The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

It is after the war (that would be WWI) and the Wrays (widowed Mrs. Wray and her spinster daughter Frances) are having difficulty making ends meet.  Left on the verge of destitution by the bad investments of the late Mr. Wray the ladies are forced to let out rooms in their large home, situated in a desirable London neighborhood.  Lodgers are called paying guests among the well-heeled, or in this case formerly well-heeled, hence the title.  The Barbers, a young lower-class married couple, move into the upstairs rooms.  A friendship slowly forms between Mrs. Barber and Frances which blossoms into love.  Will love prevail?

I figured I was in for a family drama of some kind based on the little I knew of the book.  Turns out it was a romance complete with a murder trial at its center.  It is an unsettling look at the lengths people will go for love as well as the frightening position love puts us in: does that person love me as much as I love them?  Or are they just saying they love me?  This book constantly reminds the reader that we only know the thoughts of one character and how unsettling not knowing another’s mind actually is.

Wars of the Roses: Stormbird by Conn Iggulden

Wars of the Roses: Stormbird by Conn Iggulden
Reviewed by W. Keith McCoy, Somerset County Library System

The start of another historical series for Iggulden features not a famous person, but the array of kings and power-brokers who afflicted England in the 15th Century.  Henry VI is weak minded and willed, and is manipulated into trading the English territories of Maine and Anjou for a French bride. The landowners there resist, as back home Richard of York maneuvers to be the power behind the throne.  Protecting the unsuspicious king are his new wife, a few other lords of the realm, and Derihew Brewer, the king’s spymaster.  On top of this, a peasant revolt gushes out of Kent towards London, threatening the monarchy itself.  Several of the characters stand out to carry the narrative, especially the dashing, totally fictional Brewer.  The action swings back and forth between political intrigue and the brutal clashes of armies and mobs.  And this is just the beginning, fortunately for the reader. Verdict: Iggulden’s simplified version of the start of this fifty year political melee will keep followers of the old English royals completely engrossed.

The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami

The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami

A young man returns his library books (on time) and when he asks the lady at the circulation desk for more books she directs him to the librarian in room 107.  The old male librarian there bullies the boy into reading the tomes he put the effort into locating, ancient books that are “for internal use only.”  The boy is then led down twisting labyrinthine corridors to the reading room.  What lurks there?  You’ll have to read to find out.  I do leave you with this quote about libraries and librarians to ponder: if all they did was lend out knowledge for free, what would the payoff be for them?

This very slim volume (you can read it in less than an hour) is a treat for all lovers of libraries (and if you are reading this blog I hope you are).  Know that it is dark, and quite bizarre; not just the story but the illustrations as well.  It is also a thinking book.  You’ll be thinking about it long after you finish wondering what exactly the author was trying to say about loneliness, knowledge and life.

The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson

The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson
Reviewed by W. Keith McCoy, Somerset County Library System

The ne’er-do-well son of a country parson is thrown into the alternative world that is debtors’ prison of London in 1727.  Owned by a noble, run by an SOB, and inhabited by the unfortunate as well as the conniving, Marshalsea Gaol is a festering pot of deception, treachery and brutality.  When a man of means is murdered inside it, everyone seems to have an interest in finding the killer, as well as a motive.  New arrival Tom Hawkins not only needs to pay off his debts, he needs to find out who murdered the man who slept in his bed two days before.  The scenes are Hogarthian, and the pace is Pattersonian.  The author has a gift for action and characters, using the historical prison as the main stage, and real people as supporting actors.  She manages to keep the reader guessing as to who might be the murderer, and when (and whom) he might strike next.

Verdict:  History and mystery fans will both enjoy the roller coaster twists and turns of this atmospheric thriller.

The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister

The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister

The Amazing Arden is an illusionist, one of the best in the field, and unlike other illusionists working the circuit she is a woman.  The road that led her to a life on the stage doing fire dances and cutting people in half is a strange one that she recounts while being held on suspicion of murder.  Someone killed her husband.  He was found hacked in his midsection by an axe in a prop box below the stage.  It looks just like the illusion of the Halved Man she performed that evening in front of a sellout crowd.  Officer Holt apprehends her as she flees and takes her to his small town jail/police station for questioning.  There, over the course of the evening, she tells her story in hopes that Holt will see the truth in her words and set her free.

Best part of the book?  The title.  The entire book I wondered if Arden was to be believed.  The book is two stories in one: Arden telling the story of her life to Holt from her childhood up until earlier that evening and the conversations Arden and Holt have in the jail as she tells her tale.  Since the past is recounted vividly in prose it’s hard to remember that we are only getting Arden’s remembrances, so the sections of Holt and Arden talking are helpful.  It’s a reminder that we’re only getting her version of events and you can’t help but wonder what is real and what is a lie.

This book is released on January 13^th so get your holds placed now!

Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios

Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios (YA)
Reviewed by Cassandra, Teen Librarian at Mary Jacobs

During the cold, dark winter months there is nothing like a guilty pleasure read! This young adult novel is the first in the Dark Caravan series. The initial draw for this title is that it reminded me of two series that I absolutely love: The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo and The Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor. If you loved those books you will devour Exquisite Captive.

The book follows the story of Nalia, a jinni who can grant wishes. She is the only survivor of a coup d’état that killed almost everyone from her caste. Now back on Earth she is sold into slavery. She is bound by the golden shackles to the rich and handsome Malek, her human master. She is forced to obey his every command or else suffer the consequences. Malek is cruel yet on top of that all, he is also very emotionally manipulative. Nalia, having been mistreated for so long, living only on the hope of seeing her brother and freeing him, is immediately drawn by his ‘gentle’ side and falls for his lies. I say lies because no matter how much he claims to love her, he will never see her as anything but a possession. It will break your heart to see her go through all these ordeals and when Raif comes into the picture, you cheer; you cheer like crazy and hope for Nalia to snap out of it and realize how unhealthy her relationship with Malek is.

So, yes, this is a kissing book but the world building and plot are both amazing and make for a fun, fast paced read. I eagerly await book 2!

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean

Chase is the elusive primary owner of the famous gaming hell The Fallen Angel.  No one knows his identity yet all fear him.  Anna is the lady in charge of the female employees of The Fallen Angel; this madam is rumored to be extremely talented in the boudoir.  Lady Georgiana is the daughter of a Duke, and the sister of one, but she has a nine year old daughter out of wedlock.  She has never named the father and never will.  Now that her daughter Caroline is getting older she is on the hunt for a husband with a title so her daughter will be accepted, not shunned, by society as she is.  The problem: Lady Georgiana is developing feelings for a man that is not titled and therefore cannot provide her daughter with the protection she needs.  That man is also dead set on unmasking Chase and freeing Anna from his grip.  What makes it an impossible problem: Chase, Anna and Georgiana are all the same person.

This is the fourth book in the School for Scoundrel series but don’t despair!  You don’t have to be familiar with the series to enjoy this entry.  This is a fast paced, well-plotted, steamy read.