Melanie's Week in Review - October 22, 2017

Greetings all. I am being very cheeky this week as this WIR is 'pre-recorded'. By the time this WIR gets posted I will be on holibobs in Canada. Sorry! Well not really sorry....if you follow my posts then you know I had some time off and I have a backlog of books to tell you about. I don't want you to miss a single thing that I have been reading.


Without further adieu let's get to it. What did I read?

I have been reading Cassandra Gannon's A Kinda Fairytale series but started on book 3 based on a recommendation on Ilona Andrews' blog. I thought I would go back and read a few others - mainly books 1 and 2. I will talk about these together as I read them back to back and they weren't so fantastic to deserve their very own, individual reviews.

Wicked Ugly Bad is set mainly inside inside the Wicked, Ugly and Bad Mental Health Treatment Center and Maximum Security Prison where Scarlett Riding is serving a sentence for being Bad and trying to prevent her stepsister's - Cinderella - wedding to Prince Charming. Stuck in a 'share circle' with The Big Bad Wolf, Marrok, a troll with self esteem issues plus a few other notorious baddies is proving almost too much. Letty is desperate to escape and it might involve joining forces with some unlikely allies in order to do just that.

Beast in Shining Armor tells the story of the un-hero Avenant and his quest to find a sacred sword. Booted off the throne by the lovely Belle, Avenant is determined to topple Belle as the monarch and get back his crown. Set in an icy northern labyrinth filled with killer minotaurs and a bunch of other evil contestants who want the same thing as Avenant means that he may have to team up with Belle just in order to survive. The odd couple may just be the right couple to win but can they overcome their past in order to find the finish line?

Both books are very similar - the Bad are really good and the Good are really bad, especially Cinderella. There are some quite amusing bits especially in Wicked Ugly Bad and in the bits with the 'share circle'....in fact, those parts are very amusing. WUB was my favourite of the 3 books that I read. It was definitely the most humorous and had more of a plot. Beast in Shining Armor was more typical PNR with the unlikely hero becoming the hero with the love of a good woman. It was funny in parts but those were few and farther between.

Overall, these were OK. I think I over did it with this author and they didn't stand-up to binge reading. If I had to pick only one I would recommend Wicked Ugly Bad and leave it with that one. I also read Not Another Vampire Story but I couldn't finish it, it was quite ridiculous, even for its genre.

The final book I am going to tell you about is Kitty Peck and the Daughter of Sorrow. Yet again life is not a bed of roses for poor Kitty Peck. Following the events of book 2 Kitty is once again being pursued by an evil cabal who are intent on destroying her and everyone she loves. Lady Ginger has the answers that Kitty seeks but she is near death and not intent on sharing her secrets. Kitty is trapped - either give the Barons what they want or suffer - and everyone around her would suffer also. Kitty has little time and even fewer allies to help her bring down those who want to hurt her.

This is another great instalment of the Kitty Peck Mysteries. Griffin has crafted a very compelling, if flawed character in Kitty Peck. You can't help feeling sorry for her and what she has been forced to become. We learn a bit about Kitty's parentage along with Kitty and this was my only point of criticism. The circumstances and details about Kitty's father is flawed. I can't see how Kitty and her brother could be near twins in looks and have been conceived in the circumstances in which Griffin sets out. It's almost as if she forgot that Kitty was younger than her brother. However, I am sooo looking forward to the next instalment. I can hardly wait!


That is it for this week. I hope you have found something enjoyable to read this past week. Until next time... Happy Reading!

Wicked Ugly Bad
A Kinda Fairytale 1
Star Turtle Publishing, March 11, 2013
Kindle eBook, 353 pages
     Also available as Trade Paperback

Once Upon a Time…

Scarlett Riding is NOT an ugly stepsister. Cinderella is the evil one in the family and Letty is determined to prove it. Unfortunately, that’s kinda hard to do from behind bars. After the debacle at the ball, Letty and her sister Dru were dragged off to the Wicked, Ugly and Bad Mental Health Treatment Center and Maximum Security Prison. While Cindy’s planning her dream wedding, her two stepsisters are being forced to endure life in the dreariest dungeon in the land.

Luckily, Letty has a plan to change that unhappy ending. If she can just get to Prince Charming and prove the glass slipper doesn’t fit Cinderella’s foot, she can reclaim her life. In order to do that, though, she needs to convince The Big Bad Wolf to lend a hand in organizing a jailbreak.

Marrok Wolf isn’t sure what to make of the idealistic redhead in his group therapy sessions. With fifty counts of Badness on his criminal record, Marrok’s used to being surrounded by crooks and scumbags. Scarlett wants to lecture him about equal rights for trolls! When the little do-gooder comes up with an elaborate plan to break their entire “share circle” out of prison, though, Marrok is certainly willing to go along with the plot. And not just because he wants to see her naked. The woman may not be wicked, ugly, or Bad, but she’s definitely the only one who can save him.

Together with a wicked witch, a timid bridge ogre, an evil prince, and other villains straight out of a storybook, Scarlett and Marrok are about to make sure that Baddies finally have a happily ever after.

Amazon

Beast in Shining Armor
A Kinda Fairytale 2
Star Turtle Publishing, August 12, 2013
Kindle eBook, 325 pages
     Also available as Trade Paperback

Beauty vs. Beast…

Contestant One: Avenant is a handsome prince with a dark side. There’s a beast inside of him, always waiting to get out. All his life, he’s been labeled a monster and he’s done his best to live up to his Bad reputation. His parents hated him, his fairytale kingdom fears him, and now he’s been dragged into court. Again. His newest legal troubles are all because Belle Ashman stole his throne. The beautiful bookshop owner is the one woman Avenant longs for. The two of them have been in competition since childhood and the contest just became winner-take-all.

Contestant Two: Tired of Avenant ruining her dates, firing Mother Goose, and tearing down Humpty Dumpty’s wall, Rosabella Aria Ashman decided to depose the tyrant. Eight months ago, Belle led a rebellion and had Avenant thrown in prison. Now, the Beast has returned, demanding his kingdom back. Avenant might be gorgeous, but he’s also arrogant, selfish and he’s been mean to her since kindergarten. This time, Belle’s determined to vanquish him, once and for all.

The Ultimate Showdown: In the farthest corner of the Northlands, there is an impenetrable labyrinth. Made of ice and stone, no one has ever entered it and emerged alive. Now, Belle, Avenant, and other storybook contenders for the crown are heading into the maze. Whoever solves its riddles gets the kingdom. In order to win, Belle and Avenant are going to have to work together. Considering their lifelong feud, that would be challenging enough, but they’re also dealing with an angry minotaur, an unknown killer, miles of twisting corridors… and the fact that these two mortal enemies might just make a perfect team.

Amazon

Kitty Peck and the Daughter of Sorrow
The Kitty Peck Mysteries 3
Faber & Faber, July 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 528 pages

Summer 1881: the streets of Limehouse are thick with opium... and menace. At eighteen Kitty Peck has inherited Paradise, a sprawling criminal empire on the banks of the Thames. Determined to do things differently to her fearsome grandmother, she now realises that the past casts a long and treacherous shadow. Haunted by a terrible secret and stalked by a criminal cabal intent on humiliation and destruction, Kitty must fight for the future of everyone she cares for...

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Melanie's Week in Review - October 15, 2017

Hello again. I hope you are having a crisp and colourful autumn.  I have been hearing how beautiful the autumn trees are this year and looking forward to seeing them. In fact by the time you are reading this I will be in Canada on holiday and enjoying the leaves in all their glory.  As I mentioned last week I have a tiny backlog of books I have to tell you about so while this post is called my week in review it isn't specific about which week!  Cheeky!  Anyway, here I go....this is what I have been reading.

I follow Ilona Andrews' blog and occasionally Ilona tells you about a book she has been reading.  This time she had read and enjoyed Cassandra Gannon's The Kingpin of Camelot which is the third book in her A Kinda Fairytale series. Andrews thought the book was really funny and I was in need in of funny and decided to give it a go.

The Kingpin of Camelot is a mishmash of every fairy tale you have ever heard. The books of the series focus on different fairytale characters and in this instalment Lady Guinevere is on the run with her daughter Avalon. She has been charged with killing her husband King Arthur and The Scarecrow is determined to marry her to become the next King. Gwen escapes and runs straight into the home (and later arms) of the most unlikely alley - the ultimate mobster - the Kingpin Midas. Everything Midas touches is gold and he has everything money, or gold could ever buy except for class. When he comes face to face with Gwen he releases that she can give him the class he desperately wants but more importantly he realizes she is his 'true love'. In Gannon's version of fairy tales everything is topsy-turvy - the good are actually quite bad and the bad are kind of good. The Bad, as they are called, can recognise their true love at first sight. Midas isn't sure whether it is going to be easier to rescue Gwen from The Scarecrow or convince her she is his true love but he is up for the challenge. Can Midas turn his relationship with Gwen into gold like he has with everything else he has ever touched?

The Kingpin of Camelot was just what I needed at the time. I wanted something lighthearted and while I don't normally enjoy a lot of PNR it usually means an uncomplicated read. I am not convinced I would have enjoyed this book had I been reading other more enjoyable or compelling books but it filled a book shaped gap. Gannon gave both Gwen and Midas some very amusing lines and situations. I did think that Avalon (Gwen's daughter) was a bit too cutsey and the chapters where she was the focal point were sugary sweet. If you like fairytales and want to read something a bit different with a strong PNR plot then give it a go. I did read other books in this series and will let you know what I thought in future posts.

If you read my WIR last week you will know that I have been reading Kate Griffin's Kitty Peck series. Onto book 2 - Kitty Peck and the Child of Ill Fortune - which finds Kitty in a much different situation to when we left her. She has inherited Lady Ginger's business including the musical halls where she found the depths of human suffering and the bonds of friendship. With her inheritance she discovers the yoke that had been around Lady Ginger's neck and why she was so fierce, seemingly cruel and always surrounded in a fugue of opium. Kitty also learns that her brother is very much alive and living in Paris and determined to be reunited. Unfortunately, a joyous family reunion isn't in the cards but instead this leads Kitty onto yet another path of cruelty and death.

Another gripping tale from Kate Griffin from start to finish...perhaps not quite as much as with book 1 but pretty close. Poor Kitty! I kept thinking all the way through.  Just when she makes one small step to uncover the truth the farther and farther she moves away from it. Kitty's reunion with her brother is bittersweet and Kitty's longing for the way things used to be is palatable even though it becomes clear that reality and her recollections are not one and the same. There are a couple of tragic events in store for Kitty in this instalment and a very sad ending. Reader beware!


That is it for me for another week. I hope you have had a couple of good books to enjoy this week. Be sure to check out my review of the next Kitty Peck book. Until then Happy Reading.

The Kingpin of Camelot
A Kinda Fairytale 3
Star Turtle Publishing, July 31, 2017
     Kindle eBook

The Queen: Guinevere must save Camelot. Ever since Arthur died, the evil Scarecrow has been trying to marry her and gain the crown. If she and her daughter are going to survive his mad schemes, Gwen needs to find Merlyn’s wand. Fast. Unfortunately, the only man strong enough to help her on her quest is Kingpin Midas, a flashy, uneducated mobster dealing with a curse. Gwen is a logical, rational woman, though, and she can draft one hell of a contract. She’s pretty sure she can come up with an offer not even the kingdom’s greatest villain can refuse.

The Kingpin: Anything Midas touches turns to gold. Literally. The curse has helped him to rule Camelot’s underworld with an iron fist. He has more money and more power than anyone else in the kingdom. He’s convinced there’s nothing he can’t buy. One look at Gwen and Midas knows that he’s about to make his most brilliant purchase, yet. He’s about to own the one woman in the world he would give anything to possess. All he has to do to claim her is somehow win a war against the smartest man in Camelot, hide his growing feelings from Gwen, deal with his overprotective bodyguard’s paranoia about the queen’s hidden motivations, and adjust to a five year old demanding bedtime stories from a gangster. Simple, right?

The Contract: Gwen’s deal is simple: If Midas marries her, she’ll make him King of Camelot. It’s a fair bargain. Midas will keep her enemies away and she’ll give him the respectability that money can’t buy. She never expects Midas to agree so quickly. Or for their practical business arrangement to feel so… complicated. Midas isn’t the tawdry, feral animal that Arthur railed against. He’s a kind and gentle man, who clearly needs Gwen’s help just as much as she needs his. In fact, the longer she’s around Midas the more Gwen realizes that their “fake marriage” might be more real than she ever imagined.

Amazon

Kitty Peck and The Child of Ill Fortune
Faber & Faber, June 30, 2015
     eBook, 416 pages
Faber & Faber, July 2, 2015
     Trade Paperback, 416 pages

Kitty Peck is taking on the underworld of London's East End.

The Music Hall Murders:
It's 1880 and dancing girls are going missing from 'Paradise' - the criminal manor run with ruthless efficiency by the ferocious Lady Ginger. The Lady devises a singular scheme to discover the secret to the mystery, and suddenly seventeen-year-old music hall seamstress Kitty Peck is drawn into a web of blackmail, depravity and murder. Bold, impetuous and blessed with more brains than she cares to admit, Kitty, with the help of her stagehand friend, Lucca, is left to unravel the truth and ensure that more girls do not meet with a similar fate.

The Child of Ill-Fortune:
A year later, and Kitty Peck is the reluctant heiress to 'Paradise'. Far from the colour and camaraderie of the music hall where Kitty had been working, this new position brings with it isolation and uncertainty. Desperate to reconnect with Joey, her estranged brother, Kitty travels to Paris, but the joy of the reunion is overshadowed by his request for her to take a child back to London. Within days of her return it's clear that someone has followed them - and that this someone is determined to kill the child, along with anyone who stands in their way...

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million

Google Play : iBooks : Kobo