Wizard of Dark Street (fiction) - magic, crime, beauty creams

Pendulum House, with its namesake device swooshing through the parlor in great arcs.
A dragonbone desk and enchanted daggers.
The Gates of Iron, opening into New York City every midnight for exactly 60 seconds.

Welcome to Dark Street, last of the 13 great roads connecting the worlds of humans and Faerie, in 1877 as yet another crime investigation is bungled by Inspector White. In just weeks, Oona Crate will be considered old enough to select her own life path, and she knows that she must become a true detective, ignoring the magical blood that flows through her.

Stereotypes for wizards and witches go by the wayside on Dark Street, as Oona must deal with slippery memories, the Goblin Tower prison, suppliers of contraband, and a most puzzling riddle.

The author has scripted, scored, and recorded a musical introduction to Oona's world that you won't want to miss in a video that charmingly showcases his composing and singing skills.

Look for The Wizard of Dark Street at your local library or independent bookstore.
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Book info: The Wizard of Dark Street / Shawn Thomas Odyssey. Egmont USA, 2011. [author's website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Recommendation: Oona wants to be a detective, not a wizard. Although she is the first natural-born magician in 200 years, she ought to be allowed to cultivate her other talents – as long as she doesn’t get permanently killed in the process.

As Wizard’s apprentice, Oona was learning spells needed to defend humankind if evil forces from Faerie realms attacked; even in the modern world of 1877, the Wizard must be ready. Dark Street lies in the heart of New York City, but ordinary humans rarely find this last corridor between the worlds of Man and Faerie.

But the Wizard’s disappearance, an increase in crimes along Dark Street, and an incompetent police inspector lead her to investigate many things – Why do only young witch girls venture out of Witch Hill? Who has stolen all of Madame Iree’s dresses? Is the blind actor a victim or a criminal?

A new apprentice must be selected since Oona wants to step away from that role, but which candidate will be chosen – witch girl, human young man, snooty Miss Iree, the clever brother? Something is wrong about all this…

Luckily, Oona has enchanted raven Deacon to tutor her in further magic and her own natural curiosity to lead her in detection. Are the criminals after something bigger than just designer dresses? Were her parents really killed by magic instead of an accident?

This first Oona Crate mystery places readers solidly into its 1877 setting and a very magical place indeed. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Becoming Marie Antoinette (fiction) - alliances, intrigue, braces

Everyone knows about Marie Antoinette and how her life ended at the guillotine...
On a World Wednesday, we look at what was it like before she became Queen of France.

This novel begins when she was just a little girl in Vienna, one of Empress Maria Theresa's many daughters, all destined for marriage into political alliances to benefit Austria.

As dentists put gold braces on her teeth and tutors smoothed her accent, Maria Antonia was completely refashioned into a princess in the French style, one whom the teenage Dauphin would desire as his wife.

The young strawberry-blond Dauphine despaired over many things in the unfamiliar French court, especially that her marriage to Louis-Auguste was not consummated for seven years - a male heir to the throne must be produced!

And author Juliet Grey (pseudonym of nonfiction author Leslie Carroll) reminds us that, as queen, Marie-Antoinette never said "Let them eat cake!" First book in a trilogy, to be followed by Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow in 2012.
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Book info: Becoming Marie Antoinette / Juliet Grey. Ballantine Books, 2011. [author's website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Recommendation: As younger daughter of the Empress, Maria Antonia knows her life path already – to be married into a political alliance someday. But as a young girl, she would rather pick wildflowers than practice foreign languages, would rather chase butterflies than learn court etiquette. To her, the French ambassador’s visit to Austria in 1766 was a surprise; his announcement that she was now betrothed to the King’s grandson was a shock! Someday, the Dauphin would become King of France – someday, this shy 10-year-old girl would reign beside him as Queen Marie Antoinette.

However, there was much to be done in the years before their wedding. Antonia’s healthy complexion had to become pale in the French manner, her crooked teeth straightened (yes, she truly wore golden braces, agonizingly painful in their beauty), her accent polished, even her hairline had to recover from all those tight-pulled ponytails of childhood.

In the meantime, smallpox claimed members of the Austrian court and threatened the Empress, another sister was promised in marriage to the far-off King of Sicily, and Antonia finally receives a portrait of the Dauphin, so handsome and serious, waiting for her at Versailles.

At the grand ceremony on the French-Austrian border, a proxy stands in for Louis Auguste who must remain with his grandfather the King of France as they are declared married and numerous treaties are signed. Maria Antonia leaves behind her childhood as she crosses the river, becoming Marie-Antoinette, a young teenager without allies in a foreign court full of intrigue.

Written as a diary, Antonia’s observations about the differences between life with her 15 brothers and sisters in Austria and the scandalous behavior of French courtiers trying to move up the social ladder at Versailles are fascinating. First in a trilogy, Becoming Marie Antoinette ends just as the Dauphin becomes King of France. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

A little traveling music please (reflective)

How time flies... our baby-girl is getting married tomorrow!
I love this photo of us from Austin College homecoming 23 years ago :-)

This wedding will be "suits and boots" instead of tuxedos and formality, as the bride wears my wedding veil with her new dress, the groom spiffs up his cowboy boots, and their puggle dog sports a dashing bow-tie collar. Family and friends will be there from far and wide to toast the happy couple over barbecue and the bride's famous cupcake tower (wait till they see the groom's cupcakes!!).

So we're praying for good weather, planning for bad weather, charging the camera batteries and hoping that the mascara really is waterproof as we journey by plane and car from work location to home to a lovely chapel in the Texas Hill Country for her special day.

It will be different from this scene - that's my husband and me renewing our vows five years ago in Beijing in a traditional Chinese wedding ceremony on our 25th anniversary.

Back to new books next week - here's your invitation to browse through the 150+ recommendations on this site with the Labels on the right or perhaps search by keywords using the box at top left (with the magnifying glass symbol).

I'll enjoy a cupcake for ya!
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Mercy (fiction) - exiled from Heaven, dreams of demons, earthly evil

Jolting along on a school bus,
gradually becoming aware of her surroundings,
whose body is Mercy in this time?

Meet an exile from Heaven who doesn't know why she keeps coming back to earth,
or why she feels that she must help the person that she's unwillingly "soul-jacked",
or why her immortal beloved warns her in nightmare-dreams not to interfere in this world.

A kidnapping, long-standing grudges between choir directors from neighboring schools, dogs that bark at Carmen/Mercy and at no one else... the town of Paradise isn't living up to its name for the visiting choir students - will they manage to perform this challenging work without losing anyone along the way?

First in series by Australian author Rebecca Lim, Mercy is followed by Exile (book 2) and Muse (book 3). Be sure to read these in order before Fury (book 4) arrives in 2012!
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Book info: Mercy / Rebecca Lim. (Mercy, book 1). Hyperion, 2010. [author interview] [book Facebook page] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Recommendation: Landing in an earthly body is so hard – having only fragments of memory makes it even worse for Mercy, every time she wakes up in a new body. Trying to make it through the day without alarming those who knew the person before this, struggling through her nightmares – why can’t this exile from heaven remember the reason she keeps coming back to earth, again and again and again?

This time, Mercy is inhabiting the body of teenaged Carmen, part of a high school choir traveling to their annual multi-school concert. Everyone will stay with host families in Paradise, attend classes, practice with together other area high school choirs and directors, then perform a grand concert. Uh-oh, Carmen is a soloist?! Mercy falters badly on Carmen’s first solo – Tiffany will delightedly step in if she blows it again.

Carmen’s host family includes handsome high school student Ryan and his grieving parents – his twin sister Lauren was kidnapped two years ago. After an awkward beginning, Carmen and Ryan get along okay as he shares his conviction that Lauren is still alive. Mercy’s nighttime demon warns her not to get involved, but hints that perhaps the police really didn’t get all the facts from Lauren’s local boyfriend…

Naturally, the choir teens are flirting through rehearsals instead of concentrating on the new music. So the directors divide and conquer, working with sections separately so they’ll be ready on time. One practice with Mr. Stenborg (“call me Paul”) and Mercy can finally call on Carmen’s amazing abilities (yes, Carmen’s still in this body, too) to sing like an angel. The other directors are envious; Tiffany is openly furious.

Even as two directors battle over how Carmen should sing certain parts, Ryan and Mercy uncover information about Lauren’s disappearance that leads them into terrible danger. Will Mercy’s actions while in Carmen’s body hurt the singer’s scholarship chances? Will she get to stay in this body long enough to find Lauren, to sing in the concert, to discover why she cannot stay in heaven?

Australian author Lim crafts a strong story of paranormal mystery, human evil, and undying love in this first book of a new series. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Don't Stop Now (fiction) - road trip, kidnapping, more than best friends?

The morning after graduation!
A whole summer of freedom before college...
Until Lillian gets Penny's whispered message - "I did it."

Why does Lillian feel so certain that Penny has set up her own kidnapping? Anyone normal would just run away from that jerk sometime-boyfriend Gavin or her crazy family (Penny's mom buys everything from TV home shopping shows, even their food).

Lillian and Josh have the perfect friendship, so he knows that she must try to find Penny, even if it means going all the way from Chicago to the Pacific. Only clue they have - some guy Penny met on her only vacation lives in Portland. Josh's old Chevy doesn't have air-conditioning, but he does have his dad's credit card for a few more weeks, so off they go.

From the Cheese Castle in Wisconsin to the Corn Palace in South Dakota and beyond... Josh and Lil see every weird roadside attraction they can find. But will Josh ever see how much Lillian loves him, really loves him, before she leaves for college and he wanders the world to create the perfect rock band?
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Book info: Don't Stop Now / Julie Halpern. Feiwel & Friends, 2011. [author's website] [author's blog] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Recommendation: That odd voicemail from Penny – has she been kidnapped? And she called Lillian instead of her overbearing boyfriend… maybe it’s up to Lillian and her best pal Josh to make a cross-country road trip to find the quiet teen.

Lillian wasn’t Penny’s best friend during senior year, she was her only friend. Her boyfriend Gavin says they shouldn’t be all lovey-dovey during school, so Penny respects that (more than he respects her after school hours). Lillian and Josh know that she met a nice guy from Portland when her family went on vacation – maybe Penny sneaked off to see him or maybe not.

Laid-back summer plans out the window, Josh and Lillian jump into his old van and head toward Portland. Determined to visit unusual places during their last trip together before college, the friends amass t-shirts and strange photos along the way. Lots of time to think, out in the wide-open spaces of the plains – Lillian wonders why Josh has never figured out that she loves him as more than a friend.

Emerging from the Badlands, Lillian’s phone is filled with missed calls from the FBI about Penny’s disappearance! What has that pathetic girl gotten herself into? Did she fake her kidnapping or was it real? How will Lillian and Josh find her in Portland? How will Lillian let Josh know her true feelings before they go their separate ways to start college?

A quirky road trip, a beautiful friendship, and a quest combine to give more answers than Lillian and Josh knew they were seeking. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

The Book of Time (fiction) - time travel, conspiracy, danger

Time traveling... can anyone who finds the stone statue do it?
Will any coin in any sun-ray work?
Which way - and when - has Sam's father gone?

Happy Leap Day as we leap through time and history with Sam on this World Wednesday.

Worrying about an upcoming judo tournament and the neighborhood bully should be enough for Sam to cope with in his small Canadian hometown. But his father has slipped into deep depression following the car wreck that killed Sam's mom and has somehow vanished from his locked-tight bookshop!

Sam has no time to warn his cousin Lucy that he's found a clue to his father's trail and no way to know that it will send him hurtling through time!

First in a trilogy with many twists and turns, as Sam finds himself in places historic and obscure during his attempts to control his travels through time and find his father.
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Book info: The Book of Time / Guillaume Prevost, translated by William Rodarmor. (Book of Time trilogy #1). Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007 [author interview] [publisher site]

My Recommendation: Sam’s dad became more and more distracted after Mom’s death, but now he’s disappeared entirely! Searching for clues in Dad’s antique bookshop in Sainte-Mary, Sam uncovers a secret room in the basement and an ancient stone statue.

Hmm… a stone carved with slots in each sun-ray and a slot-sized old coin nearby. Just put that coin in that slot, and – whoosh - Sam is transported from the basement! But where?

The Canadian teen finds himself at the monastery of Iona in medieval Ireland! The monks are preparing for an attack by marauders intent on stealing their treasures. Somehow Sam can understand their ancient Celtic dialect, but will he be able to save their priceless books and relics?

Fitting another coin into the stone statue where he landed takes Sam to the French battlefields of World War I, then into an Egyptian pyramid during its construction! Meeting Ahmosis, son of Setni, gives him hope of returning home, as the young man tells Sam that his father was also a time-traveler and had discovered some rules about the way that the stone statues and coins work.

But can Setni’s advice help Sam find his father, whenever or wherever he is? What about getting home to his grandparents and cousin? Just how many more stone statues are scattered around the world, anyway?

Sam’s adventures continue in The Gate of Days (book 2) and The Circle of Gold (book 3), with Rodarmor skillfully translating all three thrilling books of the Prevost trilogy. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Always a Witch (fiction) - Time travel, magic battle, prophecy

Face her sister's wrath or buy the world's most unflattering bridesmaid dress?
Stay here to be with true love Gabriel or travel back in time to save the world?
Why doesn't Tam ever have any easy choices?

As the first book in MacCullough's duet ended, high school senior Tamsin Greene learned that she does indeed have a witch Talent and is one of the few skilled at time Travel. Oh, and that somehow she is now keeper of the Domani, the magical object that keeps the malign Knight family of witches under control.

No wonder Alistair Knight goes back in time to help his ancestors keep the Greene family from creating the Domani... no wonder Tamsin time Travels to stop him.

Twisted witch souls, lust for power, a big magical battle - be sure to read Once a Witch (book 1 - review) before you race through the conclusion of this exciting duet.
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Book info: Always a Witch / Carolyn MacCullough. Clarion HMH, 2011. [author's website] [publisher site]

My Recommendation: Tamsin can’t let evil Alistair Knight go back in time to wipe out her family! Yes, she knows that time Traveling is dangerous, but the fate of the Greenes – and of all unWitch humanity - hangs in the balance.

Few can Travel, and no one else can repel another witch’s Talent or take it away - finding her magic Talent late is better than never, Tam decides, even if she doesn’t want to be “most powerful of them all,” as her grandmother reads the prophecy from the past and future pages of the Greene family book.

Clues indicate that Alistair intends to contact his 19th century relatives with information they could use to ambush the Greenes and prevent them from creating the Domani which controls the powers that witches have over mere humans. So Tamsin decides to get into the Knight household before he can arrive in 1887. Surely Gabriel will be able to draw her back into the present before her sister Rowena’s wedding next weekend…

Posing as a lady’s maid, Tam finds that more than just modern conveniences are lacking in the huge house. The matriarch, La Spider, is using highly unconventional means to retain her youthful appearance and to control her grown son and daughter. And the son is experimenting with ways to use humans, such a bother when they are used up…

Blood and a dungeon, an uncanny stone statue, a stealthy war of magic power that bustling New York City cannot even see – will Alistair succeed in giving Liam Knight the key to defeating the Greenes? Can Tamsin stop the Knight family without stranding herself in the past? Why are the pages of her grandmother’s prophecy book blank past the day Tam left for 1887?

The prophecy heard in Once a Witch (review) echoes over and over through the closing book of the duet, as Tamsin strives to do what’s best for her family without destroying the world. One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.