Mini Review: Maid of Deception by Jennifer McGowan

Library
Rating: 4 out of 5
Goodreads

I guess you'd call this a sequel to Maid of Secrets, but I'd say it's more of a companion novel and either can be read first. Each book in this series focuses on a different maid of honor in Elizabeth I's court, and Maid of Deception follows Beatrice.

Beatrice is, on the surface, the pretty mean girl of the group who uses her good looks and charms to ferret out secrets for the queen. Meg (the main character in Maid of Secrets) didn't get along with Beatrice very much, but I liked her a whole lot. Jennifer McGowan develops Beatrice's personality well and makes her a character that stands out from the more stereotypical Meg and, for me, made her even more likable.

There's a lot less action in this book as compared to the first (torture! intrigue!) so as far as plot goes the first is stronger. But, I liked Beatrice more and her romance was much more up my alley. So, character girl that I am, I had no trouble staying engaged and I liked this book just as much and possibly even more than the first.

Jennifer McGowan's Maids of Honor series is exactly the type of series I like. It's almost like a comfort read series for me and it's twice now gotten me out of reading slumps. Historical lite, with romance, intrigues, mysteries, political balancing, a tiny touch of paranormal, and likable characters. It's a light series, and despite the high page counts of the books, they're still super fast reads. I can see myself re-reading these books and I'm definitely going to read all of the books as they come out. I just really wish they had different covers.

While this is a series that isn't completely published yet, the nature of the stories (each following a new maid of honor and wrapping up her story) makes it so you can easily read the books as standalones as they are published with no fear of cliffhangers or fading memory.

Looking for another book like this? You might like: 

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Giveaway (US): The Vanishing Island by Barry Wolverton

Does the Vanishing Island really exist? And if so, what treasure—or terrible secret—was hidden by its disappearance?

It’s 1599, the Age of Discovery in Europe. But for Bren Owen, growing up in the small town of Map on the coast of Britannia has meant anything but adventure. Enticed by the tales sailors have brought through Map’s port, and inspired by the arcane maps his father creates as a cartographer for the cruel and charismatic map mogul named Rand McNally, Bren is convinced that fame and fortune await him elsewhere. That is, until his repeated attempts to run away land him a punishment worse than death—cleaning up the town vomitorium.

It is there that Bren meets a dying sailor, who gives him a strange gift that hides a hidden message. Cracking the code could lead Bren to a fabled lost treasure that could change his life forever, and that of his widowed father. But to get there he will have to tie his fate to a mysterious Dutch admiral obsessed with a Chinese legend about an island that long ago disappeared from any map.

Before long, Bren is in greater danger than he ever imagined, and will need the help of an unusual friend named Mouse to survive. Barry Wolverton’s thrilling adventure spans oceans and cultures, brings together the folklore of East and West, and proves that fortune is always a double-edged sword

-Goodreads

Info for the giveaway:

• What you can win: A signed ARC of The Vanishing Island by Barry Wolverton
• As always, you do NOT have to be a follower
• This giveaway is US only
• You must be 13 years of age or older
• One entry per person
• I will contact the winner through email and the winner will have 24 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen 
• This giveaway closes on June 30th 

Click here to enter the giveaway!

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Blog Tour Schedule: 

6/15/2015 Blue Stocking Thinking                  bluestockingthinking.blogspot.com
6/16/2015 The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia    hauntedorchid.blogspot.com
6/17/2015 Small Review                               smallreview.blogspot.com              
6/18/2015 Maria's Melange                         www.mariaselke.com/
6/19/2015 Unleashing Readers                    unleashingreaders.com
6/19/2015 The Hiding Spot                             ​thehidingspot.blogspot.com
6/22/2015 This Kid Reviews Books              thiskidreviewsbooks.com
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6/25/2015 Novel Novice                              novelnovice.com 

Author Info

Barry Wolverton is the author of Neversink. He has more than fifteen years’ experience creating books, documentary television scripts, and website content for international networks and publishers, including National Geographic, Scholastic.com, the Library of Congress, and the Discovery Networks. He lives in Memphis, Tennessee. You can visit him online at www.barrywolverton.com.

Links for Barry Wolverton: 

Website: http://www.barrywolverton.com/

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Book Review & Giveaway (US): The Disappearance Emily H by Barrie Summy

Released: May 12, 2015
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 256
Received: Finished copy from publisher
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

There's something about a middle grade mystery that never fails to grab my interest. Add in a dash of the paranormal and I'm sold. The Disappearance of Emily H. takes all those elements and rolls them into one engaging package that held my interest from start to finish.

The mystery surrounds a missing girl (fate unknown) and though Raine's sleuthing is more laid back than breakneck, it was still engaging and the resolution was not obvious from the start.

The paranormal bits were fun and I enjoyed playing around with the idea of "what if I had this ability" but they also felt a little strange in a book that didn't feel like a paranormal book.

All that said, both the mystery and the paranormal elements were good, but just ok for me. Part of that is definitely a target audience thing though.

The real gem of The Disappearance of Emily H. was Raine's friendship with fellow new girl Shirlee and their battle against the mean girls. Their friendship was touching and definitely made me nostalgic for my own middle school friendships (and, while Raine was ok, Shirlee is totally sleepover party material). The scenes with the texting rang so true (and some were very funny!) and, even though they weren't really doing the right thing, I could totally understand and relate with why they were doing it.

I wasn't expecting a totally contemporary friendship to take center stage with elements like mystery and paranormal in the mix, but it was definitely the highlight for me. Middle grade readers will probably enjoy The Disappearance of Emily H. even more, though parents beware, Raine's mother is neglectful and the bad guy is bad enough to upset sensitive readers.

 

Barrie Summy is the author of the I So Don’t Do mystery series starring thirteen-year-old detective Sherry Holmes Baldwin and the recently released The Disappearance of Emily H. Barrie lives in Southern California with her husband, their four children, two dogs, a veiled chameleon, and a fish. There was once a dwarf hamster, but let’s not go there. Visit her online at barriesummy.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Barrie.Cox.Summy

Info for the giveaway:

• What you can win: A finished copy of The Disappearance of Emily H. by Barrie Summy
• As always, you do NOT have to be a follower
• This giveaway is US only
• You must be 13 years of age or older
• One entry per person
• I will contact the winner through email and the winner will have 24 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen 
• This giveaway closes on July 10th 

Click here to enter the giveaway!

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Author Letter and Giveaway (US): Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley

Micah Tuttle believes in magic, even though his awful Great-Aunt Gertrudis doesn’t approve. Micah believes in the stories his dying Grandpa Ephraim tells him of the magical Circus Mirandus: the invisible tiger guarding the gates, the beautiful flying birdwoman, and the magician more powerful than any other—the Man Who Bends Light.

Finally, Grandpa Ephraim offers proof. The Circus is real—and the Lightbender owes Ephraim a miracle. With his friend Jenny Mendoza in tow, Micah sets out to find the Circus and the man he believes will save his grandfather. The only problem is, the Lightbender doesn't want to keep his promise. And now it's up to Micah to get the miracle he came for. Readers will fall in love with CIRCUS MIRANDUS, which celebrates the power of seeing magic in the world.

-Goodreads

Dear Readers,

Ages ago I hung a poster in my room with the words “The Circus Opens Summer 2015” in bold letters across the top. At the time, it seemed that Summer 2015 would never come. Now, miraculously, June 2 is here, and Circus Mirandus is springing up in bookshops all over the country.

In the story, those called to Circus Mirandus feel a change in the wind. They hear music on the air, pipes and drums leading them toward magic and hope and heart’s desires. Eventually they find themselves before the gates, standing, as I am now, on the threshold of somewhere both wonderful and unknowable.

As people read the pages into which I’ve poured so much time and self, I wonder what they’ll think of the world I’ve created. I wonder if they will love it as much as I do. It’s an exciting moment, stepping through these gates into a place I’ve imagined but never seen.

Thank you so much for making this journey with me. Thank you for supporting the book. Thank you, most of all, for believing.

Cassie Beasley

About Cassie Beasley:
Cassie Beasley is from rural Georgia, where, when she's not writing, she helps out on the family pecan farm. She earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. CIRCUS MIRANDUS is her first novel.
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Info for the giveaway:

• What you can win: A signed hardcover of Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley, an audio sampler, animal crackers, ten bookmarks, and a poster
• There will be 5 winners
• As always, you do NOT have to be a follower
• This giveaway is US only
• You must be 13 years of age or older
• One entry per person
• I will contact the winner through email and the winner will have 24 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen 
• This giveaway closes on June 16th 

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