Marla Mason #2:
Poison Sleep
by T.A. Pratt

The bad girl of the magical underworld is back and badder than ever.
Someone wants Marla Mason dead. Usually that’s not news. As chief sorcerer of Felport, someone always wants her dead. But this time she’s the target of a renegade assassin who specializes in killing his victims over days, months, or even years. Not to mention a mysterious knife-wielding killer in black who pops up in the most unexpected places. To make matters worse, an inmate has broken out of the Blackwing Institute for criminally insane sorcerers—a troubled psychic who can literally reweave the fabric of reality to match her own traumatic past.
With her wisecracking partner Rondeau reluctantly in tow, Marla teams up with a “love-talker” whose dangerous erotic spells not even she can resist. Together they’re searching the rapidly transforming streets of Felport for a woman who’s become the Typhoid Mary of nightmares, infecting everything — and everyone — she touches with a chaos worse than death itself.

Why I Read This
I own the first three novels to this series, and I liked the first book.

First Lines

“The Bentley squealed to a halt at the top of the icy horseshoe driveway before the looming brick face of the Blackwing Institute. Marla leapt from the passenger side and rushed for the front doors, purple-and-white cloak billowing after her in the gusty winter wind.

☂☂☂.5

Marla is just as snipey and down-to-business as the first book, but we see a slightly less-prickly side of her as she gets hilariously smitten over love-talker Joshua, and employs a dying man off the street. The themes dealt with in this book are radically different from the myths and prophecies in the first, focusing instead around the various deviations of sexual attraction and power (though I wouldn't call this "steamy" lol). The twists and bends of character betrayals and deaths keep the story interesting, even if there's less action-packed violence.

review posted to goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing

The Turning #1:
What Curiosity Kills
by Helen Ellis

Plucked from foster care, Mary Richards hit the jackpot with a loving family, an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and a spot in the elite Purser-Lilley Academy. But she might lose it all if people find out about The Turning.
Something not human is inside Mary. Her mind is reeling and her body is rebelling. She succumbs to urges and desires she never imagined. And then there's the bizarre physical transformation...
Struggling with her metamorphosis, Mary is sought out by two boys who share her secret. Will she reject the destiny they swear is hers? Or will she find out about what curiosity kills?

Why I Read This
I assumed the main character was going to be a POC judging from the cover art (which is gorgeous either way) so I asked for an ARC when I was offered one.
I apologize to the publicist for the lateness of this review, I've missed the preferred deadline by about 4 months.

First Lines

“I want to scream for help, but pain that feels like fire ants has found me. The ants crawl up and out of my knee socks and take over every bit of my flesh. They are between my toes, behind my ears, and in every crevice in between...

☂☂☂

With a surreal and overly passive narrator, this rather short beginning to The Turning series is saved by the monumentally more interesting, and diverse, side characters, as well as the pleasantly unexpected developments in its second half. The uniqueness of some of the characters makes up for the lack of character development, and the "weird" writing style can grow on you, but only in this limited 200-page dose. Not really worth the hardcover price, but do give it a chance, it's a nice surreal detour, and it's not that long.

review posted to Amazon.ca, Book Depository, goodreads, LibraryThing, Shelfari

Parasol Protectorate #1:
Soulless ♥
by Gail Carriger

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.
With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

Why I Read This
Paranormal steampunk sounded like such an awesome mesh, plus I loved the style of humor on the back cover blurb =D

First Lines

Miss Alexia Tarabotti was not enjoying her evening. Private balls were never more than middling amusements for spinsters, and Miss Tarabotti was not the kind of spinster who could garner even that much pleasure from the event. To put the pudding in the puff: she had retreated to the library, her favorite sanctuary in any house, only to happen upon an unexpected vampire.
She glared at the vampire.

☂☂☂☂.5

It has been utterly too long a time since I've giggled my way through an entire novel - in the good way. This novel is filled with intricate world-building, smoothly blending paranormal oddities within a steampunk setting. The most winning part of all however, has definitely got to be the incredibly quirky, yet sympathizing and adore-able characters, major and minor. There is no cliffhanger ending, but this is the kind of book where you'll be pining for the sequel just to meet the characters again.

review posted to Amazon.ca, Book Depository, goodreads, LibraryThing, Shelfari

Another #1:
Another Faust
by Daniel & Dina Nayeri

One night, in cities all across Europe, five children vanish - only to appear, years later, at an exclusive New York party with a strange and
elegant governess. Rumor and mystery follow the Faust teenagers to the city's most prestigious high school, where they soar to suspicious heights with the help of their benefactor's extraordinary "gifts."
But as the students claw their way up - reading minds, erasing scenes, stopping time, stealing power, seducing with artificial beauty - the side-effects of their own addictions. And as they make further deals with the devil, they uncover secrets more shocking than their most unforgivable sins.

Why I Read This
I have never read the full text of the original Faust, but I've heard the story and this new interpretation of it sounded quite interesting. I also do love sibling banter and the tragedy of power theme.

First Lines

Five Years Previously
London
Victoria didn’t have time to play. She didn’t have time for friends or laughing or jumping or any other thing little kids do. Victoria was ten, but she didn’t like ten-year-olds. At all the London dinner parties, her job was to shut up and look well-behaved for the adults. She would sit in a big plush armchair, her feet barely touching the floor, and she would pick the petals off a bouquet of blue hydrangeas in a nearby vase. She would quietly brood as she watched the adults circle the room, drink tea or cocktails, and comment on the sculptures in the foyer.

☂☂☂☂

An amazing tale wrought out of teenage desires fulfilled and tested, complicated character dynamics, and the cruel consequences of desperation. It is hard to watch the teens grow more obsessed and dependent on their powers, at the same time alienating themselves and hiding behind their cruelty. The twists and turns in the last few chapters delves further into that overhead question of willing sacrifice versus coming to peace with oneself, culminating in what I choose to believe as an ending open for interpretation.
The narrator breathes a vibrant and colourful life into the story through her amazing range of accents for each character, major or minor, it is easy to overlook the sometimes underwhelming writing.

review posted to Amazon.ca, Book Depository, goodreads, LibraryThing, Shelfari

Demons Trilogy #1:
The Demon's Lexicon
by Sarah Rees Brennan

Nick and his brother, Alan, have spent their lives on the run from magic. Their father was murdered, and their mother was driven mad by magicians and the demons who give them power. The magicians are hunting the Ryves family for a charm that Nick's mother stole -- a charm that keeps her alive -- and they want it badly enough to kill again.
Danger draws even closer when a brother and sister come to the Ryves family for help. The boy wears a demon's mark, a sign of death that almost nothing can erase...and when Alan also gets marked by a demon, Nick is des-perate to save him. The only way to do that is to kill one of the magicians they have been hiding from for so long.
Ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse, Nick starts to suspect that his brother is telling him lie after lie about their past. As the magicians' Circle closes in on their family, Nick uncovers the secret that could destroy them all.
This is the Demon's Lexicon. Turn the page.

Why I Read This
I had really enjoyed the author's HP fanfiction where she proved she could mix humor, plot, and romance really nicely together. So, by recommendation of (once again) GAL Novelty, I had gotten really hyped up about her first original novel. The teasers posted to her livejournal account contributed to my anticipation just as much, and I really really liked Jamie from the excerpts. I have to say I started out wanting to read this for the brothers, but ended up reading it for Jamie ♥

First Lines

“The pipe under the sink was leaking again. It wouldn't have been so bad, except that Nick kept his favorite sword under the sink.

☂☂☂.5

Though I found some of the characters compelling and original, the author's world-building and writing was strained and felt incomplete. The characters were constantly in danger of losing consistency, and some of the twists and turns thus were mildly confusing. However, it was a fun read, with plenty of hilariously snappy dialogue.

review posted to AmazonCA, Book Depository, goodreads, LibraryThing, Shelfari

Marla Mason #1:
Blood Engines
by T.A. Pratt

Meet Marla Mason - smart, saucy, slightly wicked witch of the East Coast...
Sorcerer Marla Mason, small-time guardian of the city of Felport, has a big problem. A rival is preparing a powerful spell that could end Marla's life - and, even worse, wreck her city. Marla's only chance of survival is to boost her powers with the Cornerstone, a magical artifact hidden somewhere in San Francisco. But when she arrives there, Marla finds that the quest isn't going to be quite as cut-and-dried as she expected...and that some of the people she needs to talk to are dead. It seems that San Francisco's top sorcerers are having troubles of their own - a mysterious assailant has the city's magical community in a panic, and the local talent is being (gruesomely) picked off one by one.
With her partner-in-crime, Rondeau, Marla is soon racing against time through San Francisco's alien streets, dodging poisonous frogs, murderous hummingbirds, cannibals, and a nasty vibe from the local witchery, who suspect that Marla herself may be behind the recent murders. And if Marla doesn't figure out who is killing the city's finest in time, she'll be in danger of becoming a magical statistic herself...

Why I Read This
I actually discovered Dead Reign, the third book in the series, as I was browsing for Terry Prachett books. The fact that Marla's face is half-hidden by her cloak on that cover really was sort of an anomaly since many covers use the model's face as a seller. I thought this meant that the main character was not conventional, and I am very glad I was right.
After getting the feel of the premise and reading the first few pages of the second book, I immediately added it and book three (the only ones in the store) to my shopping cart. My friend Ah Yuan of GAL Novelty later got me this first volume from a used book store.

First Lines

“Marla Mason crouched in the alley beside the City Lights book store and threw her runes. The square of royal-purple velvet spread before her on the ground was covered by a scattering of objects -- a garlic clove, a withered cigarette butt, a two-headed novelty quarter, fingernail clippings, and the stone from the head of a toad.

☂☂☂☂

This series is a refreshing look at magic that is tied to the contemporary world and its technologies. The characters are well fleshed-out in their motivations and controversial tastes through an open-minded main character, introducing marginal world-views without bastardizing them. Overall an exciting and thought-provoking read with fast-paced action and a no-nonsense anti-heroine leading the charge.

review posted to Amazon.ca, Book Depository, goodreads, LibraryThing, Shelfari