Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas

I thought I would expand my romance knowledge by trying a different author--Lisa Kleypas has written a series of five books about the Hathaway siblings in 1850's England. I'm a sucker for series and as I enjoyed Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series so much I thought I would try another sibling series.
Amelia Hathaway is the responsible Hathaway sibling. At 26 she feels she is firmly on the shelf and since her parents died years ago, has been raising her siblings, including her older brother Leo. Winnifred, Poppy, and Beatrix are well behaved young women (for the most part); Beatrix is just 15, Poppy 19, and Win is a few years older. Leo has recently inherited a title that certainly helps the Hathaways--Leo had been studying to be an architect but it would have been difficult to maintain all five siblings on such a meager salary. Leo is now Lord Ramsay, and he's run amok--gambling, drinking, and who knows what else. He disappears for days at a time and during one of his disappearances Amelia meets Cam Rohan, a Gypsy who lives and works in London. The Hathaways are not unfamiliar with Gypsies--Merripen, not a servant but not quite a member of the family, has been living with the family since the Hathaways' father saved his life when Merripen was 12. Cam helps Amelia and Merripen track down a very drunk Leo and Cam steals a kiss from Amelia during the course of the evening. Very exciting for Amelia, but she figures she'll never see him again.
But of course, we readers know that's not the case. Amelia sells the tiny house she and her siblings live in and move to Ramsay House in the country. Ramsay House is in tatters and the Hathaways have little money to spend on it. Their well to do neighbors, Lord and Lady Westcliff, have Cam Rohan as a guest and of course he's fascinated by Amelia. Things can't go easily with the Hathaways and Cam comes to the rescue more than once. Amelia is also startled to discover her old flame, Christopher Frost, is in the area. Christopher left her for the daughter of his boss but it turns out they did not get married. Amelia has been determined to remain single and independent, but will one of these men convince her to change her stubborn mind?
Kleypas does not write with the same sense of humor and lightness as Quinn, and her stories are a little darker, a little more dramatic, and the first one had a touch of the supernatural. (Which is not something I normally enjoy, but it was not an overwhelming part of the story, so it was all right.) What I did like about this book is that Kleypas developed all of the Hathaway siblings in the course of the book instead of focusing solely on Amelia. It was nice to get a formed picture of all five siblings instead of just a generalized outline. A little more dramatic than I first envisioned, but it is definitely entertaining and a quick read. I think I might have to pick up the next once, once I finish the current stack of books I have waiting for me.

The Widow and the King by John Dickinson

Ten years after Phaedra escaped to the mountains with her young son Ambrose at the end of The Cup of the World, we find Ambrose a twelve year old, with little idea of the world beyond the mountains and the pool.
A stranger comes unexpectedly; Ambrose is fascinated by the young man and even watches entranced as he shaves. Raymonde has discovered the Book that has been in his father's possession since the downfall of Tarceny ten years before, the Book with all of Tarceny's discoveries about witchcraft. Raymonde has come to set the Prince Under the Sky free.
Phaedra discovers what he's up to and tells Ambrose to run, to run to her friends Evalia and Adam diManey at Chatterfall. Ambrose starts to run, but doubles back to watch the confrontation between Raymonde and his mother. He sees Raymonde push his mother and she ends up in the Pool where the Prince Under the Sky lives. He also does not see his mother emerge from the pool.
Ambrose makes it to Chatterfall, but has to leave and travels with Baron Lackmere to the Court of Develin, where he lives in secret for the next six months. He feels awkward and constantly watched and followed by the Prince Under the Sky, and is visited by Raymonde, who continually tells Ambrose that he doesn't want to kill him, but he will. It's uncomfortable for Ambrose and not a happy time for him.
Of course, things can't stay as they are, and the Prince Under the Sky has Develin attacked. Ambrose flees and finds Baron Lackmere and they travel to Tarceny, where Ambrose tries to decide who and what he is.
Like The Cup of the World, The Widow and the King is a thick, rich fantasy that moves at a steady pace but keeps you drawn in. Though there is lots of action and battles and chases, the important part of the book is the development of the characters and the changes that Ambrose goes through. Dickinson does a great job at making each book appear finished, but knowing there's one more book I'm curious as to what will happen with Ambrose next. I look forward to the final book in the trilogy, The Fatal Child.

Matched by Ally Condie

One of the many benefits of being a librarian is ARCs--Advanced Reading Copies of books yet to be published. I was fortunate enough to receive one of Matched by Ally Condie, a new young adult novel that will be published November 30.

Cassia lives contentedly--the Society chooses your place of work, your home, your mate, even when you die (to maximize your life experience). Cassia has never questioned this and is looking forward to her Match Banquet, when Society reveals to her her ideal mate. She is very fortunate--and excited--to discover Xander, her childhood friend, is her Match. This is not at all typical in Society, as most people's Matches are from other cities.

When Cassia has a moment to herself (with her ten year old brother Bram and her parents and even Society always watching) she looks at the flash drive (it's essentially a flash drive, but all futuristic-like) she was given at her Match Banquet, which contains all the information about her Match. Of course, knowing Xander she knows much of information on it but is still very excited about it. Just as Cassia is about to remove the flash drive, she notices another picture pop up on the screen--that of another classmate, Ky.

Cassia is startled and shaken by this--the Society does not make mistakes. One of the Society administrators finds Cassia and explains what has happened, that Ky was not meant to be in the Match pool, that it is a cruel joke and that Cassia has truly been Matched with Xander.

Cassia begins to pay more attention to Ky; she's intrigued by him, fascinated by him, and as the two spend more time together, they begin to fall in love, but they must keep it secret as they are forbidden to be together.

What I loved about this book is the fantastic way that Condie had Cassia evolve--Cassia went from fully accepting all of Society's rules and actions to questioning them the more she understands and sees what's happening. She begins to see that she--and everyone else--is being manipulated by Society all for the reason of keeping them "safe". But what are the people being kept safe from? What's happening in the Outer Provinces? There's a war going on but no one knows who the Enemy is or why they are even fighting. Matched has great character development, a fabulous dystopia storyline, romance, and I hope there's another book coming because I'd love to see the development of Xander and more from his point of view (though I'm not sure that's where the story is going). I highly recommend it.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Claudia lives a privileged life as the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, the great prison that keeps all the criminals and the poor out of the perfect kingdom. She chafes at her chains, at her expectations, at the frustrations of being stuck in a world where nothing ever changes--one of the kings decreed that the world be frozen in time (I think the late 18Th century), that inventions and science and art and literature be hindered, that nothing move out of the time frame of the acceptable, of the Era.

Finn is a prisoner in Incarceron, who can't remember anything before three years ago, but he is insistent that he is not one of the cell-born, one of the creatures born within Incarceron fully formed. When Finn comes into possession of a crystal Key he thinks he can use it to escape the hard dirty life of Incarceron. He is surprised when the Key begins to speak to him and he sees Claudia, who has a key of her own.

The Sapienti, the Wise Ones who entered Incarceron intent on watching over it, live both in Incarceron and Outside it. Jared is Claudia's tutor and a Sapient and Gildas is a Sapient who is determined that Finn is his way out of Incarceron, a Starseer, the one who can follow the path of Sapphique, the only person known to escape Incarceron.

So Finn, Gildas, Finn's oathbrother, and Attia a slave girl leave their Wing of the prison to find Escape. Once Claudia & Jared discover they can speak to Finn through their Key, Claudia promises to do all she can to help them escape. Claudia's chances begin to run out when she is forced to the palace to participate in her wedding to the Heir to the throne--a young man who cares more for horses and games than Claudia, but she is not enamored of him either, having once been engaged to his half-brother, the true prince who died three years earlier.

As in most courts, there's intrigue and plotting and scheming and Claudia does not want to be any part of it at all. She's willful, headstrong and independent and does not want to be Queen, which is what the plot is between her father and the current Queen. Claudia tries to find privacy in the court, where everyone is watching her, is trying to stay out of the vast divisions within the court, and trying to help Finn and his friends escape.

Incarceron is a tale of danger, adventure, and suspense that keeps you guessing as to what surprise comes next. The characters are intriguing (I find the Sapienti the most interesting and the legend of Sapphique), the action is continual, the multiple plots are woven toghet well and if parts of the story are a little predictable, there's a great deal of the story that is not. There's a second book that will be released in December, and as Incarceron ends on a very uncertain note, it will be exciting to see what happens next.