOSH….I think I’m in love. Thank you thank you thank you, Deanna Raybourn for not making Stoker into someone who just gives into his desires. Thank you for not making he take over and save the day. Thank you for building up such a strong attraction and tension between the two wonderful lead characters and for not spoiling it by having one or the other *change* who they are in an instant just to satisfy some lusty readers (no offense to any lusty readers out there).

I seriously wish I could pick up the next book right this second and start it. I already miss Veronica and Stoker. I am already suffering from withdraw.

Yep, you can bet your bottom dollar I shall be waiting for the next installment of this series….

PS Would you just look at this lush cover? Oh my my my….It’s stunning, innit?

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by Netgalley and Edelweiss for an honest review (and I HONESTLY LOVED this book)

Buy it now A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn

Review, Blog Tour, & Giveaway: Friction by Sandra Brown

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FrictionTourBanner

**Be sure to check the links at the end to enter the giveaway**

25114548I haven’t read Sandra Brown in years. This book is a big reminder that I shouldn’t overlook authors just because I’ve read them and because they are well known….yes, there are some authors out there that I believe have gotten lax over the years and taken their popularity for granted, not putting out their best efforts, however, Brown has shown me in this novel that she isn’t one of them.

From the very first chapter, I couldn’t read fast enough to hear all of Crawford Hunt’s story. Hunt is a Texas Ranger that is seeking back custody of his five-year old daughter, Georgia. After an unexpected episode happens during the custody proceedings, Ranger Hunt finds himself as the rescuer of the sitting family court Judge Holly Spencer. Once this happens the action never stops.

I loved this book, but I couldn’t help to be to look for some unexpected twist. Some hidden motives behind the obvious that made some of the characters act out the way they did. That never really happened. However, that doesn’t mean I was disappointed. Sometimes, as in real life, people hold onto the past and let it dictate how they act in the present. So although I found some of the storyline a stretch, in other ways, I found that maybe at the end of the day, those stretches, in fact, kept the story real to life.

I believe Ranger Hunt’s behavior in the past was a bit “gun-ho” and, indeed, reckless. As much as it pains me to say, I found his behavior, many times, in this book the exact same way. I couldn’t believe how he handled some of the situations. TBF, yes, it would have been nice to see that he was less reckless now as the years went on…but is life really that way? I don’t imagine he will ever change. He will always be reckless, however, his heart is often in the right place, and his intentions always seem to be. The fact that I even say that about a fictional character just points out how much I really enjoyed this book!

Whilst I didn’t think Judge Spencer acted reckless in her past, I did find some of her behaviour in the present a bit reckless. Having said that, I can’t exactly say I wouldn’t have acted the exact same way if I were in the same situation. At the end of the day there were several characters I really enjoyed in the novel. I genuinely wanted things to turn out okay for them as well.

Bottom line, I started this book and couldn’t put it down. I enjoyed it from start to finish. Once I finished the novel I was sad that my adventure was over and I was already worried about trying to pick up another book that would leave me half as satisfied as this one did.

If you’re a Sandra Brown fan this book will not disappoint you. If you’ve never read Sandra Brown, this book should convince you to become a fan. Finally, if you’re like me and just a lax fan that’s been away for a few years, this book will remind you of what a fun writer she is! Don’t hesitate, run out and grab your copy now!!!

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by Netgalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review

Follow the rest of today’s Sandra Brown Friction tour right Here

Buy it now Friction by Sandra Brown

Giveaway <a href="http://a Rafflecopter giveaway “>10x coffee cup plus a signed copy of Friction