read, read, ready

The Glass of Time by Michael Cox, Persuasion by Jane Austen, The Queen Geek Social Club by Laura Preble, and None But You by Susan Kaye. Those are just the ones I can remember having read recently. There might be more but of course, my list is not anywhere convenient as I write this.
The Glass of Time is a fantastic story. I really enjoyed it (I was worried too much would hinge on having read The Meaning of Night--which I have but am unable to remember much of it--but it does not). Esperanza is a well drawn character with an interesting task before her. How many of us could have a task in which we are required to move from our home to another country, take a position that is beneath us (Esperanza is raised well but is required to become a lady's maid), all without questioning the purpose of being there. For there most definitely is a purpose. Esperanza is to accomplish the Great Task while working as Lady Tansor's lady's maid. Esperanza adjusts to her life in England fairly easily; she is enamored of one of her ladyship's sons (naturally) and most of the characters are well drawn and real. Perhaps Esperanza's implicit and unquestioning trust in her guardian, who sends her to Lady Tansor, is a little naive. But being 19, Esperanza treats it as an game of adventure and soon finds that it is no game. It's an exciting story as orphaned Esperanza discovers more about her past from her mother's journals and stories of her father's journeys through his friends, and when she puts the pieces together, Esperanza discovers who she is. And it's different from what she thought. There's a little in the book that relates to Edwin Glyvver, so those looking for a little more information on him won't be disappointed. Truthfully, parts of the story are rather predictable, but other parts throw the reader a bit of a loop. Definitely a worthwhile read.
Persuasion, book 6 of 6, and I have finally finished reading my Austen novels. It was even before the new year began. As with P&P, there's something wonderfully familiar about Persuasion and coming back to it is like spending time with a good friend. Anne Elliot is still one of my favorite heroines, Captain Wentworth a worthy and realistic hero. Of course he's still hurt that Anne did not follow through on her engagement with him. But he wants no other, and I think one of my favorite lines from literature is Anne saying, "The only privilege I claim for my sex is that of loving longest when all hope is gone" (I'm paraphrasing as I haven't the book in front of me). In my limited experience, that's been true. It's sigh worthy.
The Queen Geek Social Club is a fun book, though I question the motives of one of the characters. There are two other books with Shelby and Becca, and I certainly will read the next two. Shelby is a geek. She's pretty, funny, smart, kind, but just doesn't seem able to make many girl friends. She's a serial dater, dating simply to date, but unable to make a connection with any of the guys she goes out with (most likely because they're only interested in her breasts). Then Becca moves to town and almost immediately, she and Shelby hit it off. Shelby is content to have Becca, her very good friend, and that's all she really needs. But Becca ... Becca is different. She jokes about world domination, and decides to start the Queen Geek Social Club, so that she and Shelby will have others 'of their kind' to hang otu with and have an influence upon school society. Their first project is to feed models junkfood. Yes, they want to feed models Twinkies. At first Shelby thinks it's all a laugh but begins to worry that Becca's not interested in Shelby as a friend, that Shelby isn't good enough, and that she's just looking for a better friend. We've all had those kinds of insecurities. On top of it all, her widower Dad starts dating and she's becoming unusually obsessed with a guy--not something Shelby does. Naturally it all works out in the end, but there are enough questions about what happens next to get me interested in the next book, Queen Geeks in Love. I love my geeky chick lit.
None But You by Susan Kaye is the first part of a two part story of Persuasion from Captain Wentworth's point of view. The first book ends at Uppercross, just after Wentworth has dropped off Anne and Henrietta after the terrible news about Louisa. I enjoyed it because the reader gets to spend a bit more time with Wentworth's sister and brother-in-law as well as some of the occurrences on the Musgroves' side of things, their dread at sister-in-law Mary and the pleasure they take from Anne's company. I think the second book, For You Alone, is due to be released sometime in the spring. I'll keep my eye out for that one.
Finally I'm in the midst (and nearly middle) of reading At Face Value by Emily Franklin, a Cyrano de Bergerac tale starring Cyrie, and intelligent, witty, sometimes occasionally mean (she's really just dishing it back) high school senior with a larger & longer than average nose. She's planning on surgery to shrink it on her 18th birthday, which will be January 1st. It will be interesting to see if she goes through with it and how the relationship budding between her pretty friend Leyla and Cyrie's crush Eddie (everybody else calls him Rox) will work out. Definitely enjoying it so far.
So, until I've piled a pile of finished books, I remain,
the Savage librarian.