THE TRUTH IS A CAVE IN THE BLACK MOUNTAINS by Neil Gaiman

July 7, 2014

Click to purchase


A Tale of Travel and Darkness with Pictures of All Kinds

Illustrated by Eddie Campbell

It is said that on the Misty Isle there is a cave. Within this cave lies a fortune in gold ready for the taking. Some say this gold is cursed but others will not believe it. Calum MacInnes has been hired to guide a small man to the cave. But this man hasn’t been entirely truthful about what he seeks on his journey. For it is not gold the man wishes to come away with, but something else entirely.

This latest from Gaiman is actually an illustrated hardcover edition of a short story that previously appeared in the 2010 collection, Stories, edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio. The tale ultimately won both the Locus and Shirley Jackson awards for Best Novelette. That same year, Gaiman read the story aloud in a performance at the Sydney Opera House, accompanied by a string quartet and projected paintings by Eddie Campbell.

Since then, the short has been read aloud in a second performance and recorded on audio as well (and is offered in an enhanced multimedia edition read by Gaiman and featuring the original score).

The story is, per Gaiman’s style, a fairy tale of sorts for adults. It’s a dark tale of vengeance and secrets. While the Stories collection is one I highly recommend for short fiction fans, The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains is fabulous on its own in this new edition. Eddie Campbell’s art is a wonderful complement to the tale, making this a must have for any Neil Gaiman fan’s collection.

7/14 Becky Lejeune

THE TRUTH IS A CAVE IN THE BLACK MOUNTAINS by Neil Gaiman. William Morrow; Ill edition (June 17, 2014). ISBN 978-0062282149. 80p.

1 Comment | Book Reviews, Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

HURRICANE FEVER by Tobias S. Buckell

July 6, 2014

Click to purchase


Buckell was raised in the Caribbean before he returned to the U.S. His novel provides an insight into the politics and problems of the islands that are currently mainly tourist areas. It is set a little into the future and brings the islands into a setting that has made them economically much different than they are today.

They have improved their infrastructures due to the finding and selling of large oil deposits in their offshore waters. Most important, an agency termed the Caribbean Intelligence Agency was formed by a consortium of the islands’ governments, trained by the CIA and British MI6. It consists of highly trained and capable agents fighting the enemies of the Caribbean.

Prudence (Roo) Jones was an agent of the Caribbean group until he built himself a personal fortune,retired and decided to dedicate his life to beach combing and traveling on his boat. Events that occurred prior to this novel’s opening made him the caretaker for his orphaned teenaged nephew. He is immersed in making sure that the boy goes to school and takes an interest in making sure that his nephew grows up to be a good citizen and adult.

A message is received from a former colleague marked, “You will get this if I am dead.” Roo had worked with that man while both were agents of the Caribbean Intelligence Agency and were firm friends. Roo goes after the package indicated in the message in the interest of following through on their friendship.

Shortly after the message arrives, a beautiful young lady knocks on his door announcing that she is his now deceased friend’s sister. While Roo knew that there was no sister he goes along with her to try and determine what she is after.

Buckell creates an atmosphere of constant action both with bad guys coming out, and several hurricanes starting up in a Caribbean whose weather patterns have greatly changed. The book retains the reader’s undivided attention and is definitely an all nighter as the various blanks are filled in including the young lady’s intentions and definitely setting up the next book in this series. Excellent read.

6/14 Paul Lane

HURRICANE FEVER by Tobias S. Buckell. Tor Books; First Edition edition (July 1, 2014). ISBN 978-0765319227. 272p.

Comments Off on HURRICANE FEVER by Tobias S. Buckell | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

DEADLY CURIOSITIES by Gail Z. Martin

July 5, 2014

Click to purchase

Charleston’s Trifles & Follies may look like your average antique shop, but in reality it’s so much more. Cassidy Kincaide is just the latest descendant to inherit the shop. They cater to the many antique hounds and interior decorators of the area but their prime focus is handling magical and supernatural items.

Cassidy has the ability to experience an item’s past, something that frequently opens her up to strange and even dangerous visions. But it seems Charleston has lately had an influx of items causing even the most psychically challenged locals to see and experience things that are beyond ordinary.

It soon becomes clear that there’s something strange at work in the historic city. It also seems the strange happenings may be connected to a recent spate of murders and could possibly trace back to the deaths of an underwater salvage team just six months ago. Cassidy and her partners, Sorren (a centuries-old vampire who helped start Trifles & Follies) and Teag (a man gifted with spell weaving) know they’re up against something big but just how big – and how dangerous – is the real question at hand.

Gail Z. Martin has made a name for herself with her epic fantasy series but now she turns an eye to urban fantasy as well. In actuality, the Deadly Curiosities series began with a number of short stories penned by the author. There are a few references to those adventures in the novel but no need to have read the shorts prior to Deadly Curiosities.

Charleston makes for the perfect setting here. The author plays off the city’s history and landmarks but has also cleverly invented people, places, and events unique to the story.

The premise of the series is quite fun but there are a few rocky moments in this first installment. Nonetheless, this is a series that I will be looking forward to more of in the future.

7/14 Becky Lejeune

DEADLY CURIOSITIES by Gail Z. Martin. Solaris (June 24, 2014). ISBN 978-1781082331. 464p.

1 Comment | Book Reviews, Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE ICE CREAM QUEEN OF ORCHARD STREET by Susan Jane Gilman

July 4, 2014

Click to purchase


The Treynovsky family escaped the pogroms in Russia and emmigrated to the lower east side of New York, where Malka grew up to become Lillian Dunkle, the eponymous ice cream queen in Susan Jane Gilman’s charming first novel. Her journey from poverty stricken immigrant to enormously successful ice cream magnate is the quintessential American story.

The streets of New York are not always the safest place for children, teeming with vendors and their push carts. Malka is out one day when the Italian ices man’s horse accidentally crushes her leg in a truly Dickensian moment. Malka’s father takes off, her mother can’t handle it and ends up in a sanitarium. Mr. Dinello feels guilty for crippling the child and takes her in, so this Jewish immigrant girl is raised by an Italian immigrant family. The Italian ices cart grows into an ice cream factory and Malka learns the business until both Mr. and Mrs. Dinello pass away. Their sons form a partnership and a new company, and leave her out in the cold.

Revenge drives Malka, who eventually changes her name to the more American sounding Lillian. She meets Albert Dunkle, a movie star handsome Jewish immigrant with a bad stutter. She tries to help him and they fall in love and marry. Together they start up Dunkle’s Ice Cream. Albert invents a machine that makes soft serve ice cream (think Carvel here, I certainly did) and they become hugely successful. But vindictiveness against the Dinello family fuels Lillian’s fire, and she won’t be happy until they are out of business. Lillian is an unscrupulous businesswoman, and eventually her chickens come home to roost.

This is a family story about the immigrant experience in America, told with a lot of humor and pathos. The characters come alive on these pages and while you may not always like Lillian Dunkle, you can’t help but cheer her on.

7/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE ICE CREAM QUEEN OF ORCHARD STREET by Susan Jane Gilman. Grand Central Publishing (June 10, 2014). ISBN 978-0446578936. 512p.

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE TROOP by Nick Cutter

July 3, 2014

Click to purchase


Dr. Tim Riggs and the boys of Troop 52 look forward to their annual camping trip with great anticipation. For Tim, it means a chance to get away from it all. For the boys, it means a weekend in the wild without their parents watching over them. But this year is different. A starving and sickly man arrives at the cabin begging for food. As a doctor, Tim feels it’s his duty to help; as troop leader, though, he knows he must protect the boys. He keeps them isolated at first, but soon realizes that the man is carrying a parasite that he himself has already been exposed to. Soon the boys are alone, forced to fend for themselves on an island cut off from the world with a terrifying infection spreading amongst them.

Nick Cutter (aka Craig Davidson) has created a tale that is truly the stuff of nightmares. The Troop is creepy as all get out – something one always hopes for with new horror – but it’s also incredibly gross. I think it’s safe to say that readers without a strong stomach may take issue with this one.

As I said, it is the stuff of nightmares. Five teenage boys and their troop leader camping on a remote and uninhabited island off the coast of Prince Edward Island with supplies for a three day trip as well as a radio for emergencies would seem to be fairly prepared for just about anything. Anything except a raging stranger riddled with parasites who then destroys said radio and infects the only other adult on the island. The first symptom of infection: unquenchable hunger. You can imagine what happens next.

In a move definitely inspired by Lord of the Flies the boys turn on their troop leader and then one another. Cutter/Davidson does an excellent job spinning a tale packed with gut-clenching tension and gory detail. The characters are compelling, especially once we REALLY get to know a few of them (that’s an added wrinkle to an already twisted story), and the use of interviews, articles, and testimony adds an extra layer to the story development that I thought was particularly engaging.

The Troop may not be the best book to take on a summer camping trip (or maybe it is if you’re a glutton for punishment) but it’s certainly one any hardy horror fan will not want to miss.

7/14 Becky Lejeune

THE TROOP by Nick Cutter. Gallery Books; First Edition edition (February 25, 2014). ISBN 978-1476717715. 368p.

1 Comment | Book Reviews, Fiction, Horror | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

ONE PLUS ONE by JoJo Moyes

July 2, 2014

Click to purchase

It is always difficult to follow up a beloved book like Me Before You, but I think Moyes fans will be happy with her latest – I was. This is another contemporary romance, but in a more traditional way.

Jess is a single mom who is barely scraping by. Her husband walked out two years previously but is living with his mother and hasn’t sent any money or even seen his own kids. Jess’s daughter Tanzie is an 8 year old math prodigy, and she also takes in her stepson, Nicky, a teenager with some social issues who is getting beaten up on a regular basis by a neighborhood family of ne’er-do-wells.

Jess works all the time, cleaning houses by day and tending bar by night. She juggles her bills, keeping one step ahead by robbing Peter to pay Paul, and manages to keep food on the table, but just barely. When Tanzie’s math teacher calls to say that Tanzie has earned the possibility of a scholarship to a prestigious private school, Jess is dubious about even being able to pay the registration fee.

Then one of her cleaning clients, Ed, a rude dot com millionaire, gets drunk at the pub where she works. She manages to get a friend to drive him home, but when she gets back in the car she finds a wad of bills. Jess is a very moral character, but desperate for the registration fee, she takes the money and swears to herself that she will pay it back.

Ed has troubles of his own. In trying to dump a girlfriend, he inadvertently gives her inside information and she makes a killing in the stock market. He doesn’t make a dime but the cops come after him anyway.

Tanzie is offered the opportunity to participate in a math competition with prize money enough to cover the private school expenses, except it is in Scotland and Jess can’t afford the train fare. Desperate, she decides to drive, taking a an old broken down Rolls Royce that’s been stored in her garage for more than 2 years. No license and no insurance is a recipe for disaster and sure enough, the cops impound the car.

Ed happens by and stops to help. He ends up driving them all to Scotland, a four day trip, and Jess and Ed fall in love along the way. They both have a lot of baggage, but can they get past all their issues? Will these kids work out their problems?

Moyes writes great characters, and I will not be forgetting these anytime soon. This was a really enjoyable, fast read that should please her legion of fans.

7/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

ONE PLUS ONE by JoJo Moyes. Pamela Dorman Books (July 1, 2014). ISBN 978-0525426585. 384p.

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

CONGRATULATIONS, BY THE WAY by George Saunders

July 1, 2014

Click to purchase

Some Thoughts on Kindness

George Saunders gave the commencement address at Syracuse University in 2013, the New York Times published it, someone posted it on YouTube, and the rest, as they say, is history.

That speech has been turned into an adorable little book, only 7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches, 64 pages, yet packs an enormous, powerful wallop. Right on the chin. It’s a knockout.

All Mr. Saunders does here is remind us that life is for the living, and we need to work harder at being kind. For in the end, that is all that really matters. He talks about regrets, and like Frank Sinatra, he’s had a few. But his biggest regret, stemming from his childhood, is not being kinder to a little girl newly moved to his neighborhood. He talks about the people we remember best, that we like the best, are those that showed us kindness.

Yesterday I went through the drive through at McDonald’s to get an iced tea to take to work with me. It’s only a $1, and it’s so big it lasts through most of my 8 hour shift (supplemented with water, of course.) Why do you care? Well, when I pulled up to the window to pay, I was told that the car ahead of me had paid for my order and left a message, wishing me a good week.

I have heard about things like this happening on the news, but it’s never happened to me. And you know what? I was really flabbergasted. That was an awesome start to a Monday, and any time things get wonky this week, I will think back to that act of kindness. It was only a buck, but it truly was the thought that counted and meant so much.

We would do well to heed Mr. Saunders’ advice and work harder at being kinder to one another. And if you need a graduation gift, look no further.

7/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

CONGRATULATIONS, BY THE WAY by George Saunders. Random House; First Edition edition (April 22, 2014). ISBN 978-0812996272. 64p.

Comments Off on CONGRATULATIONS, BY THE WAY by George Saunders | Book Reviews, Nonfiction | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr

June 30, 2014

Click to purchase

This is the story of a blind French girl and a mathematically inclined German boy in World War II occupied France, and it is one of the most beautifully written and memorable novels that I’ve read in a long time.

I heard about it through Library Reads, it was one of the top ten picks for May. I have found some terrific books through this list of librarian favorites, and I urge you to check it out.

Marie Laure goes blind when she’s six years old. She lives with her father in Paris near the museum where he is a locksmith. He builds her a minature village to scale of their neighborhood and teaches her to navigate on her own. But when the Germans invade Paris, they flee to Saint-Malo to stay with Marie Laure’s uncle, who is a severe agoraphobic. He has a multi-story home on the sea that he shares with a housekeeper/caretaker.

Meanwhile Werner is a 14 year old boy living with his sister in an orphanage in Germany. He is selected to test for engineering school, where he excels. But school under the Third Reich is difficult for Werner. His best friend is a gentle soul and he knows nothing good can come of that in the land of Hitler Youth. Werner is eventually sent out to hunt down illegal transmitters, and that is how he spends the last few years of  his childhood, and the war.

Marie Laure is growing up, and grows very close to both the housekeeper and her uncle. When her father goes missing, they care for her. Eventually Saint-Malo becomes a closed city, and life is very difficult for those still living there. Food, even water, are scarce and freedom becomes a thing of the past.

Werner’s and Marie Laure’s stories ebb and flow, moving back and forth in time and place until inevitably they meet. The war is their backdrop, but the book, surprisingly, is about the kindness people can show one another, even in extraodinarily difficult times.

Reading groups will love this as universal themes of love, war, deception, loyalty, impairments and more will offer great fodder for discussion. Most of the chapters are extremely short, and even though it is a highly descriptive novel, the story moves and is quite gripping, I couldn’t put it down.

All the Light We Cannot See is one of my favorite books so far this year.

6/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr. Scribner; First Edition edition (May 6, 2014). ISBN 978-1476746586. 544p.

Comments Off on ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr | Book Reviews, Fiction | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

DEEP BLUE by Jennifer Donnelly

June 29, 2014

Click to purchase

Waterfire Saga, Book One

Serafina has been preparing for ages for her betrothal ceremony. The ceremony consists of three parts: the first will test her as a true descendant of Merrow’s bloodline; the second is the songspell she must sing to perfection; the third will bind her to her husband-to-be as well as the kingdom of Miromara. Unfortunately, what should be one of the happiest days of her life soon turns tragic as the kingdom is overcome by invaders. Sera’s mother is shot and Sera is forced to run with only her friend Neela by her side. The young mermaid is left with the uncertainty of her mother’s fate – and whether she has now become Regina of Miromara in her place.

With assassins on their tails, the two girls soon come to a shocking realization: the invasion of Miromara is linked to a dream that has been plaguing them both. In the dream, the girls witnessed the Iele (sea witches they thought were only children’s stories) singing of six mermaids tasked with saving the oceans from a creature known as Abbadon. And Sera and Neela aren’t the only ones aware of the Iele’s prophecy. The mer trying to capture them has heard the legend as well and he has no desire at all in seeing Abbadon defeated.

On the one hand Deep Blue is an excellent example of world building. The reader is literally immersed in the undersea setting from the very start. The history and mythology of the world are fascinating and the imagery is vibrant.

On the other hand this teen title reads much younger than I’d expected. Serafina and her peers all come across more flighty and immature than I’d thought they would based on their character set up. They’re all supposed to be about sixteen (or older in some cases) so some of that’s to be expected, especially allowing for the expected coming-of-age bit of character development, but it left me with the overall sense that the best audience for the book is on the early end of the teen spectrum.

6/14 Becky Lejeune
DEEP BLUE by Jennifer Donnelly. Disney-Hyperion (May 6, 2014). ISBN 978-1423133162. 352p.

Comments Off on DEEP BLUE by Jennifer Donnelly | Book Reviews, Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE ACCIDENT by Chris Pavone

June 28, 2014

Click to purchase

The Accident is a somewhat more conventional thriller than Pavone’s fine debut (The Expats, 2012), but he excels at developing characters back stories.

New York literary agent Isabel Reed plows through an anonymous manuscript in one night and immediately knows two things: the manuscript, a biography of a media mogul, will be a blockbuster, and people will die if word of its existence leaks. She’s also fairly sure she knows who the author is, but he’s dead – or is he?

Word does leak, in New York and Hollywood, and ambitious young women in publishing quickly die violently. Isabel and her chosen editor, Jeffrey Fielder, are on the run from resourceful, relentless killers.

Pavone’s plot twists nicely, shifting focus among a large cast of well-drawn characters and using flashbacks and changes of locale (Copenhagen, Zurich, Manhattan, Hollywood, the Hamptons) to build suspense. Isabel and Jeffrey, for example, are successful but frightened that changes in their business and the onset of middle age might make them has-beens, and they’re both recalling the mutual attraction they once had but didn’t act on.

Like Isabel, many readers will read this one through the night. Highly recommended.

6/14 Jack Quick

THE ACCIDENT by Chris Pavone. Crown; First Edition edition (March 11, 2014). ISBN 978-0385348454. 400p.

Comments Off on THE ACCIDENT by Chris Pavone | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »