10 Things I Loved About The Agency Series by Y. S. Lee

Mary Quinn was only twelve years old when she was sentenced to death. Turning to thievery after the death of her parents, she managed to scrape out an existence on the streets of Victorian London, but after being rescued from the gallows and given a home in a school for girls, her life took a turn for the better. Now she's seventeen and learns that the school is more than it seems. She's given the chance to train as a spy in an agency of women who take advantage of the way girls and women are overlooked and taken for granted. As she faces a variety of mysteries, villains, challenges, and a chance at romance, Mary has to deal not only with the dangers of her work but also with the weight of her past and her heritage. Can she come to grips with who she is or will she lose everything she's worked to gain?

I received the second book of the series - The Body at the Tower - at BookExpo America several years ago. I couldn't read them out of order, of course, so I tracked down the first book. After reading the first two I had to read the third and fourth as well!
This review contains some mild spoilers for the series, since I'm looking at it as a whole, but I'll try to keep it as spoiler free as possible.
So here we go - 10 things I loved about Y. S. Lee's Agency series

1. Mary - I liked how resourceful and determined she was. Yet she really struggled with how to survive in a world where she was considered a second class citizen on several different levels. She has to learn how to be comfortable with who she is and with the choices she's made.
2. James - The banter between Mary and James was probably my favorite part of the books (and there was far too little of it in the fourth one!). I liked how he developed as a character. It was nice that he had his own family and other things to deal with, even though the series was focused on Mary.
3. Their relationship - minor spoilers - I really appreciated that Mary and James went their separate ways at the end of the first book. And I liked the way Lee brought them believably back together again. The development of their relationship happened at a good pace, I thought.
4. Spies! - I really enjoyed the way Lee played with the cultural mores in Victorian England. And even if there wasn't a female agency like this, I know there had to be women who would have excelled at that kind of subterfuge. Because women were often overlooked and would have been able to gain information as servants, governesses, etc.
5. The setting - Lee did a good job of evoking Victorian England through the little details - the clothes, the food, the descriptions of setting woven in through the mystery.
6. The ethnic issues - minor spoiler - Mary is half Chinese and I really appreciated the way Lee dug into the prejudices and challenges of Asian people in London at the time. It's not something I've ever really heard about before and she wove it into the narrative in such an interesting way.
7. The mysteries - I liked the way that each book had its own distinct mystery which was wrapped up by the book's end. There were larger threads that carried through the series and call backs to earlier events and people, but it was kind of nice having a sense of closure at the end of each book. Also, each mystery was different and had its own challenges and approaches to solving it.
8. The layers - There was the larger mystery, but there were also plenty of other things going on to flesh out the stories and the characters - conflict in the Agency, Mary's conflicted feelings for James, trying to figure out who she is apart from the Agency, dealing with her past, James dealing with his brother and familial obligations - it just made for a much more interesting larger story. And I thought Lee did a good job of balancing all those different layers.
9. A complete story - I'm kind of glad I didn't get around to reading this until now, because I was able to read all four books one right after the other and get the whole story. I thought Lee did a good job of keeping you reading and wanting to know what happens in the next book and then by wrapping it up well in the fourth book. There's a real sense of closure but also a recognition that there are still a lot of possibilities left for Mary (and James).
10. The ending - Spoilers! - I liked the way the fourth book tied back to the first book and wrapped up the loose ends from the first mystery. I especially liked the way Lee wrapped up Mary's family story as well. It just completed the larger story pieces really nicely.

Everywhere and Every Way by Jennifer Probst

Ever the responsible eldest brother, Caleb Pierce started working for his father’s luxury contracting business at a young age, dreaming of one day sitting in the boss’s chair. But his father’s will throws a wrench in his plans by stipulating that Caleb share control of the family business with his two estranged brothers. 

Things only get more complicated when demanding high-end home designer Morgan hires Caleb to build her a customized dream house that matches her specifications to a T—or she’ll use her powerful connections to poison the Pierce brothers’ reputation. Not one to ignore a challenge, Caleb vows to get the job done—if only he can stop getting distracted by his new client’s perfect…amenities. 

But there’s more to icy Morgan than meets the eye. And Caleb’s not the only one who knows how to use a stud-finder. In fact, Morgan is pretty sure she’s found hers—and he looks quite enticing in a hard hat. As sparks fly between Morgan and Caleb despite his best intentions not to mix business and pleasure, will she finally warm up and help him lay the foundation for everlasting love? -jenniferprobst.com

I loved this book! I watch a lot of HGTV especially Property Brothers so this book was right up my alley.  However the Pierce brothers don't get along anywhere near as well as the Scott brothers seem to.  I thought the romance was great and it was definitely hot.  Probst does a stellar job at keeping the sexual tension between Caleb and Morgan pulsing.  In addition, I loved that Caleb and Morgan were both mature, independent, hard-working people. Morgan's secret also sheds awareness on an important issue.  I can't wait to see what's in store for Caleb's brothers in the planned sequels for this series.  Everywhere and Every Way is available at your favorite bookseller now, so rush out and pick it up, you won't be sorry.  

****/5 stars

For more on Jennifer Probst and her novels, please visit the author's website.

What I'm Reading Now: June Edition

May flew by and we're heading into summer! Here's a peek into the things I'm reading right now.

On my Nook: Still mainlining L.M. Montgomery's works - now reading through her collected short stories, which I've never read before. She certainly has a fascinatingly broad spread of fiction.

On my Phone: I thought I would try reading some classics on my phone and I started Don Quixote, but I haven't had any time to read it, yet - I think I'm still on page 1!

In Print - Fiction: Did I mention I'm reading a lot of L.M. Montgomery? Right now I'm in the middle of Magic for Marigold and I'm finding it not quite as enjoyable as the last time I read it. I thought maybe I was just getting Montgomery'd out, but I'm still really liking the short stories and I actually picked up and read A Tangled Web and had no trouble getting caught up in that one. I can't put my finger on why this one isn't captivating me as much as it has in the past.

In Print - Non-Fiction: All Cracked Up by Patsy Clairmont. She is one of my favorite speakers and her voice carries over well in her book. The short little chapters make it easy to read a little whenever I have time.

On Audio in My Car: Nothing right now. I know, shocking. I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last week and haven't figured out where I want to go next. Maybe a re-reading of The Chronicles of Narnia is in order.

On TV: I just started watching Leverage on Netflix. I've watched a lot of individual episodes before, but I always find it interesting to see how the story lines build when you watch something, even a serial type show, from the beginning. I just love the different characters and their tics and how they work together (and get on each other's nerves). It's just a fun show.

What's on your summer reading list? Anything good that you're reading now or are looking forward to getting to this month?

Amy Snow by Tracy Rees

Winner of the UK's Richard & Judy Search for a Bestseller Competition, this page-turning debut novel follows an orphan whose late, beloved best friend bequeaths her a treasure hunt that leads her all over Victorian England and finally to the one secret her friend never shared.  

It is 1831 when eight-year-old Aurelia Vennaway finds a naked baby girl abandoned in the snow on the grounds of her aristocratic family's magnificent mansion. Her parents are horrified that she has brought a bastard foundling into the house, but Aurelia convinces them to keep the baby, whom she names Amy Snow. Amy is brought up as a second-class citizen, despised by Vennaways, but she and Aurelia are as close as sisters. When Aurelia dies at the age of twenty-three, she leaves Amy ten pounds, and the Vennaways immediately banish Amy from their home.  

But Aurelia left her much more. Amy soon receives a packet that contains a rich inheritance and a letter from Aurelia revealing she had kept secrets from Amy, secrets that she wants Amy to know. From the grave she sends Amy on a treasure hunt from one end of England to the other: a treasure hunt that only Amy can follow. Ultimately, a life-changing discovery awaits...if only Amy can unlock the secret. In the end, Amy escapes the Vennaways, finds true love, and learns her dearest friend's secret, a secret that she will protect for the rest of her life.  

An abandoned baby, a treasure hunt, a secret. As Amy sets forth on her quest, readers will be swept away by this engrossing gem of a novel the wonderful debut by newcomer Tracy Rees. -indiebound.org

It's easy to understand how Amy Snow by Tracy Rees won a contest to search for a bestseller. This was a great story that blended elements of romance, mystery and historical fiction.  I loved the upstairs/downstairs friendship between Amy and Aurelia.  It was a good patch for the hole the end of Downton Abbey left me with.  I loved the unraveling and guessing of Aurelia's secrets along with Amy. I suspected her secret before Amy did but the journey was fun nonetheless.  This was a great read, definitely check it out.  You can find Amy Snow at your favorite bookseller today!

If you visit the publisher's website, you'll find a book club guide and a Q&A with the author.

****/5

Special thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Blog Tour: Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman

Three girls went into the woods; two came out.
It sounds like a joke, or a riddle. But it was only, would ever after be, the rest of our life.
Shortly after Halloween, 1991, the local high-school basketball star is found in the woods near Battle Creek, Pennsylvania, with a bullet in his head and a gun in his hand—a discovery that sends tremors through this conservative community, already unnerved by growing rumors of satanic worship in the region.
In the wake of this incident, bright but lonely Hannah Dexter is befriended by Lacey Champlain, a dark-eyed, Cobain-worshipping bad influence. Lacey forges a fast, intimate bond with the impressionable Dex, making her over in her own image—and unleashing a fierce defiance with unexpected and harrowing consequences. By turns a shocking story of love and violence and an addictive portrait of the intoxication of female friendship, Girls on Fire is an incendiary and unforgettable snapshot of girlhood: girls lost and found, girls weak and strong, girls who burn bright and brighter—and girls who flicker away.

Just like Dex and Lacey's friendship, this book is all consuming and not for the faint of heart.

Wasserman does a fantastic job of plopping the reader in the midst of the 90's grunge area. I was in middle school in 1991 but I remembered all of the pop culture and musical references.  In high school, I even wore the thick rubber heeled lace up boots like Lacey and Dex love.  Aside from a similar love of grunge footwear, I had little in common Lacey, Dex or anyone in this novel.

I'm struggling to describe this book.  It's not that I didn't like the book, the setting and characters were so vividly described that it all seemed real, it just seemed all too real.  It was dark and twisted, a tragic story full of emotionally lost people.  Not only do Lacey and Dex lose their sense of self in their obsession with each other but Dex's father is also a tragic figure who lost himself decades ago.  

***/5 stars

About Robin Wasserman

Robin Wasserman is a graduate of Harvard University and the author of several successful novels for young adults. A recent recipient of a MacDowell fellowship, she lives in Brooklyn, New York. Girls on Fire is her first novel for adults.

Find out more about Robin at her website and connect with her on Twitter.

For additional reviews of Girls on Fire, please visit the rest of the stops on the TLC Blog Tour.

Once Upon a Time - Only You/An Untold Story

5.22/23 "Only You" & "An Untold Story"

Sorry this is so late! I thought the finale was from 8-10, not 7-9, so I missed the first half and, since I only have antenna and ABC makes you wait 8 days to stream on their website I had to wait to watch it, and then I had a wedding, and then I just felt so incredibly uninspired by the episodes that I haven't really wanted to even write this. BUT here it goes - My last Once Upon a Time recap (yes, I know that the series is continuing with another season, but I have no desire to watch it anymore, even to make fun of it). So to all of those who have followed along with my ranting - thanks for reading! You'll have to tell me if anything absolutely ridiculous happens next season :)

So in this season's finale people get sucked through a portal and trapped. Again. Because why not? Where they meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I don't know why I'm surprised that we'd add another world at this point. And Emma decides that the best way to keep Regina safe is to... keep her out of everything? While Henry goes on an impulsive teenage mission to save everyone by destroying magic without thinking through the ramifications. And Rumple runs around chasing power somehow still believing that he's doing it for Belle.

I'm not really sure I understand Henry's sudden (very very very sudden) decision that all magic is evil and must be destroyed? I mean, this is the Henry who was just complaining about not being able to be all heroic and was finally figuring out how to use his gift as the author in a constructive way? Oh, wait. I forgot and was looking for some sort of consistency in the writing. hahahaha.

Ahem.

Henry and Violet are very adorable though. And I really liked getting some quality Henry time in on the story line, even if he was being reckless and heedless.

But. After Henry runs from Storybrooke to New York and Emma and Regina find him in the library, I cannot fathom what on earth would ever make them think that it would be okay to leave Henry and Violet alone in the library and that he would actually listen and stay put? Emma and Regina aren't that stupid, writers. I promise you that.

Side rant: I was really really ticked off that they gave the librarian the line, "people usually just want that YA stuff." First off, I 100% know that tons of people go to libraries for many many many other things than young adult literature. Second, I feel like that was really demeaning and dismissive to young adult literature - as though there is something wrong with wanting to read "YA stuff." That was totally uncalled for and unnecessary to anything related to the plot, story, or anything else.
/rant.

And Henry's speech at the fountain was pretty adorable, too.

Also, did I miss something? How did Henry bring the pen back from the Underworld? Wasn't it destroyed? And if there are all of those other storybooks, then are there other authors floating around? Do they have an author club or Facebook page Henry could join to get some help?

And hasn't Henry heard just a few people on this show talk about doing things for "the greater good" when trying to justify a bad decision? Has he never read Harry Potter?!

I did like the revelation of how much Regina still struggles to keep herself on the good path. It was nice to see her show how much she has changed, because her first instinct now is to stop herself from doing anything evil.

Which is why I'm so angry at how quickly Zelena turned so perfectly good. I mean, Zelena did things just as bad as the Evil Queen. So how is it that Regina has to fight constantly while Zelena is all prancing around being completely trusted 13 seconds after "resolving" her mommy issues? Her easy change completely undermines the real struggles that Regina and even Killian have fought through over the last seasons.

I did like the bonding moments between Regina and Emma and how Regina didn't automatically go all dark because Killian was brought back.

More on Regina in a moment.

There WERE some good quippy lines in this episode.

When Regina and Emma are going after Rumple and Emma says they don't have magic and Regina says, "I still have a fist." and Rumple's response: "Didn't you see the sign?" when they go into the room were delivered hilariously.

I also loved that when they find out people got pulled through a portal, Regina's just like "Again?" with more exasperation than any real surprise.

And when they're talking to Jekyll about why Hyde is bigger and stronger and he says the alter-ego presents itself how the mind perceives it's darker half, I about died laughing when Hook said, "Perhaps next time try an aggressive bunny rabbit."

Speaking of Jekyll and Hyde (rolls eyes so hard I fall over backwards) I'm not sure I understand why there was the big struggle to keep Jekyll from drinking the potion - why did Hyde have to become Hyde first, if the whole point was for them to separate anyway? That made no sense to me whatsoever.

And I really don't understand Hyde's desire to turn Storybrooke into a refuge when that is quite literally (as they explain to us in one of the expository speeches) the purpose of steampunk world - a "place of refuge" for outcasts or runaways from other stories. Oops. Sorry, once again looking for some internal logic to the show.

And finally, Regina's spectacular decision to separate the two halves of herself. Gah.

First of all, Regina uses all of her talents to help people - even the ones she hones as the Evil Queen - how many times has her slyness or her ability to distance herself or even her ability to think like a villain helped to save lives? And the struggle she talks about is basically just called being human.

I understand that she's done horrible things, but all of those things are also what have brought her to where she is now. Henry wouldn't probably exist. She wouldn't have met Robin and enjoyed a brief period of happiness with him at all. She wouldn't be friends with Emma. SO much of Regina's personality is tied up in what she perceives as her evil self. It's Regina's conflict, her remembrance of what she's done, that helps her to be strong and survive and protect those she loves and do the right thing now!

Did anyone else notice her evil self sort of reach back in, like it was going after something inside her? I'm really afraid that Regina will have lost her spark, her self!

And, just throwing this out there, if you've only got one dose of that potion left, wouldn't it have been a better idea to give it to oh I don't know RUMPLE and then kill the dark side and leave the good side who would probably be able to wake Belle? Except that probably wouldn't work. But it seems to me a better idea than Regina taking it.

Of course, I guess we're due for more Regina time rather than more Rumple time, which, if I were watching next season, would probably excite me.

I would like to say that it was pretty obvious that the Evil Queen wasn't going to have been destroyed. I really felt like that was ridiculous and predictable.

One final note - did anyone else notice the extremely obvious placement of the wedding dress between Hook and Emma when they were having their cute moment at the end of the episode? Because I was laughing so hard at it. And wondering if maybe they'll leave them alone just for a little bit next season.

And... there you have it. So. What were your thoughts? Are you intrigued enough to hang on for another season?

And once again, thank you to everyone who's come to read and comment or let me know on Facebook you're reading. You guys are what kept me going this season and I will now have to find a new show to recap next year!

May you all live happily ever after :)

Blog Tour: The Turning Point by Freya North

Today we are proud to be one of the stops on the blog tour to promote The Turning Point by Freya North.

"Rich, romantic, beautifully drawn and utterly compelling" Jane Green, New York Times bestselling author

 Life is short. Sometimes you have to take a chance…

Two single parents, Scott and Frankie, meet by chance.
Their homes are thousands of miles apart: Frankie lives somewhat chaotically with her children on the shoreline of North Norfolk, while Scott's life is in the mountains of British Columbia. Distance divides them – but it seems that a million little things connect them. A spark ignites, one so strong that it dares them to take a risk.
But fate has one more trick in store…
There are some truths about life and family we only learn when we grow up. There are some we never thought we'd have to.

What I loved about this book was how real the characters felt.  The author did an amazing job of making them seem real by describing little realistic details and quirks about them.  I cracked up when Frankie worried that her love of Duran Duran may considered a deal breaker for Scott when she was about to welcome into her home for the first time.  As Duranie, Duran Duran is never a deal breaker unless you hate them, lol.

I appreciated that this was a story about two independent people falling in love and respecting each other by not pressuring one another to change who they are.  This was a love story, a story of true love, not a mere romance novel. The point of view changes periodically throughout the course of the story between Frankie, Scott, and their family which really fleshed out the familiarity you come to feel for all the characters. I strive to provide spoiler free reviews but I must caution you to have a tissue handy for this book.  The synopsis promised a trick and a trick you get.  Don't let that put you off  though, definitely pick this book up.  It's the perfect book to escape with this weekend.

****/5 stars

For more on The Turning Point by Freya North, please visit the rest of the stops on the blog tour and visit the author's website.