Island of Thieves

Island of Thieves

by Josh Lacey

 

"Only boring people get bored…Interesting people can always find something to be interested in." That’s what Tom Trelawney’s father says, anyway. Tom shouldn’t have been interested in playing with matches but he was...bored. Now the shed is in ashes and strange Uncle Harvey is the only one willing to have him stay while his parents vacation.

 

Tom soon discovers Harvey is going to South America on a treasure hunt and though nephews aren’t invited, he manages to tag along. Before it’s over he’ll drive a car, fire a gun and run for his life. Tom realizes that life may be about following the rules, but survival may be about breaking them. (description from Amazon.com)

 

This was an exciting book that seemed almost like an action movie playing in my head. It felt very much like I was watching National Treasure where there were car chases and guys shooting guns at them and they were attempting to solve clues. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole second half of the book! 

I'm actually kind of hoping that Lacey writes another book featuring Tom and his Uncle Harvey. I thought they worked well together and just managed to scrape through by the skins of their noses often enough that I never really was assured they'd both be okay in the end...

Love action movies? Love treasure hunts? Looking for a fun easy read? Check this book out.

 

Full disclosure: Borrowed from my library 

Path of Beasts

Path of Beasts

by Lian Tanner

The Keepers, book three

 

The city of Jewel is in peril once again, as it is held captive by the frightful Fugleman, his band of Blessed Guardians, and an army of merciless mercenaries. There's no doubt that Goldie and Toadspit want to get their city back, but how can a small group of children fight against such overwhelming forces of evil? And how, as Goldie is determined, can they avoid bloodshed in a war that will set thieves against soldiers, and trickery and deception against a mighty cannon that shoots cannonballs bent on destruction? As Toadspit fights the Fugleman in a duel to the death, Goldie must face her hardest task yet. If she is to save the city, she must walk the mysterious Beast Road, deep inside the Museum of Thieves. No one knows where it goes and no one has ever returned from it. (description from Amazon.com)

 



An amazing end to the trilogy.  While I felt that things were not quite as strong in book two as they were in the first (which I absolutely loved!), I am sooo pleased to say that book three did not disappoint in the least.  Goldie, Toadspit, Bonnie, Mouse, and even Pounce team up to save their city, defeat the evils they could face directly, and even indirectly, and each finds the place they belong forever.

Strong characters, an intriguing and danger-filled plot, and a Museum that once again left me longing for a chance to explore it... this book packed quite the punch.  I cannot wait to read more from this author, even though this particular story may be finished.

Full disclosure: eARC received through NetGalley

This Week's Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

 

So, since I've become involved with the Nutmeg Book Award selection committees in my home state of CT, my blog has had to become a little less of a priority in my life.  There are times when I can tell that I'm blogging a lot less frequently, but I hope that it hasn't been TOO noticeable for all of you.  I've also found that I really can't get to all of the "just for fun" books that I'd like anymore... but I'm actually reading more than ever!

 

So... I decided that I want to try to inject a little more fun into my blog again. Some things that I can do weekly or more frequently...and some things that might be a little less, well purely review-y.  LOL.  So, Library Loot is something I want to try because with my job I most definitely bring books home from the Library every week, so every time I post this there should be at least something for y'all to enjoy. :P

 

My Library Loot:

Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

by Tim Gunn

 

Island of Thieves

by Josh Lacey

 

The Humming Room

by Ellen Potter

 

So, that's what I picked up at my Library this week... did you swing by yours?

I haven't decided yet if I'll be mentioning books I buy or am given on a regular basis...we'll see. For now, just shoutin' out for my Library use, LOL. :)

 



City of Lies

City of Lies

by Lian Tanner

The Keepers Trilogy, book two



Goldie Roth is a trained thief and a skilled liar. Along with her friend Toadspit, she's supposed to be one of the Keepers of the mysterious Museum of Dunt. But although she desperately wants to be a Keeper, she will not leave her sick parents to do so. But when Toadspit's sister Bonnie is stolen, he and Goldie are forced to follow the child-stealers to the neighboring city of Spoke. Along the way, Toadspit too is captured, and Goldie is caught up in the Festival of Lies, where every word she says means something else and no one can be trusted. There, Goldie discovers some dangerous secrets—secrets that the child-stealers will kill to protect. She will need all her skills as a thief and a liar if she is to survive and save her friends. (description from Amazon.com)

 

I have to confess, I did not quite love this book as much as I did the first in the trilogy. There were sections where I found myself just a tad confused. However, I did really enjoy the concept for this book and still found Goldie to be a fantastic main character. I think what I really missed, though, was the darkly captivating Museum of Dunt... it's such a fantastic setting and I cannot wait to follow Goldie's next adventure as she ventures deep inside...

 

This series is a really great dystopian fantasy with interesting characters and political intrigue galore. I HIGHLY recommend the first book, Museum of Thieves, and look forward to finishing the series.

 

Full disclosure: Book purchased for my own collection.

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Steampunk!

Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories

ed. by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant

Imagine an altrnate universe where romance and technology reign. Where tinkerers and dreamers craft and re-craft a world of automatons, clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that never were. Where scientists and schoolgirls, fair folk and Romans, intergalactic bandits, utopian revolutionaries, and intrepid orphans solve crimes, escape from monstrous predicaments, consult oracles, and hover over volcanoes in steam-powered airships. Here, fourteen masters of speculative fiction, including two graphic storytellers, embrace the genre's established themes and refashion them in surprising ways and settings as diverse as Appalachia, Ancient Rome, future Australia, and alternate California. Visionaries Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant have invited all-new explorations and expansions, taking a genre already rich, strange, and inventive in the extreme and challenging contributors to remake it from the ground up. The result is an anthology that defies the genre even as it defines it. (description from Amazon.com)

I adore steampunk.  It's old, it's new, it's mechanical and magical, full of adventure and romance.  It is a brilliant sub-genre. 

That being said, I loved the concept of this anthology. It's like...steampunk twisted.  These are tales that all have strong steampunk elements, yet push beyond what we think of as steampunk to become even more.  Not a one is set in Victorian London, either! 

My favorites from this anthology were Libba Bray's story about girl thieves who use a device to stop time so that they can rob trains, Kelly Link's tale of a girl who is bound to serve fairies and is only somewhat mollified by their mechanized trinket gifts, and Dylan Horrock's story about a girl from another world, trying to find herself in a flatter version of her own life. Each of these tales literally *sparkled* at me from off of the pages.  *grins* The other tales were really well done, as well. 

Reading this book felt like traveling the world in a dirigible with dashing young lads and lasses hanging off of the anchor ropes... *whoops, just had a Scott Westerfeld moment there, lol.* Anyway, though I didn't read it all in one go, each tale was enthralling in it's own way. 

I should also mention that two of the tales are in graphic novel format.  These were short and fun to read.  In fact, my only complaint about the well done audio book was that it neglects to include these two tales...even just by reading the text.

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for AudioFile Magazine.

Heist Society

Heist Society
by Ally Carter

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own--scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she'd expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat's dad needs her help. For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in history--or at least her family's (very crooked) history.

This was a fun, fun, fun book! I loved it. Katarina, a.k.a. Kat, Kitty Cat, Kitty, is a great character. I loved how she wanted to go straight to do something different...to be different...by being "normal" for a while. I also loved how she stepped up and took charge when her family was in trouble. She has tons of spunk!!

I also really loved the relationships she had with all the characters around her. Hale, especially! It was somewhat refreshing to see a boy who obviously loved a girl to the umpteenth degree, but didn't pressure her about it...at all!! He was supportive and let her make her own decisions. Yay Hale!

I was totally bemused by the brothers Hamish and Angus. They were funny and sweet. Kat's cousin Gabrielle was a great example of how to combat stereotypical characters. She was hot, but by no means vapid! Simon was funny...especially when he finally noticed Kat was a girl.

All that gushing being said...I cannot wait to see what caper these characters get up to next!! A must read!