Quintana of Charyn, by Melina Marchetta: Can't we all just get along? Call me, maybe?

Quintana of Charyn (The Lumatere Chronicles)
Melina Marchetta
Candlewick: Somerville, 2013. 
ISBN: 9780763658359 (ARC reviewed)
Available in the USA/Canada April 23, 2013. 

When last we left them, the titular characters in Melina Marchetta’s Chronicles of Lumatere trilogy had left their readers on the edge of a gravina (aka a cliff). Not literally – it was just the bestworst kind of cliffhanger.  What a way to leave the readers hanging, with our two favorite nations, Charyn and Lumatere, on the verge of letting misunderstanding and deep-seeded grudges steer them in a course of hasty war!   We pick up where we left off, and though the action thankfully shifts, there are several dozen pages of will or won’t they agony, coupled with the fear of the survival of both Froi and Quintana.  All these important questions, plus some you didn’t even realize you had, are summed up in Marchetta’s presumptive finale to the series.  Characters travel great distances, searching for answers and for each other, and prejudices and fears must be tested and unlearned.  Politics, family, forgiveness, and love are the powerful and pensive themes in this title.  Though the course is agonizing, and to go into detail would be to spoil SO many of the myraid plot points, Quintana of Charyn is a deeply satisfying read.  Deep breathing technique practice is optional, yet encouraged.  It is a strongly recommended book for older teens and adult readers, and for all libraries with a vested interest in smart, well-crafted fantasy.  If you own the first two and are reconsidering, what are you, monsters?  

Cinders and Sapphire, by Leila Rasheed: Fishing with (recycled) bait

Cinders and Sapphires (at Somerton series)
Leila Rasheed
Hyperion: New York, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-42317891-0
ARC through NetGalley, available 1/22/13

A landed English noble family and their servants struggle to keep the estate running, marry the daughters off, and avoid ruinous social scandal, amidst new turn of the century inventions, ideals, and international political concerns.  Gay valets, inappropriate romances with radical foreign men, the Season, calculating ladies maids, spendthrift heirs, and secret illegitimate children abound at  Somerton Court, an English country estate.  Sound familiar?  Riding off the wave of Downton Abbey furvor, Leila Rasheed’s first book in the anticipated At Somerton series liberally reuses plot-points from the TV series, but does surprise with some new ones.  Lord Averley has returned home from India with his two daughters, Ada and Georgiana in scandal after abruptly leaving his post.  Ada, the elder daughter, struggles with matching her progressive thoughts on women’s rights with the world she lives in, including the necessity to marry a man she does not love, instead of the one she does, to save her family estate.  Meanwhile, below-stairs, a surprise arrival throws the estate into arrears when it is announced there will be a wedding that will bring a new family to the house, along new servants who threaten to expose long-hidden staff secrets.   Rasheed’s writing is engaging and incorporates much of the language of the time, though the big reveal (no spoiler here) seems to be slightly unrealistic, and optimistic for the time.  Recommended for fans of Downton Abbey, aged 12-112 who’d rather read Jane  of the “You Pierce My Soul” Austen’s than Edith of the nothing ever ends well Wharton’s. 

A few quick thoughts on this one.  In things not at all shocking, judging from the slightly cheesey title and definitely cheese cover (sorry cover designer, except not, because you have eyes – you had to know), this was never going to be heavy lifting.  It wasn’t!  It was, however, surprisingly better written than I assumed it would be.  Kudos to Rasheed for not phoning it in…even if 9 out of 10 plot points are so, so clearly recycled from Downton, though they are repackaged.  (Ahem: Branson is now Ravi, Ireland is now India, Mary+Sybil=Ada, Thomas+Bates=....you get the idea) Some characters are hugely two dimensional, but this could be something fleshed out in later entries to the series.  Things seem to be a little more upstairs skewed; we don’t get as much of a look downstairs as I’d like; we primarily experience downstairs in interactions with the upstairs world.  

Despite my earlier grumblings about style, I did enjoy the font and chapter headings.   I enjoyed the historical look at Indian autonomy as a hot political topic for the Empire, through the character of Branson ahem, Ravi, exploring Oxford, and the shout out to Charles Worth’s dominance in the ladies fashion game.  Still want a dress!  In short, this is a fun, light read (appropriate for younger readers too - nobody gets Pamuked), especially if you’re in the market for a fun Downtonesque book and made it all the way through season two without throwing in the towel – and I’ll probably pick up the rest when they come out!  Methinks they’d make a great fireside OR beach book.  AKA, vacation! 

The Luxe, by Anna Godbersen: Gossip Girl goes to the Guilded Age

The Luxe
by Anna Godbersen
Harper Collins: New York, 2007
ISBN: 0061345660

Once upon a time in ye Olde NYC, before Gossip Girl took the interwebs by storm, there were the society pages, the low tech but equally reliable font of the titillating tales of the crème de la crème in NYC society.  The Luxe is set in 1890's NYC, during the Guilded Age.  Times are a changin': new money encroaches on old money society turf, and the hired help is starting to get ideas!  This is the story of Ms. Elizabeth Holland, freshly returned from Paris, and under pressure to be married off to an eligible bachelor now that the Holland family is on the verge of bankruptcy due to some shady dealings by her late father.  Her best friend is the nouveau-riche princess of NYC society, Penelope Hayes.  Both girls have secret lovers.  Penelope's lovah is the catch of the year, Henry Schoonmaker, who is forced into an engagement with Elizabeth, leaving Penelope vengeful.  But Elizabeth's not feeling so great about this, as she's taking riding lessons from the coachman down in the stables… Woahhh! Meanwhile, Henry has fallen hard for Diana, Elizabeth's little sister, and Elizabeth's personal maid has gotten some independent ideas during Elizabeth's absence.  With Penelope out for revenge, things are bound to take a turn for the dramatic, and the society pages are bound to dish on it! 

The Luxe is for YA's who like the scandal, life of excess, and drama GG provides, but maybe want a little history (and yards of silk) thrown into the mix.  While the book does provide great historical backdrops, fashion, and misc. tidbits, it often goes well beyond what would have been appropriate, acceptable, or even expected, especially in regards to sex, which could call into question just how historically accurate this work is…As a side note, this is published by the same Harper Collins imprint as GG, Alloy Entertainment. I highly recommend checking out the page for this book on Amazon, where there is the most bizzaro movie trailer for the second book…the first movie trailer I've ever seen for a book to boot.  Also, hello.  The cover had me at hello - even though I was immediately like, "Shoulders?  In ye olde timey New York?  Sluuuutttt alerttttt!  (But where can I try that dress on, for serious.)"

Book talk hook:  Peg this as Gossip Girl, with class…HIGH CLASS!  Get it?!? This is one where the cover will help sell the book as fans of historical fiction (and those who fantasize about frolicking in period clothing) may be intrigued by the girl on the cover.  I find the narrative tough to do a read aloud with, since the story is kind of all over the place.  Summarizing it like I do above will probably be enough.