Following the death of Sage’s peasant father, a fowler who taught Sage all he knew, Sage is taken in by her noble uncle. She is a natural teacher and tutors his children until she reaches the age for marriage. Arranged marriages are the norm for the noble class. Sage tried to play the role of the obedient, helpless, young lady. Alas, it was clear she did not meet the qualifications to be matched. Sage is too independent, too outdoorsy, too inquisitive to be matched. Instead, she apprentices with the aging matchmaker. The matchmaker for the kingdom strives to make matches that best suit the temperament of the available noble men and women while also making the political matches that best suit their families. Sage is to observe the girls the matchmaker has chosen as they all caravan across the kingdom to the big marriage ceremony.
Captain Quinn is a career military officer. His father is the General. Even his little brother is in the army. Quinn is also protective of his cousin, the Crown Prince who is in his unit. Quinn’s unit is assigned to escort the matchmaker’s brides to the ceremony, stopping along the way at the fortress of a noble suspected of rebellious activity. Quinn suspects a plot to create an alliance with a neighboring kingdom and to kidnap the Crown Prince. Quinn uses Sage as a spy when things get tricky. Plots and scheming abound as Quinn and Sage work to thwart a violent rebellion.
The author shows the differences of the social classes and how noble families use women as pawns to gain political strength. Sage is a strong protagonist: smart, inquisitive, adaptable, instigator. She is instantly likeable as is Captain Quinn. Quinn is the duty-bound career soldier, loyal to his kingdom and his family. The story moves at a brisk pace and never bogs down. Just enough character introspection to flesh out the characters and draw the reader in. A bit of romance dots the action sequences and the character plot twists are excellent. The political strategizing is well conceived and executed. For the reader who enjoys the political maneuvering in a kingdom, this is a very good read. It had my attention the entire length of the novel. The first in a planned trilogy, I hope to read more about all the characters. Even the secondary characters are interesting. Well done!
eGalley review Publication date 5.9.17
It is 1944, the Manhattan Project has been underway for several years, and the goal is finally in sight. Little Boy is ready to be dropped on the enemy. With any luck, Berlin will soon be rubble and Hitler turned to ashes. Yes, I said Berlin, Hitler, 1944. I have long associated Gregory Benford with events that happen in a galaxy far, far away. This alternative history is a welcome treat. Benford skillfully mixes true accounts of members of the Manhattan Project with what might have been, what might have happened if the bomb had been produced more quickly, had been used against Germany. The players are real, Urey, Fermi, Bohr, Oppenheimer, Teller. The science is real, much of the story is real. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it.
Mariko knew her purpose as the daughter of a prominent Samurai was to be pawn in political maneuvering by being given as a bride to a family of higher standing. She is being delivered to her fiancé, the second son of the Emperor, when her caravan is attacked. Hidden by the dead body of her servant, she is the only survivor of the slaughter that was ordered to kill her. Who wants her dead and why? Mariko believes it is the Black Clan that was hired to do the deed. For once she decides to take control of her future and rather than make her way home, she disguises herself as a boy and journeys deep into the forest to find the Black Clan. She is impressed with the leader, Ranmaru, who is deeply respected by his loyal outlaws. She thinks very little of Okami, until she sees his fighting prowess. Ranmaru accepts her into the group and orders her training. In truth, the Black Clan is a Japanese Robin Hood type outfit. Despite their honor and overall compassionate behavior, Mariko persists in believing the Black Clan attacked her caravan. Meanwhile, Mariko’s fierce twin brother, Samurai Kenshin is tracking her and does not believe she was killed. Lots of inward thinking leads her to revelation that the Black Clan acts more like a family than her true family.
The much craved for sequel to Girl, Stolen (crazy popular on my campus) is everything April Henry fans come to expect. The story opens months after Cheyenne’s escape from her kidnappers. Cheyenne is preparing for her testimony against Roy, the mastermind of the sorry lot that held her for ransom. Griffin, Roy’s son, who helped Cheyenne escape is also preparing for his testimony against his abusive father. The past many months, Cheyenne’s wealthy father hired a bodyguard/self-defense trainer for her. She is preparing Cheyenne to be ready for any attack and to know how to defend herself. Cheyenne is blind, so she teaches strategies to utilize her other senses to help her in a dangerous situation.
Annabelle (AB) is a highly organized, borderline control freak, high school senior who is dealing with a major disruption in her life. Her parents just announced they are divorcing and selling the only home she has ever known. Elliott, her older brother’s band mate and long time family friend, seems to be the only one to understand AB despite their long history of mutual irritation with each other. Meanwhile, in her writing class, a guest author, Lucy Keating, describes a book she is writing and it happens to fit AB’s life to detail. AB stops her after class and Lucy does admit that she IS writing her life, but not to worry because she is departing from her sad and tragic novels to a ‘happy-ending’ story. Sure enough, new transfer student, Will strolls into AB’s life and becomes instantly enamored with AB. Will is absolutely perfect for her. But she finds herself also drawn to Elliott, her polar opposite. Lucy Keating wants to avoid her usual love triangle plot line so her writing makes things difficult for Elliott to pursue AB. Still Elliott perseveres. Fed up, AB and Will, who also realizes the absence of free will, confront author Lucy Keating and demand control of their lives.
Noemi is a fighter pilot for the planet Genesis, colonized by Earth inhabitants after Earth was ruined by pollution. Genesis has rebelled against Earth’s control and has been locked in battle for many decades. Earth’s cybernetics genius, Burton Mansfield, created sophisticated robots for various tasks, including models designed to be soldiers. Earth takes a cowardly approach to war by utilizing robots as fighter pilots, thus sparing humans. Thousands of ships manned by Earth’s robots stream through the wormhole connecting the two planets, while Genesis fights with a young generation of brave soldiers.
Li-yan often helps her mother, the village midwife. As tradition dictates, she will fill the role someday. High in the mountains of Yunnan, the Akha, an ethnic minority, seem to be living in an earlier century, not in 1988. Their lives revolve around tea. Planting, growing, picking, selling, tea is their life. And tradition is very important in their life. But some traditions seem cruel to Li-yan, especially those designed to keep them pure. The traditions that require ‘human rejects’ to be killed at birth. Children that are different: twins, club foot, cleft palate, too many fingers or toes, children too small to survive, children born out of wedlock. All must be killed at birth. When Li-yan finds herself pregnant, with her lover far away and unable to wed, she decides her baby cannot die. The baby girl is bundled into a blanket with a tea cake and left at an orphanage. Constance and Dan Davis are thrilled to adopt the tiny, sick baby from the orphanage in China, even though her first year was filled with hospital stays. As Haley grew up, they made sure she knew about her Chinese heritage. And as Haley grew up, she wanted to find her Chinese mother, she needed to search for her.
Against all odds, Erno lands on his feet. He’s been exiled from his home in the Society of Cousins. He’s been living at the bottom of his new society. And suddenly, he is offered success beyond his wildest dreams. The daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Persepolis has proposed a business arrangement that happens to include marriage. In the twenty-second century three million people live in underground cities on the moon. Each has its own view of a proper society. The Society of Cousins is a matriarchy where men are treated as pampered pets, but have few rights and cannot vote. Persepolis is a colony based on Persian heritage, a patriarchy. This novel follows Erno’s difficulties, as he cannot adjust to either.
At 17, Qole is the youngest starship captain from the frozen planet of Alaxak. She and her unique crew fish the systems for Shadow – sort of described as radiation. It is a hazardous job and those working closely with Shadow die young. Qole is unique in that she can actually harness the power of Shadow and use it as a weapon. Nevarian Dracorte is a prince and heir to a huge part of the galaxy. He is in disguise and on a mission to convince Qole to come with him to his home planet so they can better understand and exploit her abilities with Shadow. Rival royal families also want Qole and are not above human experimentation to further their studies. Capture, torture, escape . . . happens a lot in the story.
As the wireless crackled to life, conversation stopped and tension mounted. Maisie waited in the drawing room with her best friend, Priscilla, and Priscilla’s husband and boys. It was Sunday, September 3, 1939, and they were all prepared for what the Prime Minister was going to say. Even so, the announcement that the country was at war with Germany hurt deeply. Memories of the last war were still too fresh. And to cap a miserable day, Maisie returned home to find that the secret service once again wanted her to work for them. She was asked to find the killer of a man who fled Belgium as a boy during the First World War.
The sequel to 
Who knew that the history of printing could be so much fun. In the introduction we are reminded that humankind is full of idiots and this book reinforces the idea. Rebecca Romney is a rare book expert often called upon for her expertise on the History Channel’s Pawn Stars. She and her husband take us on an eclectic trip with this collection of strange, humorous, and bizarre stories. Among the anecdotes you will find Dickens, William Blake, Thomas Moore, Shakespeare. Take Shakespeare – did you know that there was an early “bad” version of Hamlet, with less than inspiring lines, leading to much controversy? And there are several other early “bad” versions of his plays. Were the later, more familiar, versions written by Shakespeare or someone else? Or have centuries of editing fine tuned the plays, with even publishers, printers, typesetters, having an effect? Sometimes nonfiction, while providing excellent information, can be dull and tedious. That surely wasn’t the case this time. I learned a lot while thoroughly enjoying the book.
Alex loves astronomy, rockets, and the idea of intelligent life in other galaxies. He makes plans to travel to a rocket launch event with his dog, Carl Sagan. Alex’s older brother left their Colorado home years before and now is making a life for himself in Los Angeles, leaving Alex to fend for himself. Alex’s father died when Alex was 3. His mother suffers from mental illness and often leaves Alex for days at a time. Alex takes this all in stride and assumes responsibility for his mother and his dog. But what keeps him going is his goal to launch his rocket with his iPod of recordings into space so aliens can listen to his recording of life on Earth. The trip to the rocket launch turns into a series of misadventures, new friends, and life-changing discoveries.
Freya did not plan on ruling a kingdom. She was so far down the list of succession, it never entered her mind. And she hated court. She was fascinated with science and most comfortable in her lab. But one night, everyone at court is poisoned and Freya manages to escape this mass murder. Freya, now queen, is whisked away to the Fort for her own protection. Her first task is to use science to find the killer. One adviser threatens her reign and is raising an army. Freya does not know who to trust. Does Fitzroy, the illegitimate son of the late king, really like her or is he using her to get the throne?
Alosa is part Siren and also the daughter of the pirate king and as such, quite dangerous. Raised by her fierce father to fight, he tortured her to toughen her. She has her own ship and mostly female crew under her command but ultimately under her father’s rule. The story opens with her ship attacked by a rival pirate. Most of her crew is murdered. Her disguise does not work and she is recognized as the Princess Alosa. She is captured and held for ransom. But her capture was planned. Her father wants her to search the ship for a missing piece of a map to treasure. Alosa must play the part of helpless prisoner to rival pirate lords, brothers Draxen and Riden. Draxen, the eldest is cruel but Riden, well, he’s charming.
YA Lit Ramblings 
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