Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

I still don’t quite know what to make of this novel.  I know I will think of it often and it is definitely one of those books that haunts your thoughts for years afterwards.  I loved Time Travelers Wife, but know that I will never love this one in the same way.  However, I liked it more than I disliked it.  I am at a bit of a loss as to how to explain the plot.  It is about two sets of twins, a flat in London and a famous cemetery, but yet it is also about none of those things at all.  Julia and Valentina inherit their aunt’s flat next to the Highgate Cemetery.  The twins are mirrors of each other and don’t do anything separately.  It is rather bizarre and becomes even more so when their deceased Aunt’s ghost makes contact with them.  There are layers upon layers upon layers and I still feel like there are more layers I have yet to unearth.  Definitely a phenomenal book for a book discussion, I feel the need to talk about it more to maybe get a better understanding of it.  I would have loved it if it had stopped 75% of the way through.  But the ending made me so befuddled and overset that I think I need to think about it some more.  I also feel like I am missing something about it that will make everything fall into place.

Peter and Max: A Fables Novel by Bill Willingham

I have read some of the Fables graphic novels, but was never really able to get into them.  I have a hard time reading graphic novels and so, though I liked the premise, I did not read more than a couple.  So I was thrilled when I saw there was a novel out.  It was everything I hoped it would be.  It told the tale of Peter Piper and his brother Max.  Fluctuating between the past and the present, it weaved a dark and dangerous tale.  Willingham shows common fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters in the modern world.  It is not all sweetness and light (although neither were the originals).  Peter must defeat his brother or die himself.  It shows how Max came to despise Peter and PEter’s desperate attempts to escape from under the brutal rule of the Empire.  I hope Willingham writes more in the series.

The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff

I started this book in August, lost it in a hotel, and picked up a copy at the library yesterday to finish it.  I don’t know if I liked it.  I felt like I was missing something as though I missed the background and was left to piece it together myself which I never quite did.  Alysha is let go from her job at a museum at the same time her grandmother passes away and leaves her a junk shop.  However, there is more going on than Alysha knows and soon she is embroiled in a mess with a sorcerer, dragons, and a leprechaun.  While the basic premise of the story was great, I never fully understood the whole Gale girls thing and the whole Males Choose thing.  Maybe I’m just a bit dense, but I would have liked more background or explanation to make some of the things that were said more understandable.  Now I have jumped halfway into series and did not have the trouble I have had with this book.  But yet, it was a fascinating premise.

Born of Fire by Sherrilyn Kenyon

The second book in The League series, this story tells the tale of Syn and Shahara.  Shahara is a bounty hunter and needs money so she goes after Syn, who has a huge price attached to him.  But little does she know that he is not really the villain any claim him to be.  Just as in Born of Night, the story tells of a complicated male character wronged by life.  In this book, Shay is also just as wounded as Syn and it is only together that they can find peace.  Lots of action and bad guys, this is a great second to Kenyon’s new series.  I look forward to reading more, but I still love the Dark Hunter series best.

Fat Cat by Robin Brande

I loved Evolution Me and Other Freaks of Nature and Fat Cat is also a great read.  I remember talking to RObin at a book signing in Oak Park and hearing her tell us about how she was writing Fat Cat.  At the time I thought it sounded fascinating and after having read it, I think she did an even better job than I would have imagined.  This is the story of Cat, a girl who is a little pudgy and who needs to do a science project on early hominids (i.e cavemen).  She decides to do the project on herself and see what happens when she eats and exercises the way they would have.  The results are amazing, but more importantly, the story of the relationship between Cat and others is just as riveting.  I can definitely see girls trying to do something like this, but it is not a diet book.  Cat is a wonderful character and she comes alive on the pages.  The end surprised me, but looking back it shouldn’t have.  The best part of this book is it is one of the rare books that I find myself pondering over long after I have finished.  I have been done for over a week and I am still thinking about the book and what it says about us as humans and about relationships.  I have recommended it to several people and hope they will enjoy it as much as I did.

Ash by Malinda Lo

A very different take on the Cinderella story.  Mixing fairy magic with evil stepmothers and King’s huntresses makes for a very interesting telling.  Though not as gripping as some other retellings I read, it brings an interesting perspective to the tale and combines some GLBT sensibilities into the mix.  Intriguing enough to finish, but not necessarily something I would great again.

The Untamed Bride by Stephanie Laurens

Laurens is writing a four book series about friends of the Cynsters.  There is a menace in India known as the Black Cobra.  Four men are put in charge of finding him and brining him to justice.  Each book deals with a different man and his journey to bring information back to England.  In the first book, we meet Del and the very fiery Deliah.  He is supposed to escort her home, but he knows it is too dangerous with members from the Black Cobra cult on his tail.  But after she saves his life, he knows he has no choice but to take her with him.  This is a great start to a new quartet.  Lots of action and romance and a really strong storyline.  My favorite part was that Deliah is at first scared of showing her more wild side, but soon learns that it is acceptable.  Can’t wait to read the rest in the series.

Sphinx’s Princess by Esther Friesner

  While I was not a huge fan of Nobody’s Princess, this story of Nefertiti was riveting.  Having read Michelle Moran’s book on Nefertiti, I knew the basic storyline, but in Friesner’s novel, the reader learns about her early years.  This one does not seem to be as historically accurate as Moran’s, but then again, I think Friesner is not trying to be as accurate, but instead is trying to paint a picture of a young woman faced with difficult challenges.  Nefertiti is a fascinating character not least of all because she grew up to marry a Pharoh.  But she is an interesting person in her own right and wielded a considerable amount of power for a woman in Ancient Egypt.  A great read and it looks like there will be a sequel.

Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran

I loved Nefertiti and was so excited when I got my hand’s on Cleopatra’s Daughter.  Once agin, Moran brings to life a lesser known historical figure.  In this story, we learn all about Cleopatra’s daughter, Selene, and her life in Rome.  It is a fascinating read not only because of the vividness of the characters, but also because of the added details that Moran brings to the story.  You learn about what life was like and, especially cool, about how things were built during that time.  A wonderful engrossing read.  I highly recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction or stories with strong female characters.

Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong

The newest book in the Women of the Underworld series, Frostbitten once again takes up the tale of Elena Michaels.  This time she is tracking a man-eating werewolf and it is up to her and her mate, Clay, to catch him.  But there is more to the tale than meets the eye and soon they are traveling to Alaska where Elena and Clay will both have to confront demons from their past.  This is a great book in the series.  Armstrong continues to develop the characters and introduces new challenges while still keeping the stories believable.  I loved it!  However, I don’t get the cover.  Why the heck is she wearing lace when she spends almost the entire book in Alaska where it is freezing? But it is a beautiful cover.