Sophia continues her accounts of life in the FitzOsborne family. Her writing has matured somewhat and no longer is she the meek little mouse she was in book One, A brief History of Montmaray. She’s not so much jaded, as having become wise to the ways of successful manipulation. She is learning to read people for who they are, and is becoming a calculating young lady indeed.
The family made it safely to England, and are met with a culture shock like they’d never expected. Victoria and Sophia debut their first ‘season’ in high society. Henry hates her governess, and Toby makes some important life choices. The running story line is the struggle to have the English forces free Montmaray from the Germans.
I was thrilled to see a little progression with equality between the sexes. Though it wasn’t up to modern standards, at times I found myself cheering and laughing for Victoria. I thought the reactions to her refusal to accept the inequality quite amusing. Her sharp as a blade intelligence cut those foolish enough to go against her quite deeply.
With a big finish, book Two certainly stands up to the whimsical nature of Book One.
I look forward to devouring Book Three.

The FitzOsbornes in Exile – Michelle Cooper

August 1st 2010 by Random House Australia

Paperback, 456 pages

ISBN

9781741664447

Belinda Says

Meridian has an unfortunate 16^th birthday that leads her on a path of self-discovery and adventure. You see, she’s always been around the dead, but now she’s having her eyes opened in a big way and life will never be the same again.

Being sent to her Aunt’s house in Colorado, to hone her blossoming abilities, proves to be a little more dangerous than first thought. She finds herself going toe to toe with an entity corrupting the local church congregation, and her Aunt wants her to do what?!

Amber Kizer has tackled the difficult topics of death and blind faith with a full on body slam. She dares us to view the world differently, and to question that which seems morally wrong. She shows us how spin can be a very dangerous thing, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

For me, the main thread running through the whole book is, ‘How can you know where you‘re going if you don‘t know where you‘ve been?’ I found myself unnerved by the use of Bible scriptures, as I pictured them potentially being used to justify violent actions against people who don’t necessarily follow the same belief system. That being said, they certainly had their place within the story.

This engrossing book is a smooth read. The imagery is vivid and full of flavour. The characters are practically touchable and, love them or hate them, they certainly make the story pop from the page, jumping at you in full living colour.

The next book in the series, Wildcat Fireflies, is a fair way off yet. I can tell you, the wait will be difficult.

X Belinda X

Series Website

www.meridiansozu.com

Author Website

www.amberkizer.com/Home_Page.html

Meridian – Amber Kizer

August 11, 2009 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Hardcover, 320 pages

• ISBN-10: 0385736681
• ISBN-13: 978-0385736688

14 year old, Nick Gautier (pronounced Go-Shay), son of a dancer, poor as a church mouse, heart of gold, and smart mouth like whoa, has to learn how to harness his untested powers to avoid a life of horror and unimaginable cruelty.

It’s amazing what you can learn when you listen to your parents.

Unfortunately for Nick, his mate Madaug has been paying a little too much notice at the dinner table and created a race of live zombies out of the school football team. ~Not that there’s really that much difference before and after… Well, except for the whole wanting to eat your brains thing.~

In Infinity, there are undertones dealing with bullying, the abuse of power, the inequality between the wealthy and the poor, and breaking through stereotypes. Kenyon succeeds in giving her characters the attitudes they need to get through life, no matter what it throws at them. They’re believable and well grounded; I’m sure we all know someone like Nick. His quick wit is the cause of heaps of laugh out loud moments, especially when his sass sparks his Mother’s wrath.

The path to hell is paved with good intentions, let’s hope Nick can get a clue before his life goes to hell in a hand basket. This is a fast-paced ride, so hold on tight.

If you’ve been following the Dark-Hunter series you’ll be watching for characters who starred in the other books, to pop into this series.

Keep an eye out for the Barbeque Sauce wielding, Charonte Demon, Simi.

She has got to be my favorite Kenyon Character of all.

Future books will be electrifying in the ‘Chronicles of Nick‘.

Next in the Series is ‘Invincible‘, due in 2011.

X Belinda X

Infinity: Chronicles of Nick – Sherrilyn Kenyon

May 25 2010 by St Martin’s Griffin

Paperback, 480 pages

ISBN 0312599072

(ISBN-13): 978-0312599072

Kiss Me Deadly – Tales of Paranormal Romance (Edited by Trisha Telep).

Zombies and Genies and Angels. Oh my!

This is a seriously twisted treasury of magical, fantastical stories.

You’ll be thrilled, chilled, and romanced by so many creatures from the darker side of your imagination that your head will spin. Fairies aren’t always what they seem and walking nightmares need love too, you know.

The stories that had me wanting more were ‘The Spy Who Never Grew Up‘, by Sarah Rees Brennan, and ‘The Spirit Jar’ by Karen Mahoney.

We find out what would happen to Peter Pan if the monarchy decided he’d make an excellent addition to the secret service; and robbing a bookstore leads to a budding romance between a Djinn and a kick-ass Vampire named Moth.

Enyo gets wrapped up in a fight for survival when an antiquated pre-marital ritual requires the sacrifice of a Unicorn in ‘Errant’ by Diana Peterfreund. And death isn’t quite so permanent in ‘Many Happy Returns’ by Daniel Waters.

Those are just a few of the awesome offerings by the thirteen authors in this collection.

Also included in the book are stories from the New York Times best-selling authors Becca Fitzpatrick, Maggie Stiefvater, and Rachel Vincent.

Editor Trisha Telep has got it going on right here.

Keep an eye out for more romantic stories with bite put together by Trisha in The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire.

Kiss Me Deadly – Edited by Trisha Telep

August 3 2010 by Running Press Kids

Paperback, 432 pages

ISBN

0762439491 (ISBN-13): 978-0762439492