The Last Camellia

Title: The Last Camellia
Author: Sarah Jio
Source: from a friend
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: While the plot was fascinating and the writing well done, this book was missing that special something which makes me fall in love with a book.

An apparently innocuous English estate, home to the last of a much-prized variety of camellia, becomes the site of mystery, murder, and intrigue across the years. Right before the beginning of WWII, Flora is convinced by a ring of thieves to take a job as a nanny in order to locate the camellia. Falling in love complicates her plans substantially and puts her in great danger. Over fifty years later, Addison moves into the manor in an attempt to escape her past. Now both her past and that of the manor are catching up to her and if she doesn’t solve the mystery of what happened to Flora, she might be in grave danger as well.

The Book Thief – Discussion 1/3

We here at Doing Dewey are very anti-spoiler but for read-a-longs, there’s really no way to avoid them. So, if you haven’t read the first three parts of The Book Thief which are being discussed in the It’s All About Books read-a-long, this post is going to be COMPLETELY SPOILERY. You have been warned.

This read-a-long for The Book Thief is one of the first read-a-longs I’ve done, so first I’m going to tell you a bit about how I’m liking it. Then I’ll answer some of the discussion questions from our host, Suey. I don’t like to be reading multiple books at one time, so I was surprised at how easy it was to read this between two other books. It was very hard to stop reading because I was enjoying this book a lot, but it’s worth it to me to get to discuss the book with other bloggers. I can’t wait for the twitter chat tomorrow!

Discussion Questions

1. What’s your first impression of Death as a character/narrator?

Bookends About Dark Triumph

Title: Dark Triumph
Editor: Robin LaFevers
Source: bought at Rochester Teen Book Festival
Rating: ★★★★★
Review Summary: The perfect sequel to Grave Mercy, with the same strengths – strong protagonist, constant action, and fascinating setting.

For those of you who read Grave Mercy, you’ll recognize our new protagonist Sybella from her encounter with Ismae at the convent. In this book, Sybella is forced to face the dark events that chased her to the convent for refuge in the first place. We learn a lot about her past and the reasons she has such a drive for revenge. We also share her discovery that revenge might not be enough and, as with Isame, learn more about the mythos surrounding the nuns position as servants of the god of death.

Bookends About Grave Mercy

Title: Grave Mercy
Editor: Robin LaFevers
Source: bought at Rochester Teen Book Festival
Rating: ★★★★★
Review Summary: This is one that’s almost too good to analyze. The main things that made me love it were the strength of the main character, the historical setting, and the fast paced action.

This is a book about assassin nuns and that’s probably all you need to know to guess how crazy awesome it’s going to be! However, for the sake of thoroughness… The book focuses on Ismae, a girl whose near death marked her as a servant of Mortain, the god of death. When she flees an arranged marriage, this means there is a place for her at Mortain’s convent where she will be trained as an assassin. To date, her life has only put her in contact with brutal, cruel men and she has no qualms agreeing to go on a mission that will include killing anyone Mortain marks for death. Her experience in the real world, however, quickly makes her realize that both men and Mortain’s orders are more complex than she thought.

Bookends About The Mirrored World

Title: The Mirrored World
Author: Debra Dean
Source: from publisher for TLC book tour
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: I had mixed feelings about this one, which was beautifully written and conveyed the essence of events very well but never made me feel engaged in the plot.

This book was inspired by the life of Xenia, patron saint of St. Petersburg, but is told from the perspective of her (imaginary, I think) cousin. We watch as Xenia falls madly in love and her complete devastation following her husbands death. As Xenia finds solace in giving her belongings for the poor and slowly transforms into a pauper revered as a “holy fool”, her cousin must decide whether Xenia needs saving from herself or just support in her choices. Her cousins life is also deeply impacted by Xenia’s transformation which helps her find love in the most unlikely of places.

Bookends About The Virgin Cure

Title: The Virgin Cure
Author: Ami McKay
Source: from publisher for TLC book tour
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: This was well written, with such attention to historical detail I felt it could actually have happened but I just didn’t feel a connection to the main character.

Moth is a young girl living in the slums of lower Manhattan until her own mother sells her as a servant. When she tries to escape and finds her mother gone, few options are left to her. Moth is forced choose between returning to the abusive woman who bought her; returning to her old life; or living a life of comparative luxury as a prostitute. With the help of a caring, female doctor named Dr. Sadie, Moth must decide what is most important to her and what she’s willing to sacrifice to survive.