Sunday Post #322

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Book Date 

  

I think I beat my slump! As some of you know my reading has been off lately- big time- and I haven't reviewed a book (other than graphic novels) in well over a month. Well, I can happily report that that seems to be a thing of the past- I finally finished a book! Harbor for the Nightingale (book #4 in the School for Unusual Girls) was excellent and just what I needed. Also, I'm into Wilder Girls now and so far, so good, so maybe the slump is history? 

This past week was Halloween, obviously, here in the U.S. and we had... snow! Not really snow that stuck on the ground, but more like rain/ snow. If you live in the Midwest you know what that is. Anyway we got a few kids braving the elements but considering it was cold and windy not that many. I guess I have candy left over to eat. Such a shame.  

And... since it's now November 2019, I can also post this. 

     

Song of the week

PULP COVER OF THE WEEK: 

NEW ARRIVAL/ UPCOMING REVIEWS:

BOOKISH LINKS  

A remix of music from LOTRO (Lord of the Rings Online)  

Harbor for the Nightingale

   

Harbor for the Nightingale is the fourth book in the Stranje House series and to say I've been looking forward to it would be an understatement. This series began with A School for Unusual Girls, one of my favorite YA debuts, and has been getting better and better with each book. This time we're experiencing the story from the point of view of Maya Barrington, an Indian girl with an unusual gift. She has the ability to influence others through her voice, and she senses the world around her in the same way. Sound is a medium for her to communicate but also a way for her to sense the intentions or emotional state of others. And the neat part is there's an author note at the end that sheds a little light on this and the origins of the character. 

The thing I like about this is it's not really magic per se- this is a series grounded in the real world, even though it's an alternate history of sorts. The year is 1814 and Napoleon threatens England, and as in the previous books the girls of Stranje House are thick in the intrigues. It's almost an alternate timeline where things have occurred differently, and so history is taking a somewhat different course. This also plays into the overarching theme of the series, which is that everyone makes changes to the world around them everyday, and in the lives of those around them. It's a fascinating idea, and true when you think about it- I love how this has formed the underpinning of the story. 

So this one starts out with the girls having a coming- out ball, and the intrigue and romantic entanglements begin from there! The girls are now highly visible in London society and are well known in the upper echelons of the aristocracy, so this lends a higher stakes element to the plot. The girls must not only navigate the treacherous waters swirling around Napoleon and his desire to subjugate England, but they have to walk the high society tightrope as well. This novel felt like settling in with old friends at this point, and I'm happy to report this book was as readable and compelling as the previous stories. 

Each novel has an element of romance to go along with the intrigue, and here Maya is paired with Lord Kinsworth, a charming rogue with a heart of gold who just happens to confound Maya. She is used to being able to read others, even manipulate them to an extent with her talents, but Kinsworth frustrates her since she has trouble reading him. Could that be because they are more alike than she realizes? There are the usual misunderstandings and a scene where Maya had to set him straight for the good of the mission- it was almost painful to read because you knew it was breaking her heart to do it, but she had to for the good of the mission. 

All in all I can't say enough about this series. Alternate history, friendships and intrigues galore, suspense and action- this one, like the rest, has it all. And Napoleon shows up as well! Maya and Sera have always seemed a little different from the other girls, and I was happy to see in this one that Maya's friendship with Sera was not only examined but strengthened. The next book will be from Sera's POV and in many ways I've been looking forward to that one the most! At the same time we see enough of Georgie, Lady Jane and Tess so that it still feels like an ensemble- I love how the characters each retain their personalities and get moments to shine. This is, quite simply, an awesome addition to a stellar series. 

The Francis Blake Affair

The Francis Blake Affair is one of the earlier adventures in the Blake & Mortimer canon and I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It's a straight up espionage storyline with Captain Blake being implicated in treason and having to go on the run, with the British secret services after him and his friend Mortimer trying to ascertain what's really happening. Is he really a traitor? Surely not, right? Well then why was he receiving funds from a suspicious account in the Bahamas? It all looks bad and pretty soon Mortimer is in trouble as well. 

There are some nice twists and turns in this one, with safe houses and chases and all that, plus the usual British settings- drawing rooms and estates, castles and secret passages. This one takes the story from London to the remote Scottish highlands and the art is as serviceable and evocative as always. I especially liked the later sections in Scotland with standing stones and windswept moors. Really pulls you into the tale. I'm purchasing these totally out of order, buying them in the order that they look interesting to me, more or less, but it doesn't seem to be hurting my enjoyment any. 

The villain Olrik reappears (apparently he's in a lot of these) and I felt at times like I was on a tour of Britain with all the traveling around. It's nice though to see the countryside and different areas depicted as integral to the story. There were times when I wanted to consult a map to see if such and such location was a real place! I'm sure readers in the U.K. would be quite familiar with a lot of the locations.

The thing I enjoyed the most was probably the spy network. Not just the bad guys but the network of agents that Blake had stationed around the countryside, and who were able to help Mortimer as he navigated through the morass of double crosses and intrigues. It was a lot of fun to go along with this story and just see where it led me- this is a fun book to read with something warm on a cold rainy night.

Tuesday Tagline #164

The robot's claws, the death gas... but there was worse to come.            

  

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted. Everyone is welcome to join. Link back so everyone can check out other bloggers' lists. It's a fun way to get to know fellow bloggers.

This week is a Halloween freebie. Yay!! I'm going w/ favorite Nancy Drew/ Hardy Boy covers because... well, I don't know. It just came to mind. So let's take a peek.