'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

After three years in prison, Shadow has done his time. But as the time until his release ticks away, he can feel a storm brewing. Two days before he gets out, his wife Laura dies in a mysterious car crash, in adulterous circumstances. Dazed, Shadow travels home, only to encounter the bizarre Mr Wednesday claiming to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America. Together they embark on a very strange journey across the States, along the way solving the murders which have occurred every winter in one small American town. But the storm is about to break...

Disturbing, gripping and profoundly strange, Gaiman's epic novel sees him on the road to the heart of America.

Shadow is an ex-con about to be released from prison . . . but before his release he learns that his wife, Laura, has died. Suddenly freedom doesn’t taste quite so sweet.

Shadow’s life as he imagined it is no more, and in the midst of the ruins a stranger emerges . . . Mr. Wednesday is looking for an assistant, and Shadow takes him up on the offer of curious work.

But Mr. Wednesday is even more mysterious than Shadow first suspected. Because the old Mr. Wednesday is on a quest, of sorts. The once mighty Gods of old mythology are dying. They need humans to live – they need our belief and prayer, but modernity is taking over the piety of humanity – nowadays the human race worship at the altars of technology and marketing.

Mr. Wednesday, along with his faithful side-kick, intends to round up the Gods of yesteryear – every divinity from Egypt to Russia. Wednesday is gathering them in preparation for a storm that’s brewing – a day of days. And Shadow is intricate to Wednesday’s grand plan, even if he doesn’t know it yet. . .

"There's never been a true war that wasn't fought between two sets of people who were certain they were in the right. The really dangerous people believe they are doing whatever they are doing solely and only because it is without question the right thing to do. And that is what makes them dangerous."

‘American Gods’ was released in 2001. It won Neil Gaiman a Hugo and Nebula award, and remains a staple of the modern fantasy genre. The book is once again in the spotlight, with Gaiman recently announcing on his website that a Tom Hanks-produced HBO series is in the works. And to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of this beloved novel, a new edition has been released, complete with an introduction by Gaiman (in which he says that he’d love to revisit Shadow!).

I have always meant to read ‘American Gods’. It’s inevitable when you love fantasy/sci-fi as much as I do, that Gaiman’s name and this novel will be recommended. So I was thrilled to receive the special tenth anniversary edition in the mail – I needed no more encouragement to happily delve into this twisted fantastical mythological tale.

‘American Gods’ is a cross-genre extravaganza. Gaiman explores Biblical, mythological and fantasy worlds all within the framework of modern, desolate America. The novel is complex, less for the ideas Gaiman is exploring and more for the way he presents his narrative. The book consists of many mini-plots as Mr. Wednesday and Shadow go off on their quest to discover deities and idols of the past. I initially struggled with the veering storyline, wishing instead to concentrate solely on Shadow’s quest. But it quickly becomes apparent that Gaiman’s twisted tale is as much about the little-big God characters as it is about the wandering protagonist of Shadow. In the end I loved the side stories as much as Shadow’s over-arching journey . . .

Gaiman’s narrative may be initially difficult to follow, but his explorations are clear as day, as ‘American Gods’ asks the big questions in a fantastical way. Gaiman observes the shifting of humanity from God-fearing worshippers to technological consumers. He asks what happens to Gods and idols when there’s no one left to believe in them, and does our society still need worship? These sound like big, scary concepts – but Gaiman is exploring them with infinite wit, fancy and beauty. That was one of the things I loved best about ‘American Gods’ – that there’s a quotable-quote on practically every page;

"What I say is, a town isn't a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it's got a bookstore it knows it's not fooling a soul."

Neil Gaiman’s epic mythology-fantasy novel is like Jack Kerouac meets Homer. Gaiman takes readers on a sweeping, rollicking journey across America – from Chicago to Rhode Island and many a dusty town in between. Every sort of idolized God is along for the ride – from those of Norse mythology to Egyptian deities. Armageddon is coming and Mr. Wednesday and Shadow need to get to the real American heartland for the coming battle.

Incredibly epic, ‘American Gods’ is truly a must-read novel.

5/5

'Unlocked' Turner #1.5 by Courtney Milan

From the BLURB:

A perpetual wallflower destined for spinsterhood, Lady Elaine Warren is resigned to her position in society. So when Evan Carlton, the powerful, popular Earl of Westfeld, singles her out upon his return to England, she knows what it means. Her former tormenter is up to his old tricks, and she’s his intended victim. This time, though, the earl is going to discover that wallflowers can fight back.

Evan has come to regret his cruel, callow past. At first, he only wants to make up for past wrongs. But when Elaine throws his initial apology in his face, he finds himself wanting more. And this time, what torments him might be love…

Lady Elaine Warren had the makings of a debutante star when she first entered London society. She was beautiful and vivacious, a head-strong conversationalist with verve and wit to spare . . . until she laughed. Perhaps it was the sort of character flaw the ton could overlook, had it not been for Evan Carlton, Earl of Westfeld and his cousin, Lady Cosgrove.

Having likened the sound of Elaine’s laugh to an indecent act between a pig and a horse, Evan’s spiteful words eviscerated Elaine’s prospects. She was haunted by jeers and snide remarks for the rest of her season. She swallowed her laughter, became a wallflower and never married . . .

Years later and Elaine is a young woman complacent in her spinsterhood. Evan Carlton has been away mountaineering in places unknown, and Lady Cosgrove still whispers callous remarks about Elaine’s neighing laughter at every opportunity.

And then Evan returns, with apologies on his tongue and a secret in his heart that will change Elaine’s entire opinion of her childhood tormentor.

‘Unlocked’ is a new novella from historical romance writer, Courtney Milan, and book #1.5 in her 'Turner' series.

Unbelievably, this is my first ever Courtney Milan read, which is just atrocious! Now I know what I have been missing out on from this wonderful romance writer.

Elaine Warren had a young adulthood that all readers can sympathize with. She was bullied. Horribly and unfairly, Elaine was targeted for her charismatic laughter and made to feel ashamed of a natural compulsion. Years later and Elaine’s most ardent tormentor is back in London and burning with the need to make things right. I loved the basis of this historical romance – it’s like ‘Mean Girls’ in corsets. The plot origins are at once entirely relatable, yet perfectly suited to the ton’s gossip-filled ballrooms.

I especially loved the fact that ‘Unlocked’ works around the idea that ‘you only hurt the ones you love’ and the old belief that a boy will only pull the pigtails of the girl he secretly likes. That’s the sort of relationship Evan and Elaine had. Although Evan’s cousin, Lady Diana Cosgrove, took her vengeful teasing a touch too far for Evan’s liking;

He protected her. She protected him. Together, they’d been unstoppable.

Truly, someone should have stopped them.

He shook his head. “We’re not children any longer. There’s no need for this.”

She set her hand on his wrist. “You’ve been gone, Evan. You don’t remember what London society is like. They’re wolves out here, and it’s devour or be devoured in turn. If you don’t grasp your place in society, you’ll have it torn from you. Just like your Lady Elaine.”

I thought Evan was a lovely hero. He’s remorseful and repentant, haunted by the actions of his younger self. He has been away from London for quite a few years, mountaineering all over the globe . . . this may seem like a rather outlandish background for an Earl to have, but Milan works his mountaineering experiences into the story beautifully.

Evan and Elaine have a wonderful built-in love/hate tension. When Elaine first sees Evan again after so many years, she is almost viscerally scared of him – remembering the past pain he inflicted on her. So Evan has to really work to win her over – first in friendship, and then as something more;

She was within arm’s reach. He exhaled. “Do not trifle with me.”

“Is it trifling for me to say that I enjoy your company?”

“I’ll be your friend in daylight. I’ll treat you as a comrade at every gas-lit ballroom. But alone, under moonlight, I’ll not pretend that I want you for anything but mine.”

She didn’t say anything. She simply looked up into his eyes.

‘Unlocked’ was a quick little read, and an absolute steal on Amazon Kindle for 99¢! This was my first encounter with the lovely Courtney Milan, but ‘Unlocked’ ensured it would not be my last.

5/5

'Flawless' by Lara Chapman

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

Sarah Burke is just about perfect. She has killer blue eyes, gorgeous blonde hair and impeccable school grades. She has just one tiny flaw – her nose! But even that’s not so bad as Sarah has the bestest friend and big goals for print journalism fame.

On the first day of senior year, Rock Conway walks into Sarah’s journalism class and rocks her world. The problem is, her best friend, Kristen, falls for him too, and when Rock and Kristen stand together, it’s like Barbie and Ken come to life. So when Kristen begs Sarah to help her attract Rock, Sarah does the only thing a best friend can do – she agrees. What was she thinking?

Sarah Burke has heard it all – honker, big-nose, bird-beak . . . really, Sarah has heard every variation of the many biting remarks about her biggest physical attribute – her nose. She hears it in the school hallways, sees it in the passing eyes of strangers, heck even her mother (the beautiful Texan anchorman) is not-so-subtly urging her daughter to get rhinoplasty and correct her genetic misfortune.

Luckily Sarah has an iron will and a deep fear of hacking surgeons. And with her best friend, (and winner of the genetic lottery) Kristen at her back, most of the nasty comments don't touch her.

But then Rockford Conway comes to town. Rockford ‘Rock’ is beautiful – an Adonis come to life. And the cherry on top is that he’s wicked smart – even sharing Sarah’s love of literature. So it’s just a shame that Rock is quickly smitten with the beautiful Kristen, and Sarah is relegated to being her best friend’s shadow.

Unluckily for Kristen, she and Rock have nothing in common. He loves Charles Dickens, and she thinks ‘David Copperfield’ is about a magician. He adores impressionist paintings, and she loves comedic impersonators. It’s an ill-fated match . . . until Kristen convinces (okay, begs and hassles) Sarah to do some covert flirting via Facebook and text-messaging. But what starts as a romantic boost to help her best friend soon turns into an inner tug-of-war; as Sarah battles her growing infatuation with Rock and her needling frustration with her biggest enemy – her nose.

‘Flawless’ is the contemporary romance YA debut novel from Lara Chapman.

With ‘Flawless’, Chapman modernizes the 1897 classic French play of Cyrano de Bergerac. In the play, big-nosed Cyrano woos the lovely Roxane on behalf of his conventionally handsome but inarticulate friend. The play has been adapted to film, most notably in the form of Steve Martin’s 1987 movie ‘Roxanne’ and the 1996 Uma Thurman movie, ‘The Truth about Cats and Dogs’.

In ‘Flawless’ Chapman takes Cyrano to a Texan high school and puts his bothersome big nose on a seventeen-year-old girl . . . with funny and compassionate results.

The tale of Cyrano is brilliantly retold for the younger set. It’s a wonderfully quirky story about inner beauty and outward appearance and how love is more than skin-deep. And it’s a perfectly-pitched story for modern day . . . in today’s world when pop stars get nose jobs to correct their ‘deviated septum’ and air-brushing sets the standard for the average woman.

Sarah was just lovely. She’s a little bit geeky and wonderfully loyal to her best friend, Kristen. But most of all Sarah is brave . . . high school is hard enough, but when someone is forced to wear their difference on their face for the whole world to see, high school can be a real battlefield.

Let’s face it. I've had seventeen years to think about the way people see me. And how I see myself. Nine days out of ten, I’m happy to stay exactly the way I am. But on that tenth day . . .

Sarah tries to stop her nose from getting in her way. She is very aware of her big-nosed short-comings, but for the most part she takes her differences in stride . . . refusing to back down or drop her gaze when someone stops and stares at her biggest feature, and quick to snipe back when a cruel remark comes her way. She’s at once brilliantly fearless, while also hiding behind a lot of armour. Without realizing the extent of her shields, Sarah often cuts her nose off to spite her face (so to speak) – she’s quick to reject people before they can reject her, and she prefers to be a loner (save for Kristen) rather than face the cruelty of others;

Mom stops stroking my head and tweaks my nose, something she used to do when I was little. When I was five, I loved it. But I've long since forbade her – or anyone else for that matter – from touching IT.

I swat at her hand. “You know I hate that.”

“Lighten up, Sarah. There’s so much more to you than your nose. For someone who’s hell-bent on keeping her God-given nose, you sure do blame it for a lot of your problems.”

‘Flawless’ does have some flaws. The character of Rock is fairly one-dimensional, a cardboard cut-out heartthrob with no real personality beyond being every shy girl’s dream guy. Even his dialogue is out of step with his youthfulness, at one point calling a group of bikers ‘punks’ (seriously? Next he’ll be calling his fellow classmates ‘whipper snippers’ and complaining that the music is too loud).

I also thought there would be more tension and contention between Sarah and her mother. The opening scene of ‘Flawless’ has Sarah coming down for breakfast and finding a brochure on rhinoplasty where her napkin should be. I thought that was rather brutal . . . but what starts out as a promising conflict between an insecure mother and her valiant daughter quickly slides into a more lukewarm ‘Gilmore Girls’ relationship of female solidarity. It’s a shame that Chapman seems to have missed this opportunity to explore the ramifications of parental pressures of perfection on children. Because there was plenty of opportunity for mother-daughter drama; especially because Mother Burke is a Texan anchorwoman who underwent plastic surgery when she was Sarah’s age to correct the very same genetic monstrosity on her face.

I liked ‘Flawless’ for being a wonderful retelling of the Cyrano tale. There’s a lot of heart to this story, and Chapman beautifully communicated the message of acceptance via the plight of a high school girl grappling with her first real crush. Sure, the story could have been heightened by including some parental pressures, and the love interest could have been fleshed-out and given some flaws of his own. But ‘Flawless’ was still a lovely YA contemporary romance about how hard it is ‘to thine own self be true’.

4/5

The Anita Blake 'Hit List' Drinking Game

I can't do it. I can't do another straight-up review of an Anita Blake novel . . . it's too depressing. I need alcohol to get through this, the 20th installment of a once-great series.

Let the alcohol poisoning begin!

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Drink When . . . you read this common phrase / description;

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* Someone's hair is `spilled around their shoulders' - 1 drink

* Someone's hair isn't just black, it's blue-black - 1 drink

* Somebody asks the conveniently open-ended question: `what do

you mean?' thereby prompting Anita to spout a long diatribe, explaining everything that's happening and happened in the plot up to this point, including everyone's private motivations - 1 drink

* Anita says: naked puppy piles OR naked kitty piles - 2 drinks

* Anita says that someone has `kitty-cat eyes' - 1 drink

* Anita describes Jean-Claude as being femininely beautiful, yet still utterly masculine and male - 1 drink

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Drink When . . . during one of the (many) sex scenes

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* Someone says; "so tight" or "so wet" or "so warm" while they have sex with Anita - 1 drink per term or CHUG! if someone says all three at the same time.

* Someone is so big that Anita straddles the line between pleasure and pain - 1 drink

* Anita says, "I screamed my orgasm into his mouth" - CHUG!

* Anita calls all genitalia `bits', because deep-down she's still a country-girl prude, aw shucks! - 1 drink

* Anita orders someone to "just shove it in!" - 1 drink

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Drink when Anita . . .

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* Anita calls the cachet of men in her life her `sweeties' - 1 drink

* Someone comments on Anita's stunning good looks, and Anita deflects by claiming such praise is `girly mind games' or she is paltry compared to the handsome men in her life - 1 drink

* Anita meets an attractive and powerful woman, who is dead by the end of the book- 1 drink

* A white middle-aged cop infers that Anita is a wimp/slut, and Anita takes the negativity in stride, claiming it's a `guy thing' - 1 drink

* Anita is reluctant to have sex with a stranger because, deep down, she is still a country-girl prude . . . but she soldiers on and has sex anyway (*ahem*, to feed the ardeur) - 1 drink

* Anita blushes (usually in the prelude to sex) and a man is utterly charmed by her naiveté and ability to still be embarrassed, aw shucks! - 1 drink

* A guy compliments Anita on her large breasts (to which she all but replies, "what? These old things? Aw, shucks!") - 1 drink

* Anita tries (unsuccessfully) to justify sleeping with a sixteen-year-old boy (nope . . . still fantastically creepy and inappropriate) - 2 shots

* Anita is accused of becoming `one of the monsters' she was sworn to kill - CHUG!

* Somebody (often female) challenges Anita's status as tiger queen or Nimir Ra, and claims that Anita cannot take an animal to call . . . resulting in an orgy - CHUG!

* Anita adds a new `sweetie' to her harem (reluctantly, of course) - CHUG!

* Anita has sex with a gorgeous stranger because the ardeur needs to feed and said guy is somehow down-trodden/outcast/misunderstood etc, but he appreciates Anita's blatant arousal of him (she likes me, she really likes me!) - CHUG!

* Anita gets a new scar that she doesn't care about because she has so many already and they're proof that she survived something nasty, plus she's not a girly-girl to care about how pretty she is - 1 drink, or CHUG! if Anita recounts the story of how she got the holy-cross scar on her arm to some poor, unsuspecting paramedic who just asked her if she wanted an Aspirin?

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Drink when Edward . . .

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* Anita calls Edward `good ol' boy Ted', and mentions that he wears a cowboy hat - 1 drink

* Edward wonders who would win in a fight-to-the-death between him and Anita, but doesn't live out his fantasy because they're friends - 1 drink

* Discussions about how Peter wants to be a stone-cold-killer, just like his step-daddy - 1 drink

* Edward mentions that he has modified his weapons - 1 drink

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Drink when Bernado . . .

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* Bernado or Anita mention that Bernado has a big dick - 1 drink, 2 drinks if either of them use the phrase `hung like a horse' (because his name is Bernado Spotted Horse. Get it?)

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Drink when Olaf . . .

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* Olaf does something utterly creepy, forcing Anita and Edward to threaten to kill him if he steps out of line . . . without ever actually pulling the trigger - 1 drink

* Anita muses to herself that one day Olaf will go too far and either she or Edward will have to kill him - 1 drink

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Drink when, as a reader you . . .

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* Don't have a clue who half of Anita's sexual `sweeties' are. Domino? Nicky? Bobby who? When did Anita have sex with a married guy? Huh? - 1 drink per man you can't remember reading about in previous books, but who is now a part of Anita's harem

* You grind your teeth and keep muttering `where are Jean-Claude/Nathaniel/ Asher/Jason/Micah/Richard?' - 1 drink

* You don't understand why Anita claims to miss all her sweeites so much, but doesn't even take five minutes to make a phone call home and say `hey!' - 1 drink

* You had such high-hopes for the Marmee Noir storyline, thinking that she could be the big-bad evil to turn the series around . . . only to have all your expectations dashed in one hurried and anti-climactic finale that basically ends in `happily-ever-after' - CHUG!

* You sigh and wonder whatever happened to vintage Anita Blake. The non-slutty ass-kikcker of yesteryear - 1 drink

Fan Letter Blog Crawl: Dear Stacia Kane . . .

Dear Stacia Kane,

I didn’t stumble across you. You weren’t a diamond in the ruff or a reading happenstance. The truth is you and Chess Putnam were creating a furor. There was a buzz in the blogosphere, GoodReads loved you and Amazon recommended you. Even people I know who are strict Biographical/Historical/Crime readers were telling me to give this Stacia Kane chick a read.

So I did. And I didn’t get it.

Your book was fast. There were ghosts attacking and jive-speaking thugs swapping drugs to a church-going heroine. Truth be told, ‘Unholy Ghosts’ had me stumped. I didn’t know what all the hype was about; I could barely decode the dialogue let alone get excited about these supposedly ‘brilliant’ books. So I threw in the towel after a couple of chapters. I put the book down and walked away.

I almost gave up, Ms Kane.

But the buzz kept buzzing and I eventually gave up and gave in. I decided to valiantly soldier on and read more. And I can tell you exactly when you hooked me for good and forever.

Chapter three, Chess and Terrible taking a ride in his car;

Terrible shrugged again.

“Not real verbal, are you, Terrible?”

This time he glared at her, the greenish lights from the dash highlighting the astonishing ugliness of his profile. His crooked nose – it must have been broken several times – the way his brows jutted out like a cliff over the ocean, the set of his jaw. She held her hands up, palms out. “Okay. Just making conversation.”

“Dames always wanna talk.”

“Not like there’s anything else they’d want to do with you.”

Terrible reached forward and turned up the radio. The Misfits blared from the speakers, singing about skulls. It somehow suited the moment.

- Book One ‘City of Ghosts’

That moment changed everything for me. Chess’s antagonism was palpable, and Terrible was conjured as a Neanderthal-looking Elvis impersonator. But something just clicked. I couldn’t even put my finger on it at the time – but from that moment in I was engrossed.

Chess was unlike any heroine I had ever read. Between her addiction to Cepts, her duel church-working/drug-taking personality and the different faces she showed to the world – Tulip to Lex, Chessiebomb to Terrible – without showing anyone her real core, fucked-up self.

I had always claimed to revel in the ambiguous and prefer characters made up of dubious shades of gray. But that was a lie. Until ‘Downside’ I had never really read an anti-hero I liked. I had always read waiting for redemption, and my liking came with a price – the assumption that the author would turn the character around and make them inherently good.

Cesaria Putnam is different. I like her now, just the way she is. I like the fact that she’s scared of everyone finding her out and realizing the extent of her addiction. I like that she doesn’t let anyone close, because history tells her it can only lead to hurt. Heck, I even like that she’s out for herself and nobody else. I like her because she’s flawed, recklessly so. Chess is an addict who doesn’t know how to help herself . . . and I like her, regardless of her flaws (not because of them).

I like Chess because I know that reading her path to some semblance of redemption will be hard. It won’t come with the love of a good man (heck, her beaus are thugs and muscle-men). It won’t come with some light-bulb-moment acceptance of a past trauma (she was abused as a child, that’s the truth not an excuse). It won’t come easily, this amalgamation of a happily-ever-after. Chess will have to fight for it, and fight herself for it. You will, undoubtedly, make readers work for it too, and I am fully prepared to grit my teeth and shed tears.

I know all this because you, Ms Kane, write tough. You write raw, gritty, messed-up characters living imperfect lives between a rock and a hard place. You write in-your-face and dangerous. You have given readers an anti-heroine to care about. You’ve paired her with thugs and bad-guys and given her as many self-imposed hurdles as external ones. There’s no yardstick for her redemption, and there’s no happily-ever-after on the horizon.

But there’s just something there, beneath the surface and on the tip of my tongue. It’s like in that car with Chess and Terrible – when there was open hostility with a current of something hot running below the snide remarks. It’s there in Chess fighting the ghosts and bringing Terrible back from the dead. It’s Chess admitting she’s scared shitless, but loving Terrible anyway. It’s the fact that Chess is fucked-up beyond belief, but I love her and so do plenty of other people. Because, despite it all, she’s one cool chickie who has a lot of people (and readers) in her corner, even if she doesn’t know why she’s worth backing.

Everything about your series is gloriously unique, off-center and bold. Your genre is a mish-mash of urban fantasy/rockabilly. Your characters speak in jive to reveal their station in life. Your heroine is a hot mess and your love interest is fairly fugly. And I can’t believe I nearly missed out on all the fun just because I was too impatient to appreciate it. My bad. Because your series has fast become an all-time favorite, and I am counting down the months until March 27th 2012 when Chess’s story continues in ‘Sacrificial Magic’. . . because, damn Mama!, you rocked my reading world, ya dig?

Yours very truly,

Danielle

'Con-Nerd' by Oliver Phommavanh

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

IT'S ONE SMALL STEP FOR NERDS, ONE GIANT LEAP TO BEING COOL.

Mama tells me I'm gifted and talented. But I know the truth. I'm just a nerd.

Kids call me Con-nerd - half Connor and all nerd.

I'm supposed to become a doctor but I have this deep, dark secret: I want to be a cartoonist.

And all of a sudden my mega-cool comics are getting noticed at school - I might even get into a special art class. That would sure impress this girl I'm keen on . . . and it might just be my chance to show the world my true destiny.

But I'm not sure Mama will see it quite that way . . .

Everyone has a Connor in their class. He wears glasses, gets straight-As, keeps to himself and doesn’t have too many friends. He’s a nerd – so much so that his nickname is Con-nerd.

Connor’s one saving grace is his wicked drawing ability. His Mama may have high hopes that Connor becomes a doctor – but when Connor has a pen in his hand it becomes clear that his destiny lies in Manga and comic books.

But Connor’s cartoonist dreams are a secret. . . or at least they were, until he meets a new girl called Tori. Suddenly Connor wants to be noticed. He doesn’t want to blend into the wallpaper anymore.

When Connor decides to stand-out, his classmates come to help. He gets a makeover and a chance to show off his drawing-genius.

‘Con-Nerd’ is the second novel from Aussie YA author, Oliver Phommavanh.

I have to admit that I haven’t read any young-young adult books for quite a while. If anything is touted as being 10+ reading I’m quick to turn away. Or at least, that used to be the case . . . until I saw the movie adaptation of Jeff Kinney’s ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’. I loved the movie so much that I had to read the books . . . and I ended up having a cackling good time! Not since ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’ have I so enjoyed middle-grade reading. So I wasn’t as hesitant as I'd normally be to pick up the latest novel from new Aussie YA author, Oliver Phommovanh.

It’s true – geeks shall one day inherit the earth. Or at least, it looks that way with the current media obsession of all things nerdy. Think about it – ‘Glee’ is all about the slushied social piranhas. Mark Zuckerberg was voted TIME magazine’s 2010 achiever of the year. And vintage thick-framed nerd glasses are the new must-have fashion accessory. It’s official – geek is chic.

Phommovanh’s Connor harks back to a more vintage nerd. He’s a recluse who has familial pressure to be geeky and achieve the all-important career goal of becoming a doctor. For all his home-cooked pressures, Connor feels the need to hide his one burning obsession . . . drawing.

And it’s a shame, because Connor is really talented. It only takes a little help and encouragement from his classmates for Connor to realize just how talented he is, and how much he wants to be a cartoonist . . . no matter how scared he is of his mother’s wrath;

I whisper in his ear. ‘I can’t draw.’

‘You want raw what?’ Stephen scratches his head.

I scribble it down in the back of my book. I’m in trouble. Miss won’t let me draw.

Stephen takes my pencil. Just do it anyway.

It’s your fault, you told me to fake my mum’s signature.

No one forst you.

I take my red pen and correct his spelling of forced.

Stephen rolls his eyes. ‘Oh, sorry, Con-nerd.’

‘That’s right, I’m a nerd,’ I snap. ‘So why do you hang out with me?’

‘Because you’re a mad drawer,’ Stephen says.

I tap my glasses. ‘Well, I can’t draw or play basketball anymore, so you can leave me alone.’ Mum’s right, we won’t be friends next year.

‘Man, I liked you better as a nerd,’ Stephen says. ‘Now you’re just a jerk.’

Phommovanh’s ‘Con-Nerd’ is wickedly funny. I forget that that’s one of the charms of young-young adult fiction – such comedic books are laugh-out-loud BIG funny, going for the unabashed, ridiculous laughs. In a book about nerds there’s plenty of target-practice, but I quite liked that Phommovanh is never cruelly funny. The biggest and best laughs come from Connor’s perspective of life as an under-achiever in his mother’s eyes. And while there are laughs to be had, Phommovanh is actually doing a serious exploration of parent’s pressuring their children to do better, be better, be the best you can be! . . . all the while ignoring their kids true talents and enjoyments.

5/5

Oliver Phommavanh's debut novel

'Hunt the Moon' Cassandra Palmer #5 by Karen Chance

From the BLURB:

Cassandra Palmer recently defeated a god, which you'd think would buy a girl a little time off. But it doesn't work that way when your new job description is Pythia — the world's chief clairvoyant. Cassie is busier than ever, trying to learn about her power, preparing for her upcoming coronation, and figuring out her relationship with the enigmatic sexy master vampire, Mircea.

But someone doesn't want Cassie to become Pythia, and is willing to go to any lengths to make sure the coronation ceremony never happens—including attacking her mother before Cassie is even born.

Two months ago Cassie Palmer was crowned Pythia of the supernatural realm. Now Cassie is seer to every fantastical community in the world today – vampires, mages and fey – it’s Cassie’s job to keep track of the past, present and future for all of them. Sure, there have been a few hiccups along the way – like Cassie’s accidental mating (marrying) to a vampire master of the Senate, her child-hood crush, Mircea. Not to mention that pesky God who tried to kill her . . .

But now all Cassie needs to worry about is her coronation. She gets to wear a pretty dress, smile for the paparazzi and begin her official reign as Pythia. . .

Except that this is Cassie Palmer. The words ‘safe’ and ‘easy’ are no longer in her vocabulary. Even with her ‘husband’ Mircea guarding her 24/7, and her dark mage, Pritkin, on body-guard duty, Cassie still finds a way to get into trouble. This time in the form of a possession – someone or something has control of Cassie’s body, and she’s trying to kill herself. When research into her enemies uncovers ties to Greek, Norse and Hindu mythology, Cassie must stretch her Pythia abilities beyond the limit . . .

‘Hunt the Moon’ is the fifth book in Karen Chance’s ‘Cassandra Palmer’ series.

We haven’t had a Cassie Palmer book since 2009. Unfortunately, Karen Chance had a few medical problems that had her running behind schedule on the series, and unable to promote the books. So 2011 is a glorious return for our girl Cassie – and she has been sorely missed. Reading ‘Hunt the Moon’ is enjoyment unto itself for being such a frolicking, helter-skelter joy ride. . . but more than that it’s just plain wonderful to catch up with these old friends who have been sorely missed.

The ‘Cassie Palmer’ series is always on full-throttle. From book one, ‘Touch the Dark’, Cassie has been on the run. First from her mob-boss vampire guardian, Tony, and then from the many and varied supernatural beings who were unhappy with her new Pythia status. Each book has followed the same peddle-to-the-metal speedy storyline; in fact, there’s a moment in ‘Hunt the Moon’ when Cassie reflects on her hectic life of late, and she states that she has only been Pythia for two months. Two months! From book one to this, the fifth instalment; the entire timeline trajectory has been two months . . . that’s a short bout of time to stretch over five books. But somehow Karen Chance does it seamlessly. Cassie is forever on the run, avoiding death and escaping enemies – she never stands still, but the adrenaline of the series is part of the charm. Everything seems heightened and grandiose in light of all Cassie’s impending dangers. And because Cassie can jump ahead and back in time (one of her many Pythia powers) the timeline feels quite malleable and never stunted (trust me, it was a shock to read that by book five, we’re still only two months into Cassie’s story!).

‘Hunt the Moon’ rides pretty closely on the coattails of ‘Curse the Dawn’. At the end of the fourth book we learnt some interesting factoids about beloved character (and one of Cassie’s romantic contenders), the mage Pritkin. We leant more about Pritkin’s past as Merlin (yes, the Merlin!) and his heritage as an incubus. Following those character clues, this fifth book delves even deeper into Pritkin’s past, and his evolving relationship with Cassie . . . since the beginning of the series Chance has written two very convincing love interests for Cassie. The first is Pritkin, someone who started out prickly and was one of Cassie’s biggest nay-sayers, but who has evolved into a viable love interest for our girl. Fans who are firmly entrenched in Team Pritkin will LOVE this fifth book for the baby-steps she takes in deepening Pritkin and Cassie’s connection.

The second romantic alternative is Mircea – Cassie’s childhood crush and current vampire husband. Now, fans should know by now that Karen Chance likes to keep Cassie’s romance neck-and-neck, so as much as Cassie’s relationship with Pritkin is altering, so too is her relationship with Mircea deepening. In this book Chance keeps Team Mircea happy by offering up some seriously sizzling sex scenes, and a show of trust between Cassie and her vampire husband. But for all that their relationship is coming leaps and bounds, you can tell that a long talk between Cassie and Mircea is long overdue, especially when his protectiveness becomes almost stifling, and Cassie feels like en eleven-year-old under his watch;

"It is not the same! You are this." He gripped my arms, hard enough to bruise. "You are flesh, soft and sweet and yielding and vulnerable. You need protection, but I can't -"

"Mircea! They've been trying to kill me for three days and I'm still here."

"Due to luck!"

I stared at him. "Then I must be the luckiest person alive!"

He just looked at me, and I'd never seen that expression on his face before, like he was really going to lose it. There was something going on here, some issue I didn't understand. But there was no time to figure it out.

"I have to fix this," I told him, as clearly and calmly as I could. "If you want to help me, then help me. Don't shield me, don't protect me, don't bury me alive. Help me."

I must admit that I have always been pretty firmly entrenched in Team Mircea – I quite like that he’s dark and mysterious, suave and seasoned. I enjoy Pritkin as an amusing and combustible character, but I have never been entirely convinced of him as a romantic interest for Cassie. However after reading ‘Hunt the Moon’ I am now utterly torn as to who I want Cassie to end up with. After a certain steamy scene I can now picture Pritkin as a romantic hero; and while I am still smitten with Mircea, I can now more firmly understand Cassie’s future love dilemma.

If I have any complaints about ‘Hunt the Moon’ it’s that there is a lot of action. I mean, a LOT. This wouldn’t be so bad, except that so much kick-butt action means pages and pages of summary. Pages of Cassie describing a fight that takes place on train tracks, and then inside train carriages; running around Piccadilly and a ballroom stampede. Now, I like the action and the storyline certainly calls for such high-octane scenes, but Chance’s action scenes don’t always flow. . . sometimes they seem stilted and clunky and overly descriptive until numerous pages of adrenaline become exhausting to read (to the point that you hope for a nice, quiet scene in which the characters just chat. Maybe have a cup of tea.) To be fair, I only believe this of Chance’s more complex, multi-character action scenes. My favourite moment in ‘Hunt the Moon’ comes early on, when Cassie is wrestling with her possessed body as she tries to drown herself in a bathtub. This scene was nuanced and chilling; Chance wrote it beautifully so that it had a claustrophobic and cinematic quality. Perfection.

‘Hunt the Moon’ is Cassie Palmer’s grand re-entrance. After a year-long hiatus Karen Chance has bought our beloved psychic back; and she’s better than ever. Her love life is complicated, ten-fold. Her body is possessed and demi-gods are out to kill her – so situation normal for our girl Cass. ‘Hunt the Moon’ is a deliciously frantic fight for Cassie’s life as her role of Pythia gets her in trouble, yet again. I have missed Cassie, so this fifth instalment is a welcome return for a beloved urban fantasy author in a series that I hope has no end in sight!

4/5