The Garden Intrigue

The Garden Intrigue

by Lauren Willig

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, book nine



Secret agent Augustus Whittlesby has spent a decade undercover in France, posing as an insufferably bad poet. The French surveillance officers can't bear to read his work closely enough to recognize the information drowned in a sea of verbiage.

New York-born Emma Morris Delagardie is a thorn in Augustus's side. An old school friend of Napoleon's stepdaughter, she came to France with her uncle, the American envoy; eloped with a Frenchman; and has been rattling around the salons of Paris ever since. Widowed for four years, she entertains herself by drinking too much champagne, holding a weekly salon, and loudly critiquing Augustus's poetry.

As Napoleon pursues his plans for the invasion of England, Whittlesby hears of a top-secret device to be demonstrated at a house party at Malmaison. The catch? The only way in is with Emma, who has been asked to write a masque for the weekend's entertainment.

Emma is at a crossroads: Should she return to the States or remain in France? She'll do anything to postpone the decision-even if it means teaming up with that silly poet Whittlesby to write a masque for Bonaparte's house party. But each soon learns that surface appearances are misleading. In this complicated masque within a masque, nothing goes quite as scripted- especially Augustus's feelings for Emma. (description from Amazon.com)

Oh, but do I love this series! It is wonderful historical fiction full of intrigue, romance, and strong characters both male and female.  I have learned more about the dealings between England and France during this time period from Lauren Willig than I ever did in school...

I love the descriptions of the dresses, the parties, the social ettiquettes, and of course, the spy codes. I love seeing smart women not only assist, but often outsmart their male counterparts.  I love it all. 

This particular volume in the series not only continued the trend of great characters, but also showed a great glimpse into a fascinating period in Napolean Bonaparte's "career."  It was so interesting to see what life would have been like as a part of his household while he became Emperor in France.  I loved seeing the connections between the politics, the parties, and the inventions of the period.

As for the next book, I *cannot* wait to see what happens to Eloise and Colin as she finds her time in England drawing to a close.  As always, their continuing story makes up all my absolute favorite bits in each book. 

Full disclosure: ARC originally received from NetGalley.

Wrapped

Wrapped
by Jennifer Bradbury

Agnes Wilkins dreams of adventures that reach beyond the garden walls, but reality for a seventeen-year-old debutante in 1815 London does not allow for camels—or dust, even. No, Agnes can only see a mummy when she is wearing a new silk gown and standing on the verdant lawns of Lord Showalter’s estate, with chaperones fussing about and strolling sitar players straining to create an exotic “atmosphere” for the first party of the season. An unwrapping.

This is the start of it all, Agnes’s debut season, the pretty girl parade that offers only ever-shrinking options: home, husband, and high society. It’s also the start of something else, because the mummy Agnes unwraps isn’t just a mummy. It’s a host for a secret that could unravel a new destiny—unleashing mystery, an international intrigue, and possibly a curse in the bargain. (description from Amazon.com)

I LOVED this book. I had seen this book in our collection at the Library and thought, oh yeah...it looks okay, I kinda like the cover...then I received the audio book to review. I am SO glad that I "read" this book! Jennifer Bradbury did a fantastic job on this historical novel.

Now, the author's note reminds readers that she did take some liberties in the timeline - mummy unwrapping parties did NOT occur at the same time as the war with Napolean. The intriguing idea of having a coded spy message smuggled into the country through a mummy's wrapping was just too cool to pass up...and I agree! If you like The Secret History of the Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig, you will LOVE this book. It has a very similar spy theme.

Another reason that I really loved this series was Agnes herself. This is no average debutante. This is a girl who has taught herself 10 languages...10! She longs to actually go out and explore the world. Unfortunately, due to the rank she is born into, this is not in the cards for Agnes. She will be expected to marry well and produce heirs. She longs for adventure, though, and after finding a secret message in the mummy, she definitely gets it!

For a great spy adventure with romance, fun languages, historical facts, sprinklings of Jane Austen, and a girl who I want to be... you should definitely check out Wrapped! I'm only hoping that Jennifer Bradbury hopes to write a follow-up book (please, pretty, pretty please???).

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for SLJ

Nightspell - Blog Tour

Nightspell
by Leah Cypess
companion book to Mistwood

Here be ghosts, the maps said, and that was all.

In this haunted kingdom, ghosts linger—not just in the deepest forests or the darkest caverns, but alongside the living, as part of a twisted palace court that revels all night and sleeps through the daylight hours.

Darri's sister was trapped in this place of fear and shadows as a child. And now Darri has a chance to save her sister . . . if she agrees to a betrothal with the prince of the dead. But nothing is simple in this eerie kingdom—not her sister, who has changed beyond recognition; not her plan, which will be thrown off track almost at once; and not the undead prince, who seems more alive than anyone else.

In a court seething with the desire for vengeance, Darri holds the key to the balance between life and death. Can her warrior heart withstand the most wrenching choice of all? (description taken from Amazon.com)


The concept and world building for this book are phenomenal. A kingdom where half the inhabitants are ghosts... where you cannot be sure someone is a ghost until they disappear before your very eyes? I thought this was very original and startlingly intriguing.

With only one character to tie this book to Mistwood, though she is a great connection, this can absolutely be a stand-alone book. I LOVED Mistwood and it was absolutely one of my favorite books of last year, but in some ways I think that Nightspell is even better.

The main characters are very interesting and rich. Callie, Darri, and Varis have a really complex sibling relationship. They all love each other and are loyal to one another to the end, but Darri and Varis are, shall we say, not very fond of each other...Callie resents that Darri let her be sent off to a foreign kingdom, Varis doesn't trust either sister, and neither sister trusts him. As the story develops, each relationship changes a little and they band together to attempt to get out of Ghostland alive.

With a great, interesting setting, intriguing characters, and a magical storyline again following some twisted royal politics, Nightspell is another great offering from one of my new favorite authors.

Publication date: May 31,2011


Full disclosure: ARC received to review for blog tour hosted by Book It Forward ARC Tours

Mistwood

Mistwood
by Leah Cypess

Reviewed from ARC sent by SLJ. Publication date: April 27, 2010 (Greenwillow)

The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwood. But when she is needed she always comes.

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.

Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat.

Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.

Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.

I loved this book! It's been quite a while since I closed a book and sighed... I was actually sad that there were no more pages. This book was everything I loved about Graceling by Kristin Cashore, plus had the court intrigue and political plots of Megan Whalen Turner's Attolia series.

Isabel (the shifter) is a character that I routed for wholeheartedly. She was strong, independent, yet vulnerable and easy to like. Her lack of understanding in human emotion only drew me further into the emotional depths of this story.

I can't even really verbalize yet how much I loved this story. It felt as if I had been blown right over, but by a gentle summer breeze. I really hope to read more from Leah Cypess in the future!


*added 2/22/2010
Here's the Book Trailer from YouTube: