First up is Cindy Spencer Pape's Ashes and Alchemy, which is the latest in her Gaslight Chronicles series.
Minerva Shaw, or Minnie, is desparate for a doctor. She is has braved a chilling night in London in search of a doctor that will treat her daughter, Ivy, despite Minnie being from the poorer part of town. She is finally pointed to a doctor who is willing to help everyone, but she just happens to knock on his neighbor's door first.
Sebastian Brown is a police inspector, who is retired army that served his country in India. While he is not part of the Order, he is well acquainted with it, since his father was a knight, and his cousin is currently one. He has the uncanny ability to tell when people are lying. He assist Minnie in retrieving her daughter to bring to the doctor.
When they return to her flat, they find it in shambles and Minnie's friend dead, along with Ivy being miraculously better. As they investigate further, they find that more children at Ivy's school has become mysteriously ill, and someone is up to no good.
This has by far, been my least favorite of the Gaslight Chronicles series. The characters felt very stiff, and the relationship between them was forced. I did not get a since of either of the main characters beyond what was presented on the surface.
The plot itself was uninspiring in the way it unfolded. In the beginning there was some pretty good potential to it, but the author just let it fizzle out in the end. There was not even a great fight scene to save it. Plus, I did not feel that this book added to the series. It just was not as well written as the others in the series.
Bookworm II: The Very Ugly Duckling by Christopher Nuttall is the follow up to his Bookworm. The Golden City is rebuilding after the events of Bookworm, where Kane destroyed much of the city. The mudanes, those without magic, are demanding to be treated better. Plus there is a Dark Sorcerer that has escaped and is being hunted.
Johan is from a powerful magic family, unfortunately for him, he has no magic. He is a Powerless, a non-magic person born to magic family. That has made him the target of his siblings pranks, and a prisoner to his home. One day when he is able to sneak out, he is caught in an attack his brother makes on mundanes, and suddenly develops powers. His powers, however, don't follow any of the rules of magic, and so Elaine, the Head Librarian, Privy Councillor, and the Bookworm, is sent to help him.
Together Elaine and Johan work through what he is capable of, and how he can escape his family, whom he wants nothing to do with.
While Mr. Nuttall probably should have just called this book The Very Ugly Duckling, he is a master of the subplots and plot twist. He does a fantastic job of keeping his reader guessing just what is the cause of Johan's powers, and if it is related to the Witch-King. Plus, there is the whole what is Duncan, Johan's father, plan.
Nuttall does a great job of developing his characters in the story, and not just Elaine and Johan. Even some of the minor characters get some excellent development, like Charity, Johan's sister. I think he did a great job of further exploring Elaine's character, without feeling like he was rehashing all that we learned about her in Bookworm.
I was very glad to see that he wrote this book, since I still had questions at the end of Bookworm, and it appears he will continue the series. I am excited to see where he takes it, and what the Witch-King's plans are and how they unfold.
Currently Reading:
Valkyrie Rising
by Ingrid Paulson
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