YA Book Battles: Grimm Vs. Death

I joined the YA Blogger's Best Overlooked Book Battle, hosted by Alyssa at The Shady Glade as a Round 2 judge. For this wonderful event, it was my job to read two books and judge which one is better. I was supposed to have a partner for this, but due to a cancellation I am on my own. So, I figured that to make it more fun I would have an argument with myself to choose the winner.

To start, please read my reviews for both of the books I will be judging; The Grimm Legacy and Keturah and Lord Death. As you can see in the reviews, I loved both books but they are very different from each other and hard to compare, hence the argument.

So, here it goes. Be warned, there may be some spoilers below.

I will start with guys:

Death

Lord Death is quite swoonworthy with his melancholy, mysterious air. He wields great power and you can tell that he grieves at his job sometimes and is very lonely.

John Temsland, the other possible love interest, is handsome and kindhearted. Though the son of a lord, he is not stuck up or arrogant and he isn't insulted too easily.

Grimm

Marc Merritt is the high school star. All of the girls sigh over him and he is always the tallest, coolest person in the room. He is very nice but often careless and he doesn't always think things through.

Aaron Rosendorn is a sullen, jealous boy but there is more to him than immediately meets the eye. He is honest and brave and willing to admit himself to being in the wrong (eventually).

The girls:

Death

Keturah Reeve is caring and lovely but occasionally foolish. She has an inner wisdom and an ability to overcome and see through fear to the heart of the matter. She doesn't want too much out of life, just a cottage, a wee child to hold in her arms and her one true love as her husband.

Grimm

Elizabeth Rew is spunky and stouthearted. She gives her shoes to a freezing woman even though she has little money to buy new ones. She is loyal to her friends and, though she cares what people think of her, she does not let that influence her actions.

The writing:

Death

Poetic and and lush, this book was very well written. The words get you thinking and wondering about life and death and other important things, but sometimes it is hard to understand.

Grimm

The dialogue and descriptions in this story are lighthearted and fun. I love how Elizabeth attempts to describe what magic smells like and fails miserably. I spent most of the book smiling or laughing.

The romance:

Death

This book definitely has the better guys and the more romantic plot. Keturah has multiple suitors but she has trouble deciding between them. And who can blame her with Lord Death and John to choose between? (Though I personally would go for the dark and tormented Lord Death right away.)

Grimm

The romance in this book is fresh and innocent. Elizabeth had a small crush on Marc, who likes Anjali, whereas Aaron adores Anjali and hates Marc. All of them are teenagers who tend to take things either a little too seriously or a little too lightly. In the end, I thought the romance was quite cute.

The settings:

Death

This one is set in a lovely little medieval village that you can easily imagine an Arthurian knight galloping through on his way to rescue some fair damsel. In the forest I could easily see anything from a unicorn to a bear, not to mention a certain trouble-making hart, wandering through the foliage.

Grimm

I love, love, love the Repository. I am completely serious about wanting to work there. With its huge Stacks of historical, fictional and magical artifacts just waiting to be explored...heck, I could probably live there happily enough. It even has a Table-Be-Set so I wouldn't have to leave to eat.

So, dramatic or fun? Romantic or cute? Thought-provoking or silly? Haunting or sweet? I like the hero of Death best, the heroine of Grimm, the writing of Death is technically better but in Grimm it is more fun. The two styles of romance are really too different to compare. When it comes to the setting Grimm wins hands-down.

I loved both books, but I have to declare The Grimm Legacy to be the winner. Barely. I can see myself re-reading both of them in the distant future, though.

Just for fun, which one do you thing is better?

                      Lieder Madchen

Sea Wolves Reading Circle, Part of Random Magic Tour: Pirates!

Ahoy! Welcome to the Sea Wolves Reading Circle. The Sea Wolves are a bunch of swashbuckling bloggers who will be sharing their favorite piratey books with you. Set sail with us and you will be sure to find all manner of piratical adventures.

To start, I would like to introduce you to the handsome and dashing Captain Blood!

Random Pirate Award: Best-Looking Pirate.

Now, who hasn't heard of this most famous of classical fictional pirates? Not that he ever intended to turn pirate, it just sort of happened. There he was, a doctor tending a patient, and then before he knows it he is sent to Jamaica as a slave. His rebellious spirit, however, cannot allow for such circumstances, and so in a daring escape he steals a ship and becomes one of the greatest buccaneers to sail the Seven Seas. Of course, where would such a man be without a lady? And that is where the beautiful, defiant Arabella Bishop comes in, and with all of their mutually professed hatred there is nothing to do but fall in love.

To add to the magnificence of this character, he is portrayed by Errol Flynn in the wonderful, cheesy old movie adaptation!

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini can be downloaded for free from Project Gutenberg for your immediate enjoyment.

Random Pirate Award: Most Technologically Advanced Pirate.

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel has it all. Steampunk, a red-headed lady, a supposedly uninhabited island and, above all, flying pirates!

Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the airship Aurora. Born in the sky, he never wants to leave. Little did he no that this journey was going to be different. The peaceful trip is interrupted by the stubborn, rich Kate de Vries and her unfailing determination to drag Matt into trouble. Compared to her, the pirates almost seem tame.

Airborn is the first in a fantastic YA trilogy that I have read through at least three times and I will definitely be reading them again.

Random Pirate Award: Most Ticklish Pirate
Random Magic by Sasha Soren is a delightfully insane tale with a couple of very piratey adventures.

When faced with quite probable death, the not-so ordinary Henry Witherspoon and the extraordinary Winnie Flapjack make some interesting discoveries as to the sensitivities of villainous pirates.

To see my full review, click here. Give this book a try, you won't regret it!

Random Pirate Award: Most French Pirate

Bloody Jack Faber is a very different sort of girl. Having grown up on the streets, she is resourceful, unscrupulous and completely dishonest. Escaping London, she disguises herself as a boy and joins the navy. Before too long, she finds herself attracted to one of her fellow cabin boys, studying to be a midshipman and encountering (you guessed it!) pirates!

Random Pirate Award: Largest Number of Pirates

Inda by Sherwood Smith is one of my favorite novels of all time. At first it may not look like a pirate novel, but I assure you, they are there.  Inda is a prince, but not a particularly important one. He is filled with excitement when he is finally old enough to attend the Academy, where he will be trained in the art of war and how to be a proper Shield for his older brother. However, terrible things happen and Inda is exiled far away from his friends and family. Placed on a ship where no one knows his name, forced to make a new life for himself, he may prove himself to be more formidable than anyone suspected, especially when it comes to fighting pirates! Inda is the first in a series and the second book, The Fox, has even more pirates.

Random Pirate Award: Meanest Pirate

With a cover like this, do I even need to tell you that there are pirates? Not to mention time travel? But I bet you didn't guess that there are Nazis, did you? On the eve of WWII, young Nick McIver discovers an old sea chest containing a time machine and a plea for help from an ancestor that takes him to 1805 where he battles both a villainous pirate and the treacherous French! The sequel to Nick of Time is called The Time Pirate and has even more piratey adventures.

Random Pirate Award: Creepiest Pirate

Castaways of the Flying Dutchman is the story of a mute boy with no name and no family who stows away on a ship to escape starvation and abuse. It is only later that he realizes what kind of ship he is on. A pirate ship. When the crazed Captain Vanderdecken curses heaven and is doomed to sail with his ghostly crew for all eternity, the boy, now named Ben, along with his faithful dog are sent out into the world as immortal wanderers, unable to ever cease their travels. This book has two marvelously piratical sequels: The Angel's Command and Voyage of Slaves.

Random Pirate Award: Most Misunderstood Pirate

 Last but most certainly not least is my very favorite pirate novel of all time, The Sea-Hawk by Rafael Sabatini! Unfairly dwarfed by the more popular Captain Blood, The Sea-Hawk is a magnificent tale of love and betrayal, brothers and lovers, forgiveness and revenge. Sigh, I could probably go on about this book forever. Sir Oliver Tressilian is in love with the fair Rosamund, but there is no love lost between him and her brother, Peter. When Peter is killed (by Oliver's brother, no less) Oliver is the prime suspect. He will not allow anything to happen to his brother Lionel, so he determines to prove his innocence through evidence. However, just when he can accomplish this goal, he is kidnapped under orders from his brother and sold as a galley slave. When the ship he is held captive on is attacked by corsairs, he takes the chance to revenge himself upon his captors and so becomes the notorious pirate Sakr-el-Bahr, the Sea-Hawk. I love this book so much that I recommend that you follow this link directly and download a copy for yourself.

I hope your appetite for piratiness has been properly whetted, because there is more! Check out some chances to win pirate loot here!

Or set sail and find the next Sea Wolf!

Fair seas to you all, my fellow buccaneers!

Chivalrous Deeds: A Historical Fiction Challenge

This challenge can be found on the Bippity Boppity Book Blog.
It was the name of this challenge that first caught my attention, I love tales of chivalry. :) This challenge is also interesting in the fact that it has no defined goal except to read more books set in a larger variety of times and places than anybody else, which adds a fun element of competition. For this challenge, you read historical novels with connections to court and royalty. However, you are not allowed to read a book set in the same court as the last one you read. For example, if I was to read a book about Elizabeth I, it is against the rules to read another about her right away but you can come back to her later after reading a book that is about, say, Richard the Lionheart. This rule makes things more interesting, I think. :)

1. The Tudor Secret by C.W, Gortner (Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey, Mary Tudor)
2. The Falcons of Montabard by Elizabeth Chadwick (Baldwin II of Jerusalem)
3. The Running Vixen by Elizabeth Chadwick (Henry I)
4. Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw (Hatshepsut)
5. Petra: City of Stone by T.L. Higley
                                                      
                                                     Lieder Madchen

Reading Challenge Addict 2011

This challenge has its own blog Here.
I cannot seem to stop joining reading challenges, so when I found this I had to join. :) My goal is to complete all nine of the challenges I have joined and complete the goals I have set for myself.

Here they are:
Time Travel Reading Challenge My goal is 20 books.
Italy in Books Reading Challenge My goal is 20 books.
Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge My goal is 20 Sci-Fi books.
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge My goal is Severe Bookaholism: 20 books.
Jane Austen Reading Challenge My goal is Fanatic: 12+ books.
Classics Forever Reading Challenge My goal is Level 4: 13+ books.
Young Adult Reading Challenge My goal is 100 books.
Chivalrous Deeds My goal is to be the most widely traveled.
Once Upon a Time Challenge My goal is Quest the Second.

If I join any more I will have to put them up, too. :)

                                        Lieder Madchen

Italy in Books Reading Challenge 2011

This challenge can be found at the Book After Book Blog.
I love Italy. I love Italian books and Italian history and the one place I would go if I could go anywhere in the world would be Italy, so this challenge is a good one for me. :)
My goal is 20 books in this category.

                                        Lieder Madchen

Speculative Fiction Challenge 2011

This challenge can be found at the Floor to Ceiling Books Blog. I thought this one looked like fun, but I am going to narrow the peramaters of the goal for myself and only count Science Fiction and bump the number up to 20.

1. Skyfall by Catherine Asaro
2. Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder
3. The Moon's Shadow by Catherine Asaro
4. The Ruby Dice by Catherine Asaro
5. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
6. Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld (Sequel to Leviathan)
7. The Resurrection by Henry Parker
8. Born of Shadows by Sherrilyn Kenyon
9. Outside In by Maria V. Snyder
10. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
11. Delirium by Lauren Oliver
12. Divergent by Veronica Roth
13. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
14. Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch
15. Alien Tango by Gini Koch
16. Alien in the Family by Gini Koch

                                            Lieder Madchen

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2011

This challenge can be found on the wonderful Historical Tapestry Blog. Historical Fiction is probably my favorite literary genre (with Fantasy as a very close second). I love to find interesting stories that inspire me to go look up what really happened.
My goal is Severe Bookaholism: 20 books.

Here is what I have got so far:
1. Cleopatra's Heir by Gillian Bradshaw (Ms. Bradshaw graciously agreed to an interview, which was awesome.)
2. The Champion by Elizabeth Chadwick
3. Lady of the Glen by Jennifer Roberson
4. The Blackstone Key by Rose Melikan
5. The Counterfeit Guest by Rose Melikan
6. The Tudor Secret by C.W. Gortner
7. The Falcons of Montabard by Elizabeth Chadwick
8. Men of Iron by Howard Pyle
9. The Love Knot by Elizabeth Chadwick
10. The Running Vixen by Elizabeth Chadwick
11. Daughter of the Game by Tracy Grant
12. No Shame, No Fear by Ann Turnbull
13. Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
14. The Ballad of Gregoire Darcy by Marsha Altman
15. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
16. The Betrayal of Maggie Blair by Elizabeth Blair
17. Petra: City of Stone by T.L. Higley
18. The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
19. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King
20. Quintspinner by Dianne Greenlay
                                           
                                             Lieder Madchen

Jane Austen Challenge 2011

I found this challenge on The Life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object Blog, she seems to have some fun challenges! I love Jane Austen, but it seems that lately I am going through a phase where I am reading a lot more than I usually do. I have read all of Jane Austen's works, save for Northanger Abbey, and I have been meaning to read them all again (and Northanger Abbey for the first time).
My goal is Fanatic: 12+ total, 6 by Jane Austen, 6+ re-writes, spoofs, etc.
It should be fun!

1. The Second Mrs. Darcy by Elizabeth Aston
2. The Darcy Connection by Elizabeth Aston
3. Mr. Darcy's Dream by Elizabeth Aston
4. Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons by Jane Austen and Vera Nazarian
5. Mr. Darcy's Obsession by Abigail Reynolds
6. Dreadfully Ever After by Steve Hockensmith
7. The Ballad of Grégoire Darcy by Marsha Altman
8. The Road to Pemberley Anthology edited by Marsha Altman
9. A Pemberley Medley by Abigail Reynolds

                                       Lieder Madchen

Classics Forever Reading Challenge 2011

This challenge can be found on The Life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object Blog. I only like a few "classics" but what I like about this challenge is that anything that is old enough to be in the public domain counts, and I can think of a lot of old books like that. (My collection of old e-books is huge!)
My goal is Level 4: 13+ novels.
As a more personal goal, I want to, for the most part, read old books that few people will have heard of as well as The Importance of Being Earnest. (I watched the movie a couple of nights ago and now I want to read the book.)

1. Men of Iron by Howard Pyle
2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

                                    Lieder Madchen

Young Adult Reading Challenge 2011

I am kind of behind on my challenges, I have been joining them left and right but not posting about them, so now I am having to do them all at once. :)

I found the YA Challenge on the Jamie's Bookshelf Blog. I read a lot of YA novels, so I thought it looked like fun. My goal is to read 100 books in this category, and I have already started. :)

1. The Angel Experiment by James Patterson (Book 1 in the Maximum Ride series)
2. School's Out - Forever by James Patterson (Book 2 in the Maximum Ride Series)
3. Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson (Book 3 in the Maximum Ride Series.)
4. A Hidden Magic by Vivian Vande Velde
5. The Final Warning by James Patterson (Book 4 in the Maximum Ride Series.)
6. Max by James Patterson (Book 5 in the Maximum Ride Series.)
7. Fang by James Patterson (Book 6 in the Maximum Ride Series.)
8. Angel by James Patterson (Book 7 in the Maximum Ride Series.)
9. The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan (Book 1 in the Ranger's Apprentice Series.)
10. The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan (Book 2 in the Ranger's Apprentice Series.)
11. The Icebound Land by John Flanagan (Book 3 in the Ranger's Apprentice Series.)
12. The Battle for Skandia by John Flanagan (Book 4 in the Ranger's Apprentice Series.)
13. Erak's Ransom by John Flanagan (Book 7 in the Ranger's Apprentice Series, chronologically book 5.)
14. The Sorcerer in the North by John Flanagan (Book 5 in the Ranger's Apprentice Series.)
15. The Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan (Book 6 in the Ranger's Apprentice Series.)
16. A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee
17. Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
18. A Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee (The Agency Book 2)
19. The Seven Towers by Patricia C. Wrede
20. Cloaked by Alex Flinn
21. The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan (Book 8 in the Ranger's Apprentice Series.)
22. Halt's Peril by John Flanagan (Book 9 in the Ranger's Apprentice Series.)
23. Aurelia by Anne Osterlund
24. By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson
25. The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle
26. Tortall and Other Lands by Tamora Pierce
27. To Darkness Fled by Jill Williamson
28. Close Kin by Clare B. Dunkle (Book 2 in the Hollow Kingdom Trilogy)
29. In the Coils of the Snake by Clare B. Dunkle (Book 3 in the Hollow Kingdom Trilogy)
30. Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz (Book 9 in the Alex Rider Series)
31. Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis (Book 1 in the Dragons in Our Midst Series)
32. The Education of Bet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
33. Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder
34. No Shame, No Fear by Ann Turnbull
35. Forged by Fire by Ann Turnbull (Sequel to No Shame, No Fear)
36. Seven Daughters and Seven Sons by Barbara Cohen and Bahija Lovejoy
37. King of Ithaka by Tracy Barrett
38. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
39. Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr (Sequel to Wicked Lovely)
40. Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce (Book 1 in the Song of the Lioness Quartet)
41. Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
42. In the Hands of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce (Book 2 in the Song of the Lioness Quartet)
43. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
44. Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld (Sequel to Leviathan.)
45. The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce (Book 3 in the Song of the Lioness Quartet)
46. Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce (Book 4 in the Song of the Lioness Quartet)
47. Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman
48. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
49. Random Magic by Sasha Soren
50. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
51, 52 and 53. Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
54. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
55. The Betrayal of Maggie Blair by Elizabeth Laird
56. The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (Book 1 of the Darkest Powers)
57. The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong (Book 2 of the Darkest Powers)
58. The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong (Book 3 of the Darkest Powers)
59. Outside In by Maria V. Snyder
60. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
61. Entwined by Heather Dixon
62. Evermore by Alyson Noel
63. Wings by Aprilynne Pike
64. The Song of the Ovulum by Bryan Davis
65. Hereafter by Tara Hudson
66. Fallen by Lauren Kate
67. Torment by Lauren Hate
68. Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon
69. The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
70. Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt
71. Delirium by Lauren Oliver
72. The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
73. Legacy by Cayla Kluver
74. Destruction From Twins by L. Carroll
75. 400 Days by L. Carroll
76. Blue Moon by Alyson Noel
78. Shadowlands by Alyson Noel
79. Dark Flame by Alyson Noel
80. The Diamond Secret by Suzanne Weyn
81. Violet Eyes by Debbie Viguie
82. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
83. Die For Me by Amy Plum
84. Passion by Lauren Kate
85. Divergent by Veronica Roth
86. Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast
87. Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury
88. Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
89. Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready
90. Spellbound by Cara Lynn Schultz
91. The Trouble With Spells by Lacey Weatherford
92. The Demon Kiss by Lacey Weatherford
93. Blood of the White Witch by Lacey Weatherford
94. The Dark Rising by Lacey Weatherford
95. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
96. The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
97. The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
98. The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa
99. The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong
100. Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

                                     Lieder Madchen

Second Time's the Charm: Multiple Proposals in Literature

Here is my contribution to the Valentine's Day mood. :)

I was watching the British BBC miniseries North and South with my sister and sister-in-law, and when it reached the scene where John Thornton first proposes, I started thinking about all of the wonderful romances where the gentleman must prove his determination by not taking no for an answer. Here are some of my favorites. :)

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

What are your favorite stories where the gentleman had to propose two or more times before he succeeded in wooing fair lady?

                                        Happy Valentine's Day!
                                                    Lieder Madchen

Mailbox Monday (2)

I was very excited when The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy by Mary Simonsen arrived in the mail on Wednesday morning. I hardly ever get mail, so it is always fun, but it is especially exciting when one is getting a new book. :) I finished reading The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy at about one o'clock on Thursday morning. (It was a very fun book.) I won this copy on a giveaway at the lovely Diary of an Eccentric blog, and I had been looking forward to its arrival for a few days. :) I already have a review posted, click here to read. It is nice to be able to do a Mailbox Monday where the book actually came in the mail. :)

                                            Lieder Madchen

My Rating System

I didn't really think my rating system all the way through when I first started, I have mostly been coming up with the numbers by instinct. Here I shall lay out all of the vague ideas I have in my head, and I will do my best to stick with it. However, I reserve the right to rate something as higher or lower than it technically is depending on how natural or plot-necessary it is.

Profanity
1. A  couple of uses of made-up swearwords, or one or two uses of mild profanity, such as the word "damn" or "hell."
2. A few uses of mild profanity.
3. A single use of the word for an illegitimate son, or an impolite word for a woman, or the sh-word.
4. A few uses of the type of word listed in #3.
5. A single use of the f-word.
6. Frequent uses of mild profanity and one or two uses of a worse word.
7. Several uses of the words described in #3, plus a single use of the f-word or several uses of mild profanity.
8. A few uses of the f-word.
9. Many uses of all kinds of profanity.
10. Constant and pervasive use of strong language.

Violence
Violence is a harder category to quantify. You can have a battle with no blood, and a fistfight that is brutal or vise-versa. You can also have a bloody scene that doesn't bother you in it's context, or a fight with no blood that is psychologically more disturbing. For this category, I will be more general.
A significant amount of blood will earn a 4 or up.
Rape, no matter how vague, will always earn a 5 and up, as will murder.
Graphic gore, such as entrails or amputation, will get a 6 and up.
Anything above a 6 will likely be one of the above only more graphic, disturbing, and/or in larger quantities.

Sexuality
Mostly my rating of this category has to do with what made me uncomfortable, which was generally anything above a 6, but now I shall try to be more specific. I have only ever read one book that I would rate a ten, and I had no idea that it would be so full of sex when I picked it up.
1 and 2 mean that there is practically no sexuality, only mild innuendo or a brief reference.
3. Some innuendo and multiple references.
4. A scene of sexuality that fades away before anything happens, but you still know what happened.
5. A scene that gets to the touching stage (but not the touching of certain body parts) before it fades away.
6. A scene that doesn't fade away but is still rather vague.
7. One descriptive scene.
8. Multiple scenes of varying explicitness.
9. One or two disturbingly graphic scenes.
10. Many graphic scenes throughout the novel.

Any ratings that do not seem to match up with what I have listed above, for example, a rating of a 4 in sexuality for references only, means that there are more references or worse references than I would rat a 3. I hope this is useful to you in understanding my ratings, I know it will be useful to me :) I think I might have to go adjust some of my previous ratings...

                                                      Lieder Madchen

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday, set up by Laura Fabiani of Good Clean Reads, looked like so much fun that I had to give it a try. :) I haven't actually got anything in my mailbox, but apparently e-books count so I will go with that. :) I just got a copy of Lydia Bennet's Story from sourcebooks.com, and I am very excited about it! I haven't read anything by Jane Odiwe yet, but her books look great. :) I am sure there will be a review on this one before too long...

                                                            Lieder Madchen

My Taste in Books

I think an explanation of my taste in books is in order, since I have completely departed from my previous reviews in writing about a thriller. I consider my taste to be rather eclectic. It has been influenced by various forces throughout my life, beginning with my mom. She taught me to read at an early age, and I have never stopped. For our homeschool studies, she expected me to read the classics and other quality literature. She also assigned a great deal of historical novels to augment the textbooks. From her, I learned to love Jane Austen, G.A. Henty, Howard Pyle, Roger Lancelyn Green, Brian Jacques, and many others. My elder sister introduced me to Louisa May Alcott, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, William Shakespeare, James Patterson, E.D. Baker and others. I never picked up her liking for vampire novels, though. I read Dune, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the works of Avi, Lloyd Alexander, Patricia C. Wrede, J.R.R. Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, and a few other sci-fi authors on the recommendations of my older brothers. However, they could not convince me that Robert Heinlein was any good, no matter how hard they tried. Dad introduced me to Action/Adventure/Thrillers and such. Because of him, I have read the works of Jack Higgins, Clive Cussler, James Rollins, Matt Reilly, Justin Scott, Tom Clancy and others of that sort. I especially enjoy books by Alistair Maclean and Robert Ludlum, but I do not like Ian Fleming at all. With these foundations, I took off on my own. Eva Ibbotson, Juliet Marillier, Anne McCaffrey, John Flanagan, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephen Lawhead, Shannon Hale, Laurie King's Russell series, Cameron Dokey, Lauren Willig, C.S. Forester, Gillian Bradshaw, Sharon Shinn, Sherwood Smith, Abigail Reynolds, Lois McMaster Bujold, Rafael Sabatini, Kenneth Oppel, Elizabeth Chadwick, and a myriad of other authors in every genre soon decorated my mental library, and I am forever adding more. There is no way I could ever name them all, and there are so many that I want to read but have not. I am constantly becoming frustrated with my local library, though it is one of my favorite places, because they simply cannot buy every book that I would like to borrow. I love nothing more than to discover a wonderful book that had somehow escaped my notice before, especially if it makes me smile. In Abigail Reynolds' novel Pemberley by the Sea, her character said, "I like cream with my coffee and optimism with my literature." (Or something to that effect, I am terrible at remembering exact wordings.) I agree with this sentiment whole-heartedly, and I hate tragedies. (Which makes no sense when I think of how much I love King Arthur, Robin Hood, and Greek mythology.) I also love to find books that I can give to my younger sisters, one of whom is fast becoming as much of a book-a-holic as I am. Occasionally they return the favor, my 12-year-old sis discovered the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan and soon the nearly the whole household was reading them, including my 26-year-old brother, which proves that I come from a large family of book-fiends. :)

                                                            Lieder Madchen

                                        

A Knight in Shining Armor

Warning! Spoiler Alert!

I have been reading Elizabeth Chadwick's William Marshal books, The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion. The first of these books tell of the true adventures of a young knight in the late 12th century up to his early marriage. The second tells of his married life and further adventures up to his death in the early 13th century. This is just the sort of book I have always enjoyed reading. It is a wonderful time period, full of crusaders, Richard the Lion-Heart, evil Prince John, and, in less-than-accurate versions, Robin Hood and Ivanhoe. I would have enjoyed these well-written and well-researched books anyway, but, due to my mom's geneology hobby, it has an extra dimension.
        I am related to nearly every character in them. William Marshal and his wife Isabelle de Clare are my grandparents. In The Greatest Knight, a Lusignan killed William's uncle. I have Lusignans for grandparents, too. In The Scarlet Lion, the Marshals attended the betrothal of Hugh de Lusignan and Isabella of Angouleme. King John also attended and later stole the bride away for his own. I am descended from them. When John died, Isabella married Hugh de Lusignan, and I am descended from their children as well. I am my own cousin several times over. Also featured in the novels are Longespees, de Warennes, Bigods, as well as many others I am directly related to or descended from. It is ridiculous. Mom says that if we got all of our anscestors on one room, it would be an all-out war. I think she may be on to something.
        Even without all of this added interest, though, The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion are very entertaining reads. There is romance, battles, hair's breadth escapes, captures and ransoms, and the fascinating life of one brave man.

                                                         Lieder Madchen