Recommend A…First Book in a Series

July 30, 2012 by 11 Comments

Recommend A...

Recommend A…is a weekly recommendation meme hosted by Chick Loves Lit. This week’s prompt…

Recommend A…First Book in a Series

A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee
A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee (The Agency #1)
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Rescued from the gallows in 1850s London, young orphan (and thief) Mary Quinn is surprised to be offered a singular education, instruction in fine manners — and an unusual vocation. Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls is a cover for an all-female investigative unit called The Agency, and at seventeen, Mary is about to put her training to the test. Assuming the guise of a lady’s companion, she must infiltrate a rich merchant’s home in hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships. But the household is full of dangerous deceptions, and there is no one to trust — or is there? Packed with action and suspense, banter and romance, and evoking the gritty backstreets of Victorian London, this breezy mystery debuts a daring young detective who lives by her wits while uncovering secrets — including those of her own past.

There were so many books I considered featuring, but A Spy in the House is the one I kept coming back to. What more could you want? Clever girl detective in a Victorian setting, fun mysteries, and some of the best chemistry ever (FOR REAL) between Mary and her love interest. This first book continues to be my favorite, but the other two books are super enjoyable, too. Overall, though, this series is severely underrated so…YOU SHOULD READ IT!

Here are my reviews for the books:
• A Spy in the House
• The Body at the Tower
• The Traitor in the Tunnel

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Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Characters

April 24, 2012 by 15 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and features a new top ten list each week.

Favorite Characters

Being forced to choose will be torture, but HERE WE GO.

10. Sean Kendrick from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater – Oh GOD. Sean is quiet and subdued, but he feels so much and he loves his horse and Puck and…GUH, LOVE.

09. Mary Quinn from The Agency series by Y.S. Lee – Girl detective in Victorian times! Mary is amazeballs and totally holds her own in any and all situations. YOU ONLY WISH YOU COULD BE AS AMAZING AS HER.

08. Etienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins – Can I sneak Cricket in here too? YES! Okay, but seriously…Steph Perkins writes the most perfect boys ever and St. Clair (and Cricket!) is an absolute delight.

07. Arya Stark from the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin – Love her on the show, love her in the books — in both she is the POV I look forward to the most.

06. Rudy Steiner from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – As Death himself said, “He steps on my heart. He makes me cry.” RUDYYYYYYYYY.

05. Todd Hewitt & Viola Eade from the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness – YES, THEY GET TO SHARE THIS SPOT BECAUSE THEY ARE THE EPITOME OF GOODNESS AND STRENGTH. Seriously, these two…your faves could never.

04. Adrian Ivashkov from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead – Uh, Dimitri who?! Ha, in all seriousness, Adrian is all sorts of messed up, and he has a long way to go to grow up, but he is lovable. PLUS, SKELETON TATTOOS, ETC.

03. Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling – WEASLEY IS MY KING. Ronald has been with me for over ten years and my loyalty to him has never wavered. If only I could be a Weasley!

02. Finnick Odair from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – Oh, Finnick! From the sugar cubes and then onwards, I would have never expected to love him so much and yet…he is my favorite of the series. I will raise hell if/when they mess up his casting in Catching Fire.

01. Ha, no, I am not choosing – Did you really think I would? I LOVE TOO MANY AND YOU CAN’T MAKE ME. So, yes, this spot will remain empty in dedication of the gazillion others I love.

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Book Review: The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y.S. Lee

April 17, 2012 by 6 Comments

The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y.S. Lee The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y.S. Lee
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Publisher: Candlewick
Pages: 373
Source: ARC from publisher | Purchased
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Queen Victoria has a little problem: there’s a petty thief at work in Buckingham Palace. Charged with discretion, the Agency puts quickwitted Mary Quinn on the case, where she must pose as a domestic while fending off the attentions of a feckless Prince of Wales. But when the prince witnesses the murder of one of his friends in an opium den, the potential for scandal looms large. And Mary faces an even more unsettling possibility: the accused killer, a Chinese sailor imprisoned in the Tower of London, shares a name with her long-lost father. Meanwhile, engineer James Easton, Mary’s onetime paramour, is at work shoring up the sewers beneath the palace, where an unexpected tunnel seems to be very much in use. Can Mary and James trust each other (and put their simmering feelings aside) long enough to solve the mystery and protect the Royal Family? – Goodreads

Review:
It is always a delight to return to Victorian London in Y.S. Lee’s The Agency series. Although the first book in the series, A Spy in the House, probably remains my favorite, The Traitor in the Tunnel was a great addition to Mary’s adventures.

Y.S. Lee made The Traitor in the Tunnel the most personal chapter to Mary’s story yet. While posing undercover as a maid at Buckingham Palace, she becomes aware of a murder that has ties to her past. Her history has always been a mystery itself so it was great to finally uncover more details. Mary was filled with so much hope, but there was also dread and sadness; Y.S. Lee made these feelings very palpable as Mary navigated through her discoveries.

The other central mystery had Mary investigating thefts and secret tunnels. I must admit that I wasn’t completely engaged in these storylines, but they perfectly displayed Mary’s intelligence and tenacity. Plus, the mysteries brought my favorite duo back together.

Mary and James, gah, these two have some of the most incredible chemistry I’ve found in any couple. After their last encounter in The Body at the Tower I was a little worried about their reunion and future interactions, but I had no need to worry. Y.S. Lee had me feeling absolutely gleeful over their bantering, bickering and, yes, their kissing. SWOON CITY, I love these two, and I can’t imagine any scenario where I would grow bored of them. You know those couples that are so just blah and bland? Definitely not Mary and James. They are interesting on their own, make an amazing team together, and are a perfect balance for each other. Favorites!

I’m so glad that there’s another book in the series heading our way. I really love the turn of events at the end of The Traitor in the Tunnel and it can only mean more growth and awesome for the characters I’ve grown to love.


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Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Spring TBR List

March 20, 2012 by 6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and features a new top ten list each week.

Books On My Spring TBR List

I have a lot of spring cleaning to do with the books on my shelves, so I am definitely including some titles I already own along with the newer ones.

01. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness – The first book broke my heart into a million little pieces, yes, but I have delayed reading the last two books long enough. OVER A YEAR. I really plan to get to this soon.

02. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin – Erm, yeah. I’m actually somewhere in the middle of this one already, but these books are massive and my attention span has been ZILCH. My plan is to finish it before the new season stars.

03. This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel – I was sooo excited to read this and then…I didn’t. There have been pretty good reviews for it, too, so I don’t get why I haven’t gotten to it.

04. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler – I bought this ages ago for a really great price and it has nothing but amazing reviews from my goodreads pals. What gives?! Probably the fact that I don’t read a lot of contemporary, but still.

05. The Traitor In The Tunnel by Y.S. Lee – ONLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE SERIES EVER. I suck. I need more James and Mary in my life so it’s dumb to deprive myself.

06. Insurgent by Veronica Roth – DUH. Is there any explanation needed? No.

07. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore – I am so, so excited to return to this world and see some familiar faces. I loved Fire more than I did Graceling so I have my fingers crossed I’ll love this one the most.

08. Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready – There are a lot of great May releases and this is one of them. I am very curious to find out how this series will conclude (in tears, I’m sure).

09. Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout – Jennifer L. Armentrout really knows how to keep a reader hooked so I’m excited for her to do it again in the second installment of her Covenant series.

10. Revived by Cat Patrick – I LOVED Cat Patrick’s Forgotten so I am looking forward to seeing this one play out.

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Top 10 Characters in 2011

December 29, 2011 by 12 Comments


Event hosted by A Life Bound by Books, Confessions of a Bookaholic, Fiktshun, and Two Chicks On Books

• Cricket Bell – He’s on my boyfriends list and I’ll repeat what I said there: Cricket is the sweetest, most adorably awkward, thoughtful, genuine boy ever. To summarize, he is all sorts of perfect.

• Karou – BAMF, fierce, amazing, etc. She has blue hair and she’s my hero for making ex-boyfriends itch in uncomfortable places. In addition to that, she just goes through an incredible journey and I can’t wait to see her continue to kick ass.

• Jem Carstairs – This sweet boy! He is so full of goodness and he absolutely killed me in Clockwork Prince. Despite his condition, he’s so full of life and aspirations. Live, Jem, live!

• Saba – A perfectly complex character. There were times that I wanted to smack her around for being so damn stubborn, but it was great to see her determination and her growth as she gradually stepped out of her brother’s shadow.

• Arya Stark – I’m still in the middle of reading A Storm of Swords, but Arya is easily my favorite from the large cast of characters in the series (both in books and show). Though she’s young, she has shown so much physical and mental strength. I have to admire her!

• Adrian Ivashkov – I see how broken he is, and how much maturing he still has to go through, but he’s also such a good person underneath his bravado. He has a big heart and he’s hilarious, too. Skeleton tattoo, anyone?

• Sean Kendrick – I sound like a broken record with The Scorpio Races all over these lists, but I think my heart grew twenty times bigger because of this man. This man and his horse. LOVELOVELOVE.

• Elisa – This list would not be complete with her because her character journey is one of my absolute favorites. From an immature girl, she grew into a strong woman and leader. I can’t wait to continue on more adventures with her.

• Mary Quinn – My favorite girl detective! She’s clever, confident, and she’s so full of fire. She really holds her own in both books in the series and I have no doubt that she’ll continue to do much of the same in the next installment.

• Sophie Mercer – I don’t talk about her/this series much, but Sophie is easily one of the most likable protagonists for me. She has so much energy, is hilarious, and she’s definitely the highlight of the series.

Honorable Mentions:
• Meghan Chase from The Iron Fey series
• Penryn from Angelfall
• Day AND June from Legend
etc, etc

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