"Death's Daughter: A Calliope Reaper-Jones Novel" by Amber Benson

Book Description:

For the last few years I'd been in a state of bliss -- living under a self-imposed Forgetting Charm, because I so did not want to go into the family business. What I wanted was a glamorous career in New York City and the opportunity for a normal life -- buying designer shoes on sale, dating guys from craigslist, Web surfing organic dim sum for my boss. And then my father's Executive Assistant, a faun named Jarvis, showed up to tell me that my dad had been kidnapped.

Good-bye, Forgetting Charm. Hello, (unwanted) responsibility. Not only am I expected to step into the CEO slot on the company Board, but I have to "prove my worth" by competing against the Devil's protege -- who's so hot in more ways than one. The contest involves finding three (why is it always three?) objects of power. In Hell.

One of them is this adorable puppy -- who happens to be a hellhound.
The others are turning out to be not much fun. All this so I can take
(unwanted) charge of Death, Inc.

My name is Calliope Reaper-Jones, and I'm Death's daughter.

Review:

One of my favourite things about the urban fantasy genre is that the heroine is always a strong character that every girl can look up to, and "Death's Daughter" does not disappoint on that front. "Death's Daughter" is the first in a new series by Amber Benson and her first book written by just herself. You may recognize Amber Benson's name from her collaboration with Christopher Golden on the "Ghosts of Albion" series. And if that's not the reason her name rings a bell, it's probably because of her role as Tara Maclay on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show for three seasons.

All that aside, this is a great novel. I liked Calliope the moment she was introduced. She's a real character that everyone can relate to. She deals with very human emotions and talks like a real human being. The story is told in first person from Calliope's point of view, and I must say, it is a very entertaining point of view. I also quite like how we watch as she grows into a much stronger person as she progresses through the tasks set to her to claim her title of Death.

Calliope's interactions with other characters are also quite hilarious, be they the thoughts in her head or their actual conversations. The thoughts about every man she meets make you want to laugh but you can easily relate to since they're the same thoughts most women have when meeting an amazingly attractive man for the time...and yes, all the men she meets along the way are very attractive, but they are all Deities so what can you expect.

My favourite character relationship would have to be between Calliope and Kali, the Hindu Goddess of Destruction. My only issue with it is I have a very strong urge to use the word "dipwad" every time I insult someone now.

Stepping away from the characters now, the story it's self is somewhat generic but it works out. Calliope is estranged from her family, but when he father is kidnapped, she's forced back into the family business to take over the company and search for her father. While taking control of the family business is not what Calliope would love to be doing with her time, she agrees when she's informed that if her father is not found, the whole family will loose their immortality, which would most likely result in the death of her father.

The story progresses at a good speed and time is not wasted on any un-needed details. I would sit down to read and look up and realize that it was two hours later when it only felt like one. The chapters always end on a cliff-hanger so you almost feel required to continue reading. Come on, no one likes to leave something at a cliff-hanger. My only qualm would be I didn't want the story to end. Needless to say, I'll definitely be checking out the sequel, "Cat's Claw". (I sense that Ms. Benson is a fan of alliteration.)

I would most likely recommend this novel to anyone who is a fan of the urban fantasy genre or anyone who just needs to find a good read. It's definitely worth your time.

"A Lady of High Regard" by Tracie Peterson

Book Description:

Born into affluence, Mia Stanley is a winsome socialite with a knack for matchmaking. She's also a writer for Godey's Lady's Book magazine, much to the dismay of her family -- and their society friends. A proper young lady of social standing isn't meant to labor in such a way, but Mia's always had a way with words...

When her writing draws her into the world of downtrodden seamen's wives on Philadelphia's docks, Mia uncovers an alarming scheme that puts her in harm's way. But her heart ends up on the line as well...

Has her determination to always make a match driven away the one man whose esteem she covets?

Review:
It is quite evident throughout "A Lady of High Regard" that Tracie Peterson is one for her research. There is nothing worse than a piece of historical fiction that has historical inaccuracies. The story is well written and I truly felt that I was in mid-nineteenth century Philadelphia.
"A Lady of High Regard" is the first in a series called "Ladies of Liberty", which are all about well-bred, high society young women.

Mia Stanley is the oldest of three daughters and the only one that still remains unmarried. She spends her time writing for a women's magazine and playing match-maker for all of her friends. The story follows her to the dock's of the city where the poor seamen's wives are being taking advantage of by debt collectors for debts left by their absent or deceased husbands. Along the way, Mia discovers that these debts are false and these women are being wrongly taken advantage of. Mia then falls into danger once she confronts the debt collector who has been responsible for these crimes.
Along the way, Mia falls in love and we watch as she deals with this new feeling.

There were some things about this book that I liked and some that I wasn't too fond of.
I quite liked the pace of the novel. It moved along quickly and, while detailed, it didn't bog you down or focus too much on it. It was an easy read that I was able to lose myself in for hours. It was also quite entertaining to know what was really going on while the characters did not and you watched as they became frustrated and jumped to the wrong conclusions before getting all the answers. In that aspect, the characters seemed very real.
That brings me to the stuff that I wasn't a fan of. I really didn't like how none of the characters seemed to have any faults. If they were the ones you were supposed to like, they had only likable qualities. And the ones you weren't supposed to like (which was only one), didn't have any likable qualities. It was hard to find the characters realistic when they never had any faults.
Some aspects of the plot also didn't jive with me very well. One thing that bothered me but I was able to get over was how you knew exactly who Mia would end up falling in love with from the moment he was introduced into the story. And he's introduced very early on in the book too. Overlooking that though, there comes by biggest problem with the plot - and my biggest problem with the book - and that is the ending. The way it ends is that everything is resolved it seems like all the loose ends are being tied up (even though you can tell by the amount of pages left that it definitely isn't over) and then BAM! Something drastic happens. Now, the drastic event is what I was hoping would happen else I would have been very VERY disapointed in the end of the book, but the way it was done it seemed out of sync and very forced. To myself, the end of the book is what makes the book. If they end isn't done well, no matter how well the book it's self was, it's always overshadowed by a not so great ending.
Now, that being said, it was still a great book. Would I read it again? Probably not. Would I read another of Tracie Peterson's novels? I'm still undecided on that matter.
If you are someone who is into historical fiction with a bit of mystery, then I would recommend giving this book a try. Just a word of advice though, if you are a hardcore atheist or hate feeling like you are being preached to, you may want to skip this novel. No where on the book does it state is Christian fiction, but believe me, it is. I'm alright with reading about Christianity and talking about, but there were some points where I felt uncomfortable reading this book just due to how much was actually involved in it. But, if you are someone like myself who can overlook religious beliefs for a good book, then please, check this one out, especially if you need some form of escapism for a few hours.

Question to the readers:
Have you read "A Lady of High Regard" or any of Tracie Peterson's other books? What did you think about them?

Salutations!

Hello readers,

As you can probably tell from the title of my blog, I am a bit of a bookworm and hope that you are one as well. I've started this blog to give my opinions on books I've read and also to challenge myself to branch out from the same type of books that I usually read.

A little bit about myself first:
I've always loved reading, ever since I was taught. It was something that on rainy days, much to the delight of my parents, could keep me occupied for hours on end. During summer break throughout my school year, I used to make weekly trips to the library and kept a list of all the books I read during that two month time frame; something quite easy for a young person who didn't have a job.
Once High School came along though, I started to read less and less due to my busy schedule, but I never lost the passion for the written word.
I currently do not go to school. Instead I work in the hopes that I can soon have the money to put myself through most of post-secondary by myself. Of course, with only ever having work and some amazing friends taking up my time, I've been able to get more into reading again.

In this blog I hope to share my love of books with you. I'm the type of person who usually sticks to the urban fantasy genre, and sometimes taking a jaunt over to the paranormal romance genre. With this blog, I am challenging myself to read book of all genre's, read classics and contemporaries, and to finish every book I start, even if I don't want to finish.

I hope you enjoy my future reviews and keep coming back for more,

Ozzy