An Affair of Poisons by Addie Thorley

Do you like alternate histories? Maybe mixed with a little fantasy? I just finished An Affair of Poisons, and I loved it. It's an alternate history tale of a Shadow Society that poisons King Louis XIV and then takes power. There are two perspectives, one told by a poisoned, the daughter of the Shadow Society leader, who doesn't agree with what has happened, and a bastard prince who is fighting to save his sisters. The two meet and try to take back the city in the name of the boy's brother, the dauphin Louis. I thought it was a beautiful story with strong characters. There is romance but it is slow to build and handled well. It has poison and curatives, magic and intrigue. I highly recommend it.⁣

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Shiver and Linger by Maggie Stiefvater - Slight Spoiler Alert

Review written on August 7, 2010 ** Mildly Spoilerish** Books 1 and 2 in the Mercy Falls series I read Shiver last year, shortly after it came out. I did really enjoy the book and even voted to be sure it would appear on the list for the committee I'm on. However, I always had one problem with the book -the "cure". No one else seemed as bothered by this as me, but I just can't get past that. I did like that there was some science involved with why they turned into the wolves when it was cold. Despite the so-called cure, the book was good, so of course I wanted to read the second book, Linger . Only ten chapters in, I was highly annoyed by the book already. The moment that Grace said that Isabel was cold and Isabel said it was Grace that was hot, I just knew that she was going to be sick and how she would be "cured". At first I thought that Sam had gotten her sick somehow, but at least that wasn't the case. At least what Cole d...

Initial thoughts on Mockingjay

Don't worry, I'm going to try and stay away from spoilers, at least for now! In my opinion, the hardest part of writing any book or story is writing the ending. I imagine that it's probably incredibly more difficult when you are writing the ending of a book that has been a popular series. The author always knows that some fans will love it and some fans will hate it. Of course you can't please everyone. That said, how do I feel about Mockingjay? As I book, I loved it, and I wasn't disappointed at all. The action was just as fast-paced and captivating as the two previous books of the series. Suzanne Collins has mastered the art of keeping the reader from getting bored. Around half way through the book, I got a little teary, but I won't say why just yet. Nor will I reveal what part of the ending of the series made me cry. Maybe later I'll come back, when more people have finished the book, or when I figure out if there's a wa...

Year One by Nora Roberts

Title: Year One Author: Nora Roberts Cover: A decent cover that represents the start of the plague and the crows that come with the darkness. *Mild Spoilers Ahead* Review: I will say first that I am not a typical Nora Roberts fan. In fact, I've only read three other books by her, that being the Seven Signs Trilogy that starts with Blood Brothers. If I remember correctly, those also had a fantasy/paranormal feel to them, while her typical books do not. It was the fantasy elements of this book that appealed to me. A plague strikes, first taking a family, but since it is highly contagious and they are traveling after the holidays, it quickly spreads, wiping out large numbers of the population. There are already some people with gifts before the plague hits, but after, these gifts grow stronger, and others gain powers as well. These people, from witches, elves, fairies, and more, are called the Uncanny, and some people blame them for the plague, or are just generally hateful...

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