Faces of the Dead

When Marie-Therese, daughter of Marie Antoinette, slips into the streets of Paris at the height of the French Revolution, she finds a world much darker than what she's ever known.

When Marie-Therese Charlotte of France learns of the powerful rebellion sweeping her country, the sheltered princess is determined to see the revolution for herself. Switching places with a chambermaid, the princess sneaks out of the safety of the royal palace and into the heart of a city in strife.

Soon the princess is brushing shoulders with revolutionaries and activists. One boy in particular, Henri, befriends her and has her questioning the only life she's known. When the princess returns to the palace one night to find an angry mob storming its walls, she's forced into hiding in Paris. Henri brings her to the workshop of one Mademoiselle Grosholtz, whose wax figures seem to bring the famous back from the dead and who looks at Marie-Therese as if she can see all her secrets. There, the princess quickly discovers there's much more to the outside world - and to the mysterious woman's wax figures - than meets the eye.
from goodreads.com

Beth says 3 Stars...
Sometimes a girl just wants to read about the lush world of an Old-World monarchy, even as it breaks down during a revolution. This book did a wonderful job of capturing the feeling of the end of the French monarchy at the hands of revolutionaries. The details were delightful and really rounded out a full picture of the time, from describing the luxury of the palace to the squalor of the streets. I think that has to be the book's greatest strength; the ability to transport the reader back to the end of the 18th century. Unfortunately, the plot fell extremely short of the lovely world it was supposed to fill with action. I already knew the basics of how it was going to end from my brushes with European history, so I wasn't really on the edge of my seat. The most disappointing part of the novel was the how the supernatural element was handled. There's a way to delicately add a bit of the strange and paranormal, and then there's just severely underwhelming writing. I expected so much more and just ended up disappointed with the result. I wanted some excitement, or for there to be some actual influence on the plot from it. There would be almost no difference in the book if it had been straight up historical fiction, and it probably would have been better.

Marie-Therese was a decent character, but not entirely believable in my mind. Her reactions are too calm and collected for someone brought up to be a well-mannered princess. I can't imagine that someone in her position would take a fall with such grace and ease. The rest of the royal family served their purpose to give Marie-Therese motivation to do various risky things that somehow worked out fairly well for her. Henri was a fairly standard love interest. A poor boy who could show her how the rest of the French lived and offer her a new perspective on the world, all with sweetness and kindness. There was nothing wrong with him, but he lacked a spark to bring him off the page. Most of the characters fell a bit flat, unfortunately.

Overall, I'd say this is one to skip. Lovers of paranormal stories won't find enough to interest them and it strays a bit too far from traditional historical fiction to appeal to fans of that genre. This is a case where less probably would have been more.
ebook from Netgalley

Necromancing the Stone

With the defeat of the evil Douglas behind him, Sam LaCroix is getting used to his new life. Okay, so he hadn't exactly planned on being a powerful necromancer with a seat on the local magical council and a capricious werewolf sort-of-girlfriend, but things are going fine, right?

Well . . . not really. He's pretty tired of getting beat up by everyone and their mother, for one thing, and he can't help but feel that his new house hates him. His best friend is a werebear, someone is threatening his sister, and while Sam realizes that he himself has a lot of power at his fingertips, he's not exactly sure how to "use "it. Which, he has to admit, is a bit disconcerting.

But when everything starts falling apart, he decides it's time to step up and take control. His attempts to do so just bring up more questions, though, the most important of which is more than a little alarming: Is Douglas really dead?

from goodreads.com

Beth says 5 Stars...
I read Hold Me Closer, Necromancer last year and absolutely fell in love with the world McBride created.  It's absurdly clever and filled with sarcastic individuals that make weird references constantly.  At the outset of the book it appears as though things are going pretty well for Sam and his band of misfits.  Unfortunately, in order to have a decent plot for a novel, things go downhill relatively quickly.  Something I can't say enough about this series is how astoundingly funny it is.  Don't read it in public unless cackling to yourself is something you find acceptable.  I spent at least half of the time I was reading this book in some sort of laughter, ranging from giggles to near hysterics.  The plot itself is the weakest part of the book and didn't have me on the edge of my seat.  However, because I kept falling out of it due to uncontrollable laughter I'm willing to give it a pass.  This isn't to say the plot is bad, it's just not spectacular.

Sam just gets better and better.  He tries to develop his necromancy skills while growing into the role thrust upon him as the necromancer of the Seattle area.  He's still sensitive, hilarious, and not quite sure what he managed to get himself into with this supernatural gig.  What makes the book, though, are the secondary characters and the interactions between everyone.  How can you not love the fact that Sam's best friend has been turned into a werebear?  Brid becomes even more bad-ass than I thought possible, despite making some decisions that I didn't quite agree with.  Douglas's house has some amazing quirks, including some highly aggressive garden gnomes that have names like Twinkle the Destroyer and Gnoman Polanski.  The dialogue crackles with quick wit and I could read the conversations that happen between McBride's characters all day long.

If you haven't read this or the first book yet, go buy them immediately.  They're perfect summer reading; light and funny without lowering your IQ.  Be ready for one of the most fun reading experiences you'll ever have.
book from library

The Chaos of Stars

Isadora's family is seriously screwed up - which comes with the territory when you're the human daughter of the ancient Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris. Isadora is tired of living with crazy relatives who think she's only worth of a passing glance - so when she gets the chance to more to California with her brother, she jumps on it. But her new life comes with plenty of its own dramatic - and dangerous - complications... and Isadora quickly learns there's no such thing as a clean break from family.

Blending Ally Carter's humor and the romance of Cynthia Hand's Unearthly, The Chaos of Stars takes readers on an unforgettable journey halfway across the world and back, and proves there's no place like home.

Beth says 2.5 Stars...
I have some very conflicting feelings about this book.  I've read several of White's other novels and thoroughly enjoyed them, so I was looking forward to this one.  The cover immediately pulls you in because it's just flat out gorgeous and by then end of the book does connect back to the story, something that doesn't always happen when the image is so striking.  The plot isn't that bad and I really like the idea of the story.  Imagine that the gods and goddesses of yesteryear are still among us and very much keeping their traditions alive.  It's a similar basis than Gaiman's American Gods had, but this book isn't quite as well realized.  The mysterious plot is highly underdeveloped and the pieces don't fall into some semblance of a place until the very last second.  The little interludes (I call them that because I'm still not sure whether or not they were entirely flashbacks or dreams) at the beginning of each chapter didn't really serve a point.  Most of the plot was spent with Isadora doing nothing of consequence and it dragged.

My biggest issue was in connecting with Isadora, as in I found it impossible.  I found her beyond irritating.  She's entitled, refuses to listen to others, and in general acts like an angsty spoiled brat.  Not who I want to read about.  Of course being sheltered all her life she doesn't realize that she's absolutely gorgeous, although she spurns all advances because of the impermanence of mortal life.  Enter the love interest, Ry, who tries to convince Isadora that she's wrong about love and life.  I liked his character and would have much rather spent time inside his head.  The problem is that everything is filtered through Isadora and her annoyingly pessimistic worldview.  She can't handle happiness and must find problems (or potential problems) in every situation.  I wish that the other characters had more time because I think more deeply developed secondary characters could have significantly improved the novel.

The worst part is that the idea for this book is so fantastic.  I love the thought and would give a book told from a different character's perspective (Ry, perhaps) a chance because I still think there's potential here.  Unfortunately, this didn't live up to my expectations.  Despite the pretty cover, this one's a pass.
ebook from library

Til Death

Sixteen-year old Selena Fallon is a dreamer. Not a day-dreamer, but an I-see-the-future kind of dreamer. Normally this is not a problem as she has gotten pretty good at keeping her weird card hidden from everyone in her small town. Except from her best friend Kyle and her grandparents, of course. But when Selena dreams of her own rather bloody death, things get a little too freaky even for her.

Enter Dillan Sloan. Selena has seen the new guy in a different dream, and he is even more droolworthy in person. Beyond the piercing blue eyes and tousled dark hair, there is something else that draws her to him. Something…electric. Unfortunately, Dillan makes it more than clear that he does not feel the same. They just met, so why would he act like he hates her?

When Dillan and Selena are forced together one weekend to work on a school project, Selena prepares to be ignored as usual. But when she stumbles across a few undead in the backyard, Dillan comes to her rescue and reveals a whole lot more. Not only is he part of a society that hunts otherworldly creatures…she is too. And she is being targeted by a force bigger and darker than anything she ever imagined. Despite her death dream, Selena is not going to give up easy, especially when she discovers that Dillan might not actually hate her after all.
from goodreads.com

Beth says 3.5 Stars...
I just have to start off by mentioning the cover... how absurdly gorgeous is that?  After reading the book I'm not entirely sure what it has to do with the plot, but I'll take the pretty where I can.  We first meet Dillan as he's on his way to live with his uncle after some sort of mission.  As the book goes on we learn about the strongly hierarchical society of world protectors he's grown up in, although it does take a while to get a decent explanation.  The pacing of the book is a significant problem because information isn't distributed in a logical manner.  Some things that would be important to know at the beginning of the novel aren't revealed until halfway through or even later.  The action also clusters around certain events, moving the plot rapidly forward at sporadic intervals.  A lot of the in between bits felt like filler and did nothing to advance character development or enhance the story.  Of the two major reveals in the book I was able to easily guess one and in hindsight should have figured out the other.  The mystery wasn't that intense; I was more interested in getting information about the supernatural society.

The synopsis is a bit misleading as this is as much Dillan's book as it is Selena's.  The narrative alternates between their two perspectives, although Dillan's is told from a third person narrator while Selena's is in the first person.  I found that a bit odd and it took a little while to get used to, but after the initial transition period it wasn't too bad.  I enjoyed the way the relationship between the two of them built up.  The constant bickering and vexation reminded me of a scenario in my own life and made me smile.  It shows that often those who push and challenge you most can be a good partner.  However, the magical (and unexplained) electric shock-like sensation that the two have when they touch each other is a bit too convenient.  They literally have a physical spark between them.  The secondary characters had promising starts and will hopefully have time to mature over the course of the series.

This is a fairly standard entry into the paranormal romance genre.  The end was quite exciting and sets up the next book pretty solidly.  In fact, it rather cut off in the middle of an intense scene and is certainly a cliffhanger.  You might pick this up if you're really into paranormal romance as this has a bit of a different slant on the paranormal side of things, but doesn't diverge too greatly from the usual.
ebook from Publisher