Lucia Chronicles Book 1 by Diane Cardon

Nia is a young but zealous member of a rebellion seeking to overturn the rule of a tyrant who has been oppressing her country. When Nia is captured by the Tyrant and thrown into jail she is expecting to be beaten or even killed because she is the daughter of the head of the resistance. Instead she, though in prison, is treated decently. She is eventually summoned to speak with the Tyrant himself, and finds him a melancholy young man, not much older than herself, trying desperately to rule an empire he inherited and struggles to maintain.

Jump 18 years forward, and we see a middle-aged woman, Melanie, who is in charge of the Carbrynian intelligence under her father, the Governer, while raising a son, Aiden on her own. She is preparing to take Aiden with her on his first mission into enemy territory, Lucia, to ostensibly investigate rumors that its ruler, Titus, is amassing troups at their boarder and intends to invade. In reality, she has a very different plan that relates to what happened to that teenage girl in prison almost two decades earlier.  As the two stories in the two time periods unfold in alternating chapters, the reader gets clues from the past that help explain Melanie's present life and Aiden's unexpected future.

 I haven't posted a book review for a few weeks.  There are two reasons for that.  One, is that I have been out of town and very busy with family obligations. The other is that I re-read an unpublished book written by my daughter, Diane Cardon in preparation for reading the sequel to the book which she had just finished (review to come). As of yet neither book has a real title or any artwork. They are manuscripts waiting to be submitted to an agent or a publisher. 

That being said, I have read a lot of books (1100+ reviews in this blog so far) and I think this book and its sequel are as good as many of them, and better than some.  The characters are sympathetic, dimentional, and realisticaly flawed, and the political intrigue elements shows a lot of insight into insurgency and intelligence in small regional conflicts.  There is a religious/mystical element that adds a bit of mystery and is reminscent of the writings of Megan Whelan Turner.  If you are interested in reading a pre-print, leave a note in the comment box. 

Romancing Daphne by Sarah Eden

 In this third installment of Lancaster Family series, seven years has gone by and Persephone's younger sister, Daphne, is old enough to have her first season.  Unlike her sisters, Persephone and Artemis, Daphne is shy, quiet and not at all interested in dances and moving about in society.  Determined to be the beloved spinster aunt, there is only one man she has ever dreamed of,  James Tilburn, who was kind to her on the day of Artemis' coming out ball.  Imagine her surprise, when that very man walks into her sitting room on her first "at home" in London.  His attention is guarded, but polite, and she is delighted when he, over the next couple of weeks, starts to pay her special attention.  Little does she know that he is not paying court to her because under his own volition. Over time, his obligatory attention turns into true regard, but he worries that if she finds out his initial interest was motivated by an over-reaching father's manipulation, she will never be able to trust him again.

This week I was so stressed at work and with family obligations, I started to read three other books and eventually returned them unfinished.  This was the only level of literature that could get me through the week.  It is like the first two in the series in plot, but Daphne is a different kind of heroine. She made me think of the Quiet Power book I read, or maybe of Fanny Price in Mansfield Park.  I didn't really see the mythology tie in until late in the story, so that was kind of fun. It has the same gallant hero and ansurrance of a happy ending as all Eden's other books.  Bless Sarah Eden and other clean romance writers for giving us over-50 women the literature we need to handle life's stress. (2017, 328p.) 

Every City is Every Other City by John McFetridge

Gordon Stewart works for the movie industry scouting locations for filming.  He is also a private investigator that does a few jobs on the side in the off season.  When his boss on the movie set asked him to look into the disappearance of her uncle, he feels like he can't refuse.  His search leads him into the forests of Ontario Canada, and to small towns miles from his home in Toronto.  He doesn't want to get involved, either with this case or with Ethel, a second in a film he scouted for, but each day he finds himself more deeply involved, and deeper in danger. 

This book is squarely in the genre of men's suspense/mystery, but it has a unique flavor. There was mention of sex but no description.  There was some bad language, but almost no blood and gore, and a surprising low body count. The author spends a lot of time musing about suicide rates for middle aged men, and stereotyping of women as ditzes. There was a sub plot dealing with each of these issues,  and I kept expecting them to intersect at some clever way, but they never did. The plot rambled, but the characters were insteresting enough that I stuck to it to the end though I am not putting the next one in the series on hold. (360 p. 2021)

Courting Miss Landcaster by Sarah Eden

 Athena Lancaster, younger sister of Persephone, has recently become the Duke of Kielder's ward and inherited 20,000 pounds.  She is excited to have her first London season and anticipates finding the man of her dreams.  The Duke of Kielder hates the London season, so he enlists his best friend, Harry, to help Athena meet appropriate gentlemen among the ton.  The only problem is that Harry has long been in love with Athena.  He knows, because of his finacial situation, that he is not an appropriate suitor, but he can't bring himself to find her anyone else that she might like.  Instead, he introduces her to men that are examples of what she should not look for in a suitor, with nearly diasterous results. 

This is the second in the series I started just a couple of weeks ago.  Although it wasn't quite as impactful to me as the first one, it was still just the right kind of book for me to read during a very stressful week. The relationship between the Duke and Dutchess of Kielder continues to be charming, and Harry and Athena have very good chemistry.  Ms Eden is a Christian writer, but her religious views are implied in the story instead of overtly stated.  She has the lightest touch of any Christian Romance writer that I have read. Ms Eden comes up with a heart-warming ending that makes me eager to read the next in the series. 

Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas

  Nic (short for Nichol) is a Remarkable, a person with a special magical power, just like her father is. They have been living in the non-remarkable world since her father left her mother when she was two years old. Nic hopes that on her 12th birthday her father will finally start to teach her how to use her power.  Instead, she discovers that her favorite author is really a Remarkable too and is her godfather. He gives her a magical object that sets off a series of events that sends her and her best (non-remarkable) friend on a desperate quest into the Remarkable world.  They must find an ancient power that can save her and the entire Remarkable world from destruction. 

This book got some good reviews when it came out earlier this year.  It is by the same woman who wrote, The Hate You Give but is much lighter than that one. There is no profanity or realistic violence. The story is very "Rick Riordan" like and draws on the mythology of African Americans in the South. In the story, haints, boo hags, rougarous and other mythical creatures are real and live in disguise among "non-remarkable" people.  It is a fast-paced and fun story with plenty of action and well drawn and sympathetic characters. There is a fairly strong civil rights theme, but it doesn't overwhelm the story.  I don't think it is as deep as the Tristan Strong book, but it is maybe more accessible for the target age group.  (2023, 368 p.)

Seeking Persephone by Sarah Eden

Adam, Duke of Kielder, is one of the richest of England’s peerage, but is without an heir. He does not like his cousin, the heir presumptive, but neither does he like his prospects of finding a wife. He has a facial deformity and constant pity from his mother and society has made him irascible.  When Adam’s lawyer convinces him that marrying and producing an heir is the only way to thwart his cousin's ambitions, Adam lets the lawyer arrange a marriage for him. Persephone Lancaster is a member of the impoverished aristocracy. Motherless, and with a disengaged father, she has scrimped to stretch their meager living but knows she can offer no real future to her four siblings. When she receives the proposal from Adam which includes an outrageously generous financial settlement for her family, she decides to sacrifice her future for the future of her siblings by marrying a man she has never met.  When she does meet Adam, she is not so concerned about his appearance as his total disregard for her.  Adam is determined not to care about her, but her patience and sweetness makes that progressively hard for him to do.

I must have been just in the right mood for this book this week because it ended out being my favorite Sarah Eden novel so far.  Both Adam and Persephone are well rounded characters, with flaws and strengths that are revealed gradually through the story.  Both have been deeply wounded and have issues to work through, but succeed in the end because they keep trying to make the relationship work.  Ms Eden has based the plot on the story of Persephone and Hades from Greek mythology, but it reminded me more of a Beauty and the Beast story.  The book was clearly written by a woman rather than a man, because there is no discussion at all about sexual urges. At one point they are even lying in the same bed, and the only emotion alluded to is companionship and comfort. Still, the book and story are delightful, sweet and just the right thing for my stressful week. (288 p., 2011)

The Nebula Secret by Trudi Trueit

 Cruz Coronado and his dad live in Hawaii and Cruz is a surfer boy.  His mother, however, was an elite scientist who worked for an organization called The Explorer Academy.  Ever since his mother's death in a tragic accident, Cruz has wanted to be admited to the academy as a student. His dream comes true the summer before his 13th birthday.  He flies to Washington DC and joins 23 ultra talented like-minded tweens from around the world.  Once he is at the academy, however, things don't go smoothly for Cruz. Someone seems to be out to get him, and he doesn't know why. Eventually he figures out that it has to do with his mother and a project she was working on before she died.  Could her death have been more than an accident?  As Cruz and his friends try to figure out the clues, they come closer to mortal danger.

This is the first in a long series produced by National Geographic.  The series is fairly popular at my library so I decided to give it a try.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The writing is decent and there is definitely a coolness/wish-fullfillment element that I think both girls and boys will enjoy.  At the end of the book there is a note that explains what science/tech in the story was real and what has not yet been invented.  It also highlights several of the real scientists mentioned in the book. Another plus is that the recorded book is read by Ramon de Ocampo, who is one of the best kid's book readers out there right now.  Even though the kids on Cruz' team are all from different countries, de Ocampo does a good job at least suggesting all their different accents.  I put the next book in the series on hold. (2019, 208 p)