Review: Palace of Spies

First in the Palace of Spies series
By Sarah Zettel
Available now from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt BFYR
Review copy

PALACE OF SPIES is a zippy historical set slightly before the Regency period, in the court of King George.  Peggy Fitzroy, the heroine, is an orphan who is thrown out of her uncle's house when she refuses the marriage he sets up for her.  (And not for a small reason either; her fiance attempts to rape her.)

Fortunately for Peggy, she's recruited to take the place of Lady Francesca.  She'll be a lady-in-waiting to Princess Catherine and report what she sees to a trio with unknown motives.  But Peggy is suspicious and curious about the girl she's imitating.  As secrets of Lady Francesca's life start to come to life, Peggy suspects that she didn't die of illness.  And Peggy could be next if she can't put everything together.

While quite frothy, PALACE OF SPIES has a strong grounding in real history.  It's almost a mini-lesson in Georgian social customs and the Jacobites.  It's a nice blend that will appeal to history fans as well as those who just like a pretty background of elaborate dresses and wartime spies.

There are some issues.  The premise stretches credulity quite far.  Not even Lady Francesca's best friend or lover notice she's been replaced by a completely different girl.  The romance plotline is underdeveloped.  And, well, the spying isn't that action packed.  All of the true action really comes at the end of the novel.  I enjoyed the setting and the character interaction, but PALACE OF SPIES is a more subdued novel than I expected, given the title and cover.

I enjoyed PALACE OF SPIES and think it is a good start to a mystery series.  There's a likeable detective, a detailed setting, and plenty of opportunity for intrigue. 

Review: The Republic of Thieves

Book Three in the Gentleman Bastards sequence
By Scott Lynch
Available now from Del Rey (Penguin Random House)
Review copy
Read my review of Red Seas Under Red Skies

RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES came out in 2007, a little over six years ago. The one-two punch of the hilarious, complicated, and inventive THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA and its sequel had fans eagerly awaiting the third book in the Gentleman Bastards series.  (Especially because it promised a reunion between Locke and his love Sabetha.)  Now, it's finally here and almost guaranteed to be disappointing because there has been so much time to anticipate it and wonder about what would happen.

I breezed through THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES, happy to be reunited with Locke and Jean and see them get out of their last scrape and straight into a new one.  As always, the story alternates between an episode in their past and their present.  I quite enjoyed the past, which reveals how Locke fell in love with Sabetha and wooed her.  I found those sections funny and liked how the ending forced the Gentleman Bastards to rely on their developing skills.  I also liked the development of Locke and Sabetha's romance, which is complicated by Sabetha's resentment of Locke's place in the gang.  They're similar in skill, but Sabetha is the outsider and Locke is the leader because of their sexes.

The present plot, which involves Locke and Jean trying to rig an election and Sabetha working for the other side, was less satisfying.  Yes, I liked spending time with the characters, but . . . there is no heist here, no clever unfolding of tricky plans.  The trickiest thing that happens in THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES is about on par with Locke not even trying in one of the first two books.  The biggest revelation occurs in a bit of awkward exposition.  There's barely any plot here.  My disappointment isn't so much from over anticipation as THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES not much resembling the first two books.  Not to mention there's no danger.  Each side is forbidden from killing the other.  If Locke and Jean win, they get to leave with protection.  If they lose, they just get to leave.  Those are possibly the lamest stakes ever.

I'll be back for the fourth installment in the Gentleman Bastards series.  The ending of THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES remembers that there is a series arc and that danger is tantalizing.  The past bits are good and there's plenty of fun banter.  It's just that the main plot of this entry is oddly airless.  On a whole, this book is a nice diversion for an afternoon, but not what I expected from a favorite series.

Review: Fangirl

By Rainbow Rowell
Available now from St. Martin's Griffin (Macmillan)
Review copy

FANGIRL: the novel that launched a thousand laudatory reviews.  It's a little difficult to be just one more, sometimes.  If you haven't heard about it, FANGIRL is the story of Cath, a freshman in college.  She's long found solace in fandom and has become a popular writer of Baz/Simon fanfiction (basically Harry Potter).  She's had some difficulty in her home life: her mother left when she and her sister were eight and her father is bipolar and sometimes has breakdowns.  Now at college, she doesn't even have her twin by her side.  Wren decided to room with someone else at the last minute.

The first reason FANGIRL is easy to love is that its very relatable.  Freshman year is a liminal time.  Some people spend it getting drunk, like Wren.  Some people spend it huddled in their dorm room, like Cath.  Often times things happen to shock people out of their patterns, which of course happens in the book.  The second is that FANGIRL is a total female fantasy.  Cath is hippy but still considered attractive, has no less than two potential love interests, is adored by a professor, and finds fame online.  Her college life is, in many ways, the life other socially anxious internet dwellers dream of.  There are some downsides (anxiety) (parental abandonment), but on the whole it is just plain fun to spend time in Cath's life.

FANGIRL is the cherry on top of a wonderful year for Rainbow Rowell.  She's really arrived as an author, and I am looking forward to her next book.  This book is a great choice for anyone going to college, or who has been to college, or who didn't go and wants proof that college quite often bites the monkey.

Review: The Engineered Throne

By Megan Derr
Available now from Less Than Three Press
Review copy

When this book popped up on Netgalley, I was intrigued by the main character's job.  You don't see many military engineers in fantasy or romance.  And let me tell you, THE ENGINEERED THRONE delivers on that promise.  Vellem's career is quite important to both the plot and his own decisions.  The book will certainly make you think about the importance of having someone around battles who can take bridges down, put bridges up, plan a demolition, and such.

The other point of interest was arranged marriage.  Let's face it, during the holidays I want to read fun books.  Arranged marriages are a classic trope.  Vellem is a war hero, which makes him high profile enough to marry the youngest prince of a neighboring country in order to seal a peace treaty.  However, he might not get to marry Perdith, because someone is trying their hardest to assassinate Vellem.

Despite being 312 pages, I felt that some parts of the story were glossed over.  Vellem starts a dangerous journey, then the book cuts to him arriving at his destination.  Vellem and Perdith are at first uncomfortable and unsure whether to trust each other, then they're totally into each other.  Other parts worked better.  There is a core of grief and rage to THE ENGINEERED THRONE that works very well.  If you pay attention to the title and blurb of the book, it is easy to guess what's coming.  But the book works to make it painful, not just a rote plot point.

I enjoyed THE ENGINEERED THRONE quite a bit.  It was a quick read with lots of action and a touch of romance.  Vellem was an interesting character to spend time with - excellent at his chosen profession, but a bit at sea elsewhere.   It was fun to see him earn a happy ending.

Review: Roomies

By Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando
Available now from Little, Brown BFYR (Hachette)
Review copy
Read my review of The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life

I love that the explosion of sexy reads about twentysomethings is starting to bring about interest in books that are about life in college, or just before college, without necessarily being about an intense romantic relationship.  I wish there'd been more books about this time of life back when I was in college.

ROOMIES is about the last summer before college for the alternating narrators, EB and Laura.  EB a New Jersey girl is excited to move across the country to San Francisco and hopes to make friends with her roommate because, well, she won't know anyone else.  Laura hoped for a single because she's moving out of her house with five siblings and just wants some alone time.  EB's perky email introducing herself was not what Laura hoped for.

It's a great premise for a novel, because the roommate relationship is such a unique one and so very variable.  You could be best friends with your roommate and hate living with them.  You could hate them but think they're great to live with because they never eat your food or steal your makeup.  Or anywhere in between!  Pre-move-in email exchanges are basically the only thing you know about the person you'll be living with for a year before you make that plunge.  (Unless you decide to room with a friend when you go off to college.)  Plus, it's a situation ripe for misunderstandings.  Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando clearly had a great deal of fun playing with the idea.

I found it a little hard to warm to EB and Laura at first because they were both determined to think the worst of each other based off of some pretty ungenerous readings of each other's emails.  Then I started really getting into their stories.  Laura's is the simpler one.  She's preparing to move away from her close family, which is difficult even though it's something she really wants, and maybe starting a relationship with a coworker.  Her coworker is black, and ROOMIES does a great job of dealing with how people act like they don't notice that but do.  EB, meanwhile, is having to deal with her mom's affair with a married man, the new guy she likes despite having a boyfriend, and getting up the courage to talk to her estranged gay dad who lives in San Francisco.  It is to the book's credit that it refers to this storyline as a soap opera but doesn't let it get too overly dramatic.

I really loved how many relationships are woven into ROOMIES.  There is the girls' growing, fraught relationship, of course.  But both of their family relationships are explored, as are their relationships with boys, and their relationships with their best female friends, all of which are changing because going off to college is a huge transition.  It's very realistic, which helps keep ROOMIES moving smoothly along instead of feeling overstuffed.

I think ROOMIES will be a big hit with contemporary fans and anyone who is making their own transition to college.  It's very positive while not ignoring potential negativity, and often just sweet and funny.  Just don't be fooled by the cover: they don't make it to the dorm room until the very end.  And you'll have to read the book to find out whether EB and Laura decide to live together after all.

Be sure to visit on January 10th when I post my own Roomies story and give away a copy of ROOMIES!