A Strong and Sudden Thaw
R.W. Day
331.

Iris Print, 2006.

Back cover blurb:

Dragons in Virginia?

Nearly a hundred years after the Ice changed the face of our world, the people of Moline work to reclaim the frozen land, both from the cold and from the dragons that now live in the hills outside of town—dragons that the government won’t believe exist.

David Anderson knows very little of the world outside of his family’s farm, until Callan, an assistant healer from the south, arrives in Moline and begins to teach him of a world he never knew, full of books and ideas, and history long forgotten. When Callan is found in the arms of another man—a crime in this post-Ice world—David learns a frightening truth about himself, and the difference between what is legal… and what is right.

After trouble hits the nearby town of Crawford, David and Callan discover the seeds of a plot that affects not only their home, but towns just like Moline across the world. Now they must fight to save their home, not only from the dragons, but from a government that wants them dead!

I had run out of books when visiting Love, so I was leant this book, after hearing heaps of praise for it. And it was brilliant, and so lovely. I adored the way David’s and Callan’s relationship was described; it was so loving and full of life. I really believed in it, even before it was made explicit. And it made me feel more confident that love existed than I felt… for quite some time.

The story, too, was really intriguing and there, too, believable. A sudden ice spreading over the ice? I can buy that. People going crazy as a result? Yeah, sure. Dragons in the aftermath? Of course. When I read the back cover, I felt a little “right, so?”, but Day makes it so believable and oh, this could really happen, I’m sure. (though, I don’t WANT this to happen - too much religion and too little electricity for my personal taste.) It was such a fantastic story. The only bad thing I can say about this was the open ending, but on the other hand, this might mean that there might be more gay adventure to be had. We can hope.

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan Doyle
299 p.

Penguin Classics, 2007.
(first published by John Murray, 1927.)

Back cover blurb:

Revealed at last! The final twenty cases of Sherlock Holmes…

From the rooms at 221B Baker Street, the mind that strikes fear into the heart of London’s criminal fraternity turns its attention to some of the strangest and most intriguing cases ever to be set before the great Sherlock Holmes.

Adventures involving an illustrious client and a Sussex vampire; the problems of Thor Bridge and of the Lion’s Mane; puzzles concerning a creeping man and the three-gabled house; disappearances of secret plans and a lady of noble standing; all test the courage of Dr Watson and the intellect of the greatest detective of them all, Mr Sherlock Holmes.

This final collection also features the story ‘His Last Bow’, the last outing of Holmes and Watson…

More stories with Sherlock Holmes! Stories that were much more fun than those in His Last Bow. I can’t say much about what happened in them; in one there was poison and another a mutilated woman. Whatever the stories were about, they were much more fun to read than those in His Last Bow. This might be due to that I have gotten used to Doyle’s writing, which I perhaps wasn’t before. Or maybe, this collection is better. However it was, I quite enjoyed it!

The Ingenious Edgar Jones
Elizabeth Garner
338 p.

Headline Review, 2008.
(First published 2007.)

Back cover blurb:

The skies of nineteenth-century Oxford are aflame the night of Edgar Jones’s birth. Whilst his father dreams of his son becoming a great scholar, his mother is quick to notice that Edgar has a different kind of cleverness. He is a born inventor, with a rebellious spirit that may be a blessing, or a curse.

Soon his abilities bring him to the attention of a maverick professor, a bone collector with plans for a museum that will for ever change the way mankind looks at the world. Finally Edgar has a chance to show his true talent as he embarks on an adventure fraught with terrible dangers, for himself and those who love him.

um. The adventure discussed in the back cover blurb? Does not happen. In fact, that blurb lies a whole lot. Neither of Edgar’s parents notice his intelligence, at least not at the same time. They do it in turns, and they are equally bad.They are not very good parents.

I wanted to like this book, or, I thought I’d like this book. It seemed like a sweet century-before-last-novel, with a cosy atmosphere and prettiness. This I didn’t get. Why? The story was full of wack. This is what happened: Edgar is born. Edgar works in a forge. Edgar invents a pot. Edgar works at a museum. Edgar works at a toy shop. Toy shop burns down and Edgar is thrown in jail. Edgar flies away. Somehow. Maybe I didn’t really pay attention at the end, but by then, I’d almost given up. The ending was very unsatisfactory. Edgar flew away from his prison, his father became a gargoyle, and his mother was going to move to London to live with a pimp. What is that about?!

Throughout the three-hundred-and-a-bit pages, I waited for the story to lift, for something to actually happen. Nothing did. There was a bit of pretty writing (Garner’s writing is really more than half-way decent), and a lack of plot. It was very sad. This book is, for me, the biggest letdown since Edward Trencom’s Nose.

Wicked Lovely
Melissa Marr
328 p.

Harper Teen, 2008.
(First published 2007.)

Back cover blurb:

RULE #3:
Don’t stare at invisible faeries.
RULE #2:
Don’t speak to invisible faeries.
RULE #1:
Don’t ever attract their attention.

Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. When the rules that have kept Aislinn safe from them stop working, everything is suddenly on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Faery intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr’s stunning twenty-first century faery tale.

Right. The cover of this book is gorgeous. The story, not as much. It isn’t a bad story, no. It just reminded me a bit of the Twilight series, which I can’t really say is praise. However, it didn’t feel as far-fetched. I can buy glowing faeries, but never glowing vampires. Like in Twilight, there is a bit of music that I do not find appealing (e.g. Limp Bizkit), which kind of put me off. Despite this, it was pretty fun!

As usual, I felt more sympathy for the mythical creatures than I did for the humans. Aislinn was a little boring, her grandmother was annoying, and Seth was just… dull. Aislinn’s would-be faerie boyfriend is much better. He was ~dazzling~, without the annoying Edward Cullen-aspects. Okay, maybe he wasn’t very cool, but he was like Edward Cullen without the Lame-o. (I hate Edward Cullen. Almost as much as I hate Bella Swann.)

There is apparently a second book in this series, but I don’t really feel that interesting. Especially as it isn’t even about sparkly-king. It’s about tattooes! I’m not even interested in tattooes! Of course, it does have a very pretty cover. Maybe if it’s on sale. Or if I feel like half-bad teenage fantasy.