Something Strange and Deadly Review

Something Strange and Deadly
by Susan Dennard
Expected Publication: 07.24.12
From Goodreads:

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…
Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—
The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.
And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.
Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.  

  My Thoughts:  This book was unexpected.  It didn't even feel like a YA book, despite the age of the characters, but that's not to say that it's not YA appropriate.  I think it's the period of the story, because a young woman was usually much more mature than the average teen now.  


Eleanor, or Miss Fitt (yes, it did take me until she figured it out that her name was misfit), is a great YA heroine.  She's brave, taking care of her delusional mother and searching for her lost brother.  Trying to keep her and her mother afloat financially would be hard enough, but then her brother is kidnapped by a zombie raiser and suddenly she's going all Buffy at with the help of the Spirit-Hunters.


There's a little romance in the form of two men in her life.  First is her friend's rich, ambitious brother.  Clarence is a jerk, but he genuinely seems shocked by Eleanor and her attitude.  He's got secrets, and Eleanor is not the type of girl to just let things go.  Plus her mother is fairly determined that Eleanor should marry Clarence to save the family.


Daniel is one of the Spirit-Hunters, and not even the leader.  He's got his secrets too, but sparks fly between him and Eleanor in a very Hans Solo-Princess Leia way.  Only because the setting is in the 1800's don't expect too much, this is a time period where just a man and woman touching in the most innocent way was considered steamy.  There's a scene between Eleanor and Daniel that reminded me of the Pride and Prejudice (Kiera Knightley and Matther Macfadyen version) movie where Darcy helps Elizabeth into the carriage and their bare hands touch and it shakes both of them up.  And I love that!  I love that a simple touch can mean so much more in a time when unmarried people just didn't touch.  In someways its a lot sexier than any actual sexual act could have achieved in the book.  


The two other Spirit-Hunters, Joseph and Jie, are equally awesome.  Joseph is all Creole and tragic hero, and Jie is just kick ass.  She lives as a Chinese boy in a time period where it's very hard to be Chinese in America, but even worse for Chinese American women.  Or just women in general, because Eleanor is under a lot of pressure from society to fit into their rigid views of how women of a certain background should act.  Joseph, Jie, and Daniel make a great team, and Eleanor worms her way in, and it's a perfect fit despite her friction with Daniel. 


I've seen this book categorized as Steampunk, and while it does kind of have that feel when it comes to the Spirit-Hunters, I don't know that it really fits that genre.  Something Strange and Deadly just isn't like a lot of other books.  I really felt Susan Dennard captured the time period quite well, which I'll admit I wasn't really expecting in a YA book.  I will definitely read the next book in the series, because the ending left so many loose strings, not unanswered questions necessarily- I don't want you to think the author cheats the ending, but there is definitely enough hanging in the air that you want to know what will happen to our Miss Fit and the Spirit-Hunters.


Something Strange and Deadly gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover gets a Midnight Cover Rating of:

It's pretty and eye-catching.  It definitely made me want to read the book, but it doesn't really fit the book all that well.  While Eleanor is pretty, she's not some 17-inch waisted Scarlett O'Hara as she's pictured on the cover. Still, it's a cool cover.


**Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for my honest opinion.

Dead Reckoning Review

Dead Reckoning
by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill
Expected Publication Date: 06.05.2012
From Goodreads:

Jett is a girl disguised as a boy, living as a gambler in the old West as she searches for her long-lost brother. Honoria Gibbons is a smart, self-sufficient young woman who also happens to be a fabulous inventor. Both young women travel the prairie alone – until they are brought together by a zombie invasion! As Jett and Honoria investigate, they soon learn that these zombies aren’t rising from the dead of their own accord … but who would want an undead army? And why? This gunslinging, hair-raising, zombie western mashup is perfect for fans of Cowboys vs. Aliens and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies.

My Thoughts: What a different, unique read!  Okay, we've got Western, Steampunk, and zombies, plus two incredibly kick ass heroines and a hero that's been raised by Indians.  I kind of expected this book to suck, because it just seemed impossible that all these elements could come together and make a great read, but it all comes together in a fantastic way.

It took me about a chapter or two before I settled into the voice of the novel,  but the authors did a great job using speech and vocabulary from the days of the Wild West but it's as fast paced as most YA books.Not that I'm complaining!  It was nice to read a book that really tries to stay true to the time period.  I used to read a lot of Historical Romance, and the best reads were always the ones that the authors had done a little research on before writing, and the worse ones always had a lot of modern dialogue and spotty history events. 

Now for the characters:

Jett, dressed as a man, is struggling to stay tough and deal with zombies, all the while in search of her twin brother.  Jett was probably my favorite character, she tried so hard and even when she was afraid she was brave.  She took a lot of personal responsibility, and then she took a little more.  She's also the first character we meet, and the one we learn the most about.  And out of all three of the characters, she was the one that I was able to understand the most.

Gibbons was... unique.  As a young woman, traveling on her own in a steam wagon, and a scientist to boot she was both amusing and annoying, but again, a very strong heroine.  There is no question she's not interesting in answering- as long as she can do it with science!  In a lot of ways, Jett is more feminine than Gibbons, since until the war Jett was all girl and Gibbons has been raised to behave as she pleases. I would have loved to have seen Gibbon's father join the trio because he sounded like a very interesting character!

The friendship that forms between the two young woman reminds me of other great female friendships- Rizzoli and Isles, Laverne and Shirley, Blair and Serena... okay, maybe strike the last one.

Then there's White Fox.  Sure, he gets ignored in the summary, but he's definitely part of the story, with chapters alternating between him, Gibbons and Jett. Unlike the women, we learn the least about White Fox, other than he was raised by Indians.  He and Jett are similar, and if this was a typical YA book then no doubt they'd be dating by the fifth chapter.  As it is, there was definitely something between them, which surprised me because somehow I got the impression from the back of the book that Gibbons and Jett might be a potential couple.  Which, I imagine, will certainly end up the topic of lots of fan fic if this book gains some popularity.

And that brings me to a crucial point.  I really enjoyed this book (as a 34 year old), but I'm not sure it's quite in the YA realm.  Yes, Jett, Gibbons and White Fox are around the 17-20 age range, but given the world they live in they are leap years above most teens nowadays.  I do think older teens will like it, but it could be marketed successfully to adults and fans of Steampunk.  I'll be interested to see how other YA reviewers, who are actually still young adults themselves, react to this book. 

Overall, I really liked Dead Reckoning.  It's a great western novel, a great zombie novel, and a good introduction to steampunk.  I would have liked a bit more background on all the characters, and I really wanted more information on Jett's twin brother, but I'm hoping there's some sequels. I liked that the women were just as capable, and in most cases even more capable, as the men.  I liked that Jett was a gunslinger and Gibbons designed and drove a steam wagon, and I really liked that White Fox didn't have any problem hanging with such women.  I would definitely recommend this book!


Dead Reckoning gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover gets a Midnight Cover Rating of:

I like it, even though you can barely see Gibbons and Jett looks a lot like a girl, and not a successful girl dressed as a boy.  White Fox on the cover is hot, but not exactly as described in the book... but the zombies are cool, and it would definitely grab my attention from the shelves.

Disclaimer: I did receive a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Masque of the Red Death Review

Masque of the Red Death
by Bethany Griffin
Expected Publication: 4.24.12
From Goodreads:

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

My Thoughts:  I was so excited when I read the summary for this book!  I have no idea why, other than the fact that I am a morbid midnight book girl, but I have an intense interest in plagues.  Weird, right?  And like a good horror fan, I dig all things Poe.  So a YA book that updates a Poe story?  I am so with that.

This is not just a simple retelling of a Poe story, this is Poe meets Moulin Rouge meets sci fi.  Everything is decadence and decay, with a bit of steam punk thrown in. I'm not sure this is 100% steam punk, but there's air ships and steam carriages and balloons. And there's a parasol on the cover, which is pretty much all I know to look for in the steam punk genre.  I imagine some readers will have issues with the time/period setting, since it's kind of a mish mash of the past and the present, but I think it works in this story.  Plus, I don't read for realism, I read to get out of my head and into a new world.  Masque of the Red Death definitely feels both familiar and alien, which I liked.

Araby is the daughter of a very important scientist, one who has helped keep the plague at bay- at least for those that shadowy Prince Prospero wants kept alive, but most of what defines her throughout the book is that she is the former sister of dead twin brother Finn.  Because she feels guilt over his death, Araby is all about denying herself happiness, and is careful not to experience anything that Finn never got a chance to do.

This does not apply to drugs though.  Araby does drugs to numb herself, even as she dresses in skimpy clothes (the idea is to show your arms and legs as much as possible to prove you aren't diseased) and gorgeous corsets and lounges around the most popular club in the Debauchery District. Honestly, the drug use was probably the only part of the book that I didn't really enjoy, but I do think it adds to the overall decadent tone that Araby sets in the beginning. It doesn't feel like it's advocating drug use, but it also doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of consequences for all the drug use going on either.

Everyone, and by everyone I mean the rich people, wear masks constantly to protect them from the plague.  Imagine a society where your nose and mouth are always covered, it would be hard not to feel detached from each other.  Of course, I'd be fine since my eyes are my best feature.  But it'd be weird to not be able to see people's mouths and things like sneezing are never addressed. I think the masks add to the mystery and isolation that surrounds the characters.  Her mask helps numb Araby to the world around her.

But things happen, and suddenly Araby begins to not feel so numb.

And of course that's partly due to the new boys in her life.  Because what's a YA novel without some yummy boys?

First there's poor, but sexy and tattooed Will.  They start of strong and sexy because he's the one that checks the ladies coming into the club, so there's lots of lingering caresses and whispers. Will's also raising his two adorable moppet siblings. Who can resist a sexy guy that's also in touch with his nurturing side?

Then there's Elliot.  He's the older brother of Araby's bff April.  I didn't know what to think about him at first, because it seemed clear to me that Will was the main love interest, but I have to say Elliot won me over.  He's a bit broken, a bit radical, but the passion that he feels towards wanting to end his uncle's control over the city and his crusade to get masks to the poor is kind of attractive.  He and Araby have a slow burn, compared to the white hot flash that she and Will have, so I'm a bit torn. Towards the end of the book I was kind of over Will.  I mean, I wished him well, but I felt like I might want to board the Team Elliot band wagon.  We'll see.

Overall this was a fast paced read for me.  I wasn't sure I liked Araby in the beginning.  First there's her name, which conjures up the old song The Sheik of Araby in my head which plays over and over again anytime her name is mentioned.  In fact, it's playing right now.  This probably won't be a problem for most of the readers since not a whole lot of people under the age of 70 even know it.  But I also had a problem with her drug use.  I'm just not a fan, and I thought it was at odds with her pledge to not experience anything her twin wasn't around to enjoy.  But once Araby started to get over herself, and her own loss, and began to really care about people and events going on around her, I was able to connect with her. 

I didn't sit down and read this book in one sitting, but it's the kind of book you can devour.  There's a lot of action, not just feelings and pretty dresses.  Araby, Will and Elliot don't just sit around, sighing and looking attractive.  They are all balancing on a very thin wire, one constantly shaken by death and danger.  So while there is a love triangle, there's also a real plot underneath it. 

Masque of the Red Death gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

I love it!  I'd seriously buy this book summary unseen just based on title and cover art.

Disclaimer: I briefly received a copy of this book for review as part of an ARC tour in exchange for my honest opinion.