Recently Read
Happy April Fools! I wish I had a good joke, but alack! I'm too busy packing to go home for Easter, so instead, reviews!
The Blurb:
When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own--scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.
Soon, Kat’s friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster’s art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just onthe suspect list, he isthe list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.
For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s (very crooked) history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.
***
This book had be at Heist. I love cons, I love art, and I love con artists who steal art (and sometimes for good causes!) This book read lightning quick, it was exciting, chock full of information, great characters, a very interesting male lead, and of course: adventure! There aren't enough adventure books out there these days, in my opinion. This book takes you all around the world at a breakneck pace, provides just enough back story to get you interested in this very eccentric family, and provides real and scary consequences along with a tight, moral ending. There were a few questions I had at the end of the book: namely W.W. Hale the 5th's real name. I thought for sure it would be put in there, since it was hinted at so much, but maybe there'll be a sequel? Please? Highly recommended if you like a quick, fun, adventurous read.
The Blurb:
In this mesmerizing sequel to "Lament", music prodigy James Morgan has joined his best friend, Deirdre, at a private conservatory for musicians. James' almost unearthly gift for music has attracted the dangerous attentions of Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. Composing beautiful music together leads James and Nuala down an unexpected road of mutual admiration ...and love. Haunted by a vision of raging fire and death, James realizes that Deirdre and Nuala are being hunted by the Fey and plunges into a soulscorching battle with the Queen of the Fey to save their lives.
***
Maggie is one of those writers who has so much talent, when I read her books I have to put them down to go write! Ballad flows with gorgeous prose, witty dialogue, and is split up with clever text message segments from Lament's protagonist, Dee. James proves to be an amazing narrator, a fully equipped character who is not only interesting, but the kind of guy you actually care about. I felt for his unrequited love for Dee, but I loved his interactions with Nuala, who was a great character in herself. This book is the whole shabang. Paranormal, love, funny, doritos, conflict, music. Every couple chapters also begins with a segment of poetry from Goldentongue: the poetry of Stephen Slaughter, which were mind-blowing. Highly, highly recommended.
The Blurb:
When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own--scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.
Soon, Kat’s friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster’s art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just onthe suspect list, he isthe list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.
For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s (very crooked) history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.
***
This book had be at Heist. I love cons, I love art, and I love con artists who steal art (and sometimes for good causes!) This book read lightning quick, it was exciting, chock full of information, great characters, a very interesting male lead, and of course: adventure! There aren't enough adventure books out there these days, in my opinion. This book takes you all around the world at a breakneck pace, provides just enough back story to get you interested in this very eccentric family, and provides real and scary consequences along with a tight, moral ending. There were a few questions I had at the end of the book: namely W.W. Hale the 5th's real name. I thought for sure it would be put in there, since it was hinted at so much, but maybe there'll be a sequel? Please? Highly recommended if you like a quick, fun, adventurous read.
The Blurb:
In this mesmerizing sequel to "Lament", music prodigy James Morgan has joined his best friend, Deirdre, at a private conservatory for musicians. James' almost unearthly gift for music has attracted the dangerous attentions of Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. Composing beautiful music together leads James and Nuala down an unexpected road of mutual admiration ...and love. Haunted by a vision of raging fire and death, James realizes that Deirdre and Nuala are being hunted by the Fey and plunges into a soulscorching battle with the Queen of the Fey to save their lives.
***
Maggie is one of those writers who has so much talent, when I read her books I have to put them down to go write! Ballad flows with gorgeous prose, witty dialogue, and is split up with clever text message segments from Lament's protagonist, Dee. James proves to be an amazing narrator, a fully equipped character who is not only interesting, but the kind of guy you actually care about. I felt for his unrequited love for Dee, but I loved his interactions with Nuala, who was a great character in herself. This book is the whole shabang. Paranormal, love, funny, doritos, conflict, music. Every couple chapters also begins with a segment of poetry from Goldentongue: the poetry of Stephen Slaughter, which were mind-blowing. Highly, highly recommended.