Secret of the Sands by Rai Aren & Tavius E.

Well, isn't this one for the record books, I reviewed two times in a row *crowd gasps*. Here it is, the review for Secret of the Sands by Rai Aren and Tavius E.

Secret of the Sands introduces us to Mitch and Alex, two archaeologists excavating a site near the Sphinx. Alex quite literally stumbles over what could be the key to lifting the veil on the Sphinx's mysterious origins. She trips over a chest long buried in the sands. When she and Mitch open the chest, they find two strange cylinders inside, made not of stone but a puzzling metal that they find (thanks to Jack and Bob, their lab-dwelling sidekicks) isn't a known element. Inside the cylinders they find scrolls written in an unknown form of glyphs. Alex and Mitch try to decode their findings while attempting to evade the prying eyes of the conniving Professor Dustimaine.

Alternating with the view of the two Egyptologists is the story of Traeus, a King from the time that the metal cylinders were first made. He struggles to maintain peace, keeping his brother and over-ambitious wife from undermining his work, and finishing the Amsara project (a massive monument to their god-lion).

Keeping in mind that this book was written by a pair of debuting authors, I have to say that I found the book entertaining. However, the dialogue felt awkward at times and there were points where the story didn't really hold my attention. It wasn't awful or anything, but it wasn't spectacular either. I think though, that these authors will improve with time and I look forward to reading more from them (maybe the sequel, Destiny of the Sands). I'm giving Secret of the Sands a solid 4.5 out of 7 lightnings.

From the Shadows,

Lamplighter by D.M. Cornish

This is the second novel in D.M. Cornish's Monster Blood Tattoo series (the first is called Foundling). We find our hero, Rossamund (a young man constantly made fun of for possessing a girl's name), beginning his training to become a Lamplighter in the Emperor's service. On one of the training patrols, the division of Lamplighters in training is attacked by a group of monsters in pursuit of a carriage of calendars (women dedicated to fighting monsters). It is during this attack that Rossamund first encounters Threnody, a young wit who has yet to master her newly acquired abilities. The combined efforts of the Lamplighters and calendars prove sufficient to turn back the beasts and the Lamplighters are able to return home. They take Threnody with them, who wishes to become Lamplighter, more an as act of rebellion against her mother than out of a desire to serve the Emperor.

Threnody becomes a companion of Rossamund's, mostly because he is the only one who puts up with her arrogant and condescending nature. Rossamund also encounters friends, old and new, on his adventures. Among them are Sebastipole the leer, Doctor Crispus, Numps, and of course Europe (also known as the Branden Rose). They are some of the only ones who can help him when he starts to experience odd happenings around the barracks. Rossamund takes part in nighttime pig deliveries from the intimidating kitchen mistress to the creepy, attic-dwelling surgeon as well as helping Numps the slightly crazy seltzerman repair lanterns.

Rossamund comes to find that not all men in the Emperor's service are as noble or trustworthy as they ought to be and tries to puzzle out his own opinions on teratology. Dangerous opinions that may lead to his being branded a sedorner (monster-lover *gasp*).

This second installment in the Monster Blood Tattoo series did not disappoint. Though it is a long one (over 600 pages), the book never lagged or wanted for action. Just at the times when I thought it was going tame on me there was a monster ready for battle right around the corner. I loved that some of the characters from the first novel returned and became real before my eyes. This fabulous tale earns the full 7 out of 7 lightnings *zing-kapow-zap, etc.*

From the Shadows,







P. S. Did you know that D.M. Cornish not only wrote this novel, but illustrated it as well? Click here to find out more.

The Compound by SA Bodeen

This book gets a prize for extremely short plot summary that still intrigued me enough to take it out from the library. The inside cover summarizes the suspense and sheer awesome of how it is executed throughout the pages. The following five sentences are the courtesy of the inside flap:

Eli and his family have lived in the Compound for six years.
The world they knew is gone.
Eli's father built the Compound to keep them safe.
Now, they can't get out.
He won't let them.

Eli has everything anyone could wish for. A never ending music collection, a billionaire father, his own personal gym, and a family of virtuosos in their own right. But (excuse the cliche) there is trouble in paradise. Especially the fact that it is all underground. Eli hasn't seen any human being other than his family members for six full years and there are still nine to go until the time lock will release on the doors of the Compound. Even worse, his twin and grandmother were caught "up top" when the nuclear bomb fell. And however much his father tries to deny it, food supplies and morale are getting low.

When Eli finds the laptop, all his pent in doubts come rushing to the surface. Is it possible that there is still a human remnant in the world outside? Is it even possible that there was never any cause for hiding away in the first place? And what of the Supplements, the young children held captive in the mysterious yellow room? Eli can't bring himself to love them, but could never bear using them to further his survival. The choice seems clear, but if he plans on helping anyone, he'll have to surmount his own personal issues and explore the truth behind the deranged mind of the father that has become a madman.

I haven't read such a twisting suspense novel in a long time. Even if it clocks in at 245 pages, there was enough material to confuse and then delight any mystery fan. I was rooting for freedom the entire time, even when the characters seemed ready to give up. And yet, at the same time, I wanted to figure out what was going on in the Compound for real before anyone else (Inner Aella: Don't look on the last page...don't...don't, Outer Aella: B-but, I gotta know *whining*) The ending was exciting enough to cover the interesting events leading up.

My main complaint about this book was in Eli. At times, he was irritating, mean spirited, cowardly, and rebellious. But then again, perhaps that was what made the entire novel so believable. He was a very real character, though I feel this could have been accomplished with a little less emphasis on the protagonist flaws. This was redeemed by the well-thought out plot and intricacies of the characters he interacts with.

It was very difficult for me to believe that SA Bodeen was a first time author and I reallyreallyreally hope that she will write more books. CRACK-ZING-BAM! 6 out of 7 lightnings!

Expect more reviews than ever before in the coming months,

Dragon's Keep by Janet Lee Carey

Rosalind was born into an ancient prophecy. Merlin had predicted that one day a "21st queen would end war with a wave of her hand". So it seems a cruel trick of fate when the 21st queen in question is born with a dragon's talon as the fourth finger of her left hand. And after years of insane treatments from every sage, witch, wizard, sorcerer, seer, and wise person in the kingdom it seems that there will be no hope for Rosalind's future as anything other than a witch-marked mistake of birth. At the same time she must deal with her mother's increasing obsession with the secret in relation to the dragon attacks of Wilde Island (their kingdom).

But all of that fades when she is kidnapped by the last dragon and taken to the island of Dragon's Keep to raise his eggs as a sort of governess. Abused, hated, exhausted, and still cursed, Rosalind begins to see the repercussions of her mother's own personal secrets and the treachery on both sides of the Dragon/Human War.

I had read a negative review of this book a few months ago and was prepared to not enjoy it, which isn't really a great way to go into reading a book. Sure enough, the heroine was cowardly, whiny, and in denial for a good half of the book (granted- she goes through more than I could ever imagine). But I can still see how that would turn off a few readers (understatement). Due to my love of dragons, I read on and began to note huge changes in Rosalind, although they came almost too late. Close to the end, the writing and plot really picked up as well. Still, the writing was really very beautiful from the beginning. It just got more beautiful in progression. It all felt very Fairytale-y-ish and Grimm-esque. And as you might have noticed, I am obsessed with the Grimm-esque.

Taking the above into consideration, I would have to give Dragon's Keep a 5 out of 7 Lightnings. Hesitant Readers Beware, Dragon-o-philes Enjoy!

Hunting For Carey Books I Haven't Read,

P.S. Even if I wasn't particularly fond of this Janet Lee Carey book, I really enjoyed the Beast of Noor! It was exceptionally fawesome. Wenny Has Wings was fabulous as well. OHOH! And she has a blogger account and blog!

Newes From the Dead by Mary Hooper

This novel by Mary Hooper tells the tale of Anne Green, a convicted murderess sentenced to hang. Want to hear the twisted part? Anne is found to be alive many hours later (after being declared legally dead) on a doctor's dissection table . The best part? It's based on the true story of Anne Green's hanging in 1650.

While Anne hangs in a state of unconsciousness, completely unaware that she is alive, her life (forgive the cliche) flashes before her eyes. Well, not her entire life, specifically the events leading up to her being accused of infanticide and hearing her family's screams as she met her end (or so she thought) in the hangman's noose. As Anne remains in a place close to death, the doctors have abandoned their original intent and rally to bring her back from the other side. All the while, they stave off attempts by parties of questionable innocence to bring her back to the noose.

I felt that this was an interesting read. I enjoyed the author's take on a 16th century event through Anne's perspective and that of the doctors who revived her. However, I found Anne's character grating at times. She was quite easily swayed and had an inability to hold to her principles even after this trait gets her into trouble of the worst sort. It was out of my usual reading genre, and it really was a decent book. Not exceptional, but a good book nonetheless.

I give Newes From the Dead 4.8 lightnings [insert flashing light and various sounds of a thundery nature here]

From the Shadows,

*GASP* Plenty of Paper Hiatus Odyssey Continues...

Perhaps you have figured out a clue and discovered the magical link to lead you to the following Plenty of Paper review. Or perhaps you are unaware as to why the Whirlwinds appear to be stealing someone's review (Explained here). Either way, please enjoy. The girls of POP are fawesome and the Maelstrom is honored to be helping them out with this! What follows is an all Plenty of Paper, all awesome fiesta of reviewage for How to Be Bad:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How To Be Bad

(e. lockhart, sarah mlynoski, lauren myracle)

Mels, Vicks, and Jesse don't really have much in common. Vicks is the rebel with the dyed-black hair, cursing complex, and boyfriend who has just gone off to college and apparently forgotton her (one text. Stay cool). Jesse is an uber-Christian whose mother has just been diagnosed with cancer: breast cancer, after winning a wet tee-shirt contest. Clearly, a punishment from God. Mel is the new rich girl from Canada who nobody really likes. The only things that these girls are sharing? A weekend, a car, a hotel room, Mel's mom's credit card, and the road trip of their lives.

They will visit landmarks (the world's tiniest police station). They will meet a boy (sexy Marco). They will engage in several illegal activities. They'll fight and bond and get attacked by an alligator and learn, each in their own ways, how to be bad. And at the end of it all, they just might be best friends.

This book is a really great read. I was curious about getting my hands on it becasue of the multiple authors: I'm a huge fan of E. Lockhart's, but I had mixed feelings about Sarah Mlynoski's Bras and Broomsticks and I despise chatspeak far too much to have enjoyed Lauren Myracle's TTYL series. The writing here was excellent, though. The voices were distinct, but they blended together nicely. The styles of the three authors meshed very well.

How To Be Bad is very much a character story, and it's an extremely good one. Jesse, Mel, and Vicks were all believable characters with distinct personalities. I loved how none of them were stereotypical, despite any implications given by their immediate labels. Jesse, for instance, is the Christian girl, but she's also the meanest and cattiest of the trio. One of my favorite things about the book was that each of the characters had tons of their own struggles and problems to worry about, but the story continued to center around the girls as a whole, and their journey together.

Also, it was completely hilarious. All three of the authors worked in plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, even within the most tense parts of the story. There was a lot of verbal comedy, but much of the humor was situational as well.

My only complaint about this book? The drawbacks of carrying around a novel entitled How To Be Bad. Why that gets seven questions per day and my "Free Alan Rickman" tee-shirt gets none is beyond me, but it did. Go figure.

Four cups and a half for How to Be Bad!

-Caroline

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey everyone (Aella again)! I have not received a hint from the fabulous crew, and I'm not sure if this is a glitch or no. Perhaps there will be something on their page? (*whispering* but don't take my word for it). Have a great rest of POP Hiatus!

Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Princess Ben was, in a word, surprising. After reading the Dairy Queen series by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, I was thrown completely by the very fresh character found in Princess Benevolence. And yet, she was so incredibly different from the protagonists of earlier Murdock books.

Princess Ben of Montagne leads a life almost untouched by the difficulties of her land. That is, until her parents are mysteriously assassinated and the neighboring kingdom of Dragonsbett is the most likely aggressor. The princess must suddenly learn a great deal in order to assume the throne, all the while cringing beneath the gaze of the current regent, Queen Sophia. She must survive torturous dance lessons, near starvation, table manner education, and a stressful move to the tallest tower of the palace. It seems hopeless. And then a great mystery is uncovered in the palace. Ben discovers a secret passageway into the wizard's room of the tower and finds herself with a knack for magic and learning spells. But will the abilities to make mud from nothing and call up fire be enough to save her from the scheming and oh-so-full-of-himself Prince Florian of Dragonsbett? And on a base closer to home- are Queen Sophia's intentions honorable or is there more than simply training Ben for reign on her mind?

I have mixed feelings about this particular Murdock creation. The main character was feisty and fun to relate to, but still had some qualities that set her apart from every other feisty and fun to relate to princess we've read about before. She was strong despite her physical appearance and managed to have grace when her country demanded it of her. By the penultimate pages, I really respected Princess Ben, and that is something I don't often say about a character in a book.

The writing was fun and antiquated to match the medieval world that Ben resides in, but drifted into being weighty or even too formal on occasion. So Princess Ben actually read quite a bit like an old Grimm story, rather than a modern young adult novel. And it was familiar as one of those bed-time stories too. You could predict most plot twists, except those concerning the development of the characters. There were some really great surprises to be discovered in that. Especially Queen Sophia.

So- this book teetered on an edge for me. But even after all the things found that frustrated me, I still look back and can say I really enjoyed this novel. Perhaps it was the nostalgia of an old-fashioned fairy tale or maybe the wit. But I found it really interesting and fairly fawesome that Catherine Gilbert Murdock did something so incredibly different when she already has a good reputation for another style of writing. Brave and creative.

5.7 Lightnings out of 7. w00t!

Going on a few days of non-bloggery,