The Story

From the Chapters website:

“It’s the oldest question of all, George. Who can spy on the spies?”

The man he knew as “Control” is dead, and the young Turks who forced him out now run the Circus. But George Smiley isn’t quite ready for retirement-especially when a desperate Russian woman defector surfaces with a shocking accusation: a Soviet mole has penetrated the highest level of British Intelligence. His treachery has already blown some of their vital operations and their best networks. He is one of their own kind. But which one? Relying only on his wits and a small, loyal cadre, Smiley traces the breach back to Karla – his Moscow Centre nemesis – and sets a trap to catch the traitor.

The Response

I thought I didn’t enjoy spy novels. Seriously. I’ve been avoiding them all my life with an “oh, that’s totally not my type of story.” This is the first real spy novel I ever read, and even though I was convinced that I didn’t like spy stories, well, I completely and thoroughly loved this.

It may be because I loved the film – I can’t say exactly what I would’ve thought about the book if I had read it first, which had been my original intention. It was in theatres when I was in England this fall, so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see it then. Even having seen the movie first, though, I had a hard time keeping all of the characters straight at the beginning – had to keep opening up IMDB to see which actor played what character – and so would have no doubt found that much more overwhelming had I not seen the film first.

This is not a fast-moving story. Even having seen the movie, even knowing what was going on, the first third of the book was very hard for me to get into. It’s not a book with a lot of action – it’s very much a character-driven novel. The majority of the book finds George Smiley doing interviews, research and remembering. You learn so much about Smiley, learn what motivates him and makes him tick, you see through his actions how he would’ve been a fabulous spy and can understand why he was practically Control’s right-hand man. And through the novel, Smiley became one of my favourite literary characters.

I was highly impressed by the way Le Carré narrated this book. You know how some novels are a pleasure to read just because of how everything is phrased and because of the narration style? This is one of those books, and that completely took me by surprise. It shouldn’t have – I’ll be one of the first people to tell you that just because a book is a genre book doesn’t mean that it can’t be a well-written book or have literary merit or whatever. And yet, it surprised me anyway.

The narration in itself just seemed so reflective of who Smiley was – holding off all judgement until all avenues have been explored, quiet and unobtrusive… goodness! Are all of Le Carré’s books written in this way?

So now that I’ve fully enjoyed the book, I think it’s about time that I see the film again – too bad it’s not in theatres here yet. (Curse limited release movies!) Hopefully soon…

The Bottom Line

Definitely enjoyable. Wouldn’t recommend it to someone looking for a high-action novel, but if you don’t mind a slower-moving fully character-driven plot, this is definitely something you should pick up!

Other Reviews

Rat’s Reading, Nick’s Cafe Canadien, 2606 Books and Counting, Adventures in Reading. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.

The Story

From the back of the book:

A Bertie and Jeeves classic, featuring a cow-creamer, the redheaded Miss Wickham, and the formidable schoolmaster Aubrey Upjohn.

Jeeves is infallible. Jeeves is indispensable. Unfortunately, in How Right You Are, Jeeves, he is also in absentia. In this wonderful slice of Woosterian mayhem, Bertie has sent that prince among gentlemen’s gentlemen off on his annual vacation. Soon, drowning dachshunds, broken engagements, and inextricable complications lead to the only possible conclusion: “We must put our trust in a higher power. Go and fetch Jeeves!”

The Response

I like the fact that these books weren’t written so that you have to read them in a certain order to understand everything that is going on. I’m thoroughly enjoying bouncing all over the place in this series, being able to read whatever one I find in a used bookstore as soon as I get it, if I so desire. I hear that you get more out of it if they are read in order, but that certainly isn’t completely necessary to get what is going on and to thoroughly enjoy the books.

Once again we get Bertie getting into all sorts of messes – from having an ex-girlfriend putting an announcement of their engagement in the paper, to being found riffling through a fellow guest’s belongings, to being thrown into a pond by an adorable puppy. Needless to say, there is much of Bertie to laugh at in this book.

That said, however, with Jeeves being absent for a good portion of the book, it didn’t have nearly as much snark as I have come to associate with the Jeeves books – and that, I am sad to say, took away a bit of the enjoyment from this particular story. Alas!

One of the best things about the Jeeves books, in my opinion, is the names of these characters &ndash oh, their names suit the characters so perfectly. I mean, nobody could be a Gussie Fink-Nottle except for Gussie Fink-Nottle. Best names in this installment include a cousin named “Bonzo,” and a butler who has adopted the name “Swordfish.” But of course, this is no ordinary butler – no, it’s Sir Roderick Glossop, whom we’ve met on previous occassions. Oh, I DO love these names.

The Bottom Line

Yet another brilliantly amusing installation of the Jeeves books from P.G. Wodehouse. Can’t wait to read more. Highly recommended!

Other Reviews

Fizzy Thoughts, Semicolon, Let’s Eat Grandpa. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.

The Story

From the back of the book:

Blooded on the battlefields of Canada, fresh from a winter spent with a voluptuous widow, Jack Absolute has every reason to feel good. And life only gets better when the ship returning him to England takes a rich prize.

But gold is not all Jack collects. Fever nearly kills him, and it is only the skill of his new comrade, Red Hugh McClune, which saves his life. The friendship takes him to convalesce in Bath – and into a passionate liaison with the Irishman’s beautiful cousin. But things are not as they seem, tragedy strikes, and Jack escapes with his life but loses something more important to him: his honour.

From an assassination attempt on King George to espionage at the Jacobite Court in Rome, through betrayal, mutiny, cavalry charges and duels, Jack seeks to restore that honour – with a consequence he could not have foreseen, and a price to be paid in blood…

The Response

It seriously took 2/3rds of the book to actually get interesting.

Here are my issues:

1. I want to read about bromance. Not romance. Jack trying to score is not my idea of what makes awesome books.

2. WHERE is Até?!

And yeah, had those two things been remedied within the first five pages, this could have been awesome. Meanwhile, I didn’t even get a GLIMPSE of Até until the last 5 pages of the book. BOO.

This installment in the series only takes place on North America for two or three chapters. Which normally wouldn’t bother me a bit, but considering that the other two take place predominantly on North America and both focus on things that are pretty important in Canadian history, it was a bit of a disappointment that it was pretty much all in the UK. Not that I don’t enjoy books that take place in the UK, but it wasn’t quite what I expected.

The last third of the book were actually quite good – starting from when Jack was being held prisoner in Rome. I just wish that the last third could’ve been the whole book except longer and expanded on and filled with Até.

Did I mention that I miss Até?

The Bottom Line

The first book, The Blooding of Jack Absolute, is awesome. The last one, Jack Absolute, is okay. This one? Skip it – you won’t be missing too much.

Other Reviews

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The Story

From the back of the book:

A most unusual hero
Freddy is immensely rich, of course, and not bad-looking, but he’s mild-mannered, a bit hapless – not anything like his virile, handsome, rakish cousin Jack…

A heroine in a difficult situation
Young Kitty Charing stands to inherit a vast fortune from her irascible and eccentric guardian – provided she marries one of his great-nephews…

A sham betrothal
No sooner does Kitty arrive in London then the race for her hand begins, but between confirmed rakes and bumbling affections, Kitty needs a daring scheme.

The Response

Read this while in England. Figures that just after having a conversation about how much I loved the fact that Heyer’s heroes all happen to be rakes, as opposed to Austen’s books where the rakes never get the girl, that the hero is this one is most certainly 100% NOT a rake and that the guy who doesn’t get the girl is. But it suited this story oh-so-much!

Best part about this book was by far Kitty’s cousin, Lord Dolphinton. He hid in closets when he thought someone was entering the room that he didn’t like. He hid under tables. He was utterly miserable because he was coerced into courting Kitty (even though Kitty had no desire to marry him). Did I mention that he hid in closets?? (Dolph actually reminded me a little bit, in tone, of the wonderful and hilarious Bertie Wooster. And that is a VERY good thing.)

The blossoming romance and love between Kitty and Freddy is definitely a wonderful addition to this book. (Yes, I realize it’s supposed to be the main story, but, really, Dolphinton stole the show.) It’s cute and unlike some stories where the romance sort of pops out at you at the end of the book, you can really see the development of feelings between Kitty and Freddy. It’s so cute!

The Bottom Line

This one was utterly hilarious – one of the more funny of Heyer’s books that I’ve read so far. I feel like I’ve said this about almost every other one of her books that I’ve read, but this is one of my favourite Heyers so far. Highly recommended.

Other Reviews

Dear Author, Becky’s Book Reviews, Genre Reviews, Sassymonkey Reads, S. Krishna’s Books, A Work in Progress. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.

The Story

From the back of the book:

Darcy’s as hot as he is talented…
Fast music, powerful beats, and wild reputations – on and off stage – have made virtuoso guitarist Fitzwilliam Darcy’s band into rock’s newest bad boys. But they’ve lost their latest opening act, and their red-hot summer tour is on the fast track to disaster. Now Darcy and bandmates Charles Bingley and Richard Fitzwilliam are about to meet their match…

But she’s about to rock his world…
Enter Elizabeth Bennet, fiercely independent star of girl-band Long Borne Suffering. Elizabeth, her sister Jane, and friend Charlotte Lucas have talen to spare and jump at the opening band slot. Elizabeth is sure she’s seen the worst the music industry has to offer. But as the days and nights heat up, it becomes clear that everyone is in for a summer to remember.

The Response

Okay. Okay okay okay. So you know when you’re looking for some fanfiction, and you stumble across some really bad stuff and then you find something that seems good in comparison to the really bad stuff, and it’s an AU fic, which you’re okay with because you really love these characters and would really love to see them in a totally different environment from where you fell in love with them originally? And you know when, as you start to read it, you realize that there really should have been more editing for the fic, but it’s still so much better than a lot of other fanfic that you’ve read and you still think the concept is really cool? And you know when you suddenly realize that every single female character in the fic is in actually a Mary Sue and you really don’t think Charlotte Lucas would really ever act like that, and you start wondering whether you should continue reading this? And you know when you finally realize that with everything that you dislike about this book, you simply CANNOT PUT IT DOWN because it’s gotten to the point where it’s actually so cheesy that it’s become actually rather really extremely wonderful and enjoyable to read?

Yeah. Welcome to Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star.

Cheesy, oh so cheesy. But somewhere along the line it became so cheesy that it was good. I wouldn’t have read this if it wasn’t P&P related. Mind you, if I had read it and it wasn’t P&P related, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much. So there’s a bit of a catch 22 for you.

There were some items about the characters in this book (aside from the Mary Sue related characteristics they have) that bothered me – Charlotte Lucas in particular. I was happy, though, that certain things about the P&P story were changed. I had never enjoyed the fact that she ended up stuck with Mr. Collins, so the fact that she actually really fell in love with the person she ended up with in this book was a lot less frustrating to read. That was the biggest change from P&P in this book, however. The rest of the events remained mostly intact – oh wait, except for the whole Mr Wickham ending up with Lydia, thank goodness. Oh gods, his whole dark secret regarding Georgiana seemed a bit more disturbing in this one than it was in P&P. Ick.

Actually, this book reminds me a little bit of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (aside from the P&P adaptation) in the random and insane hijinks that happen. Remember that whole Bridget being falsely accused of smuggling drugs from one country into the other? Oh yes. I do thoroughly love Bridget Jones and so that similarity gave me a bit of a soft spot for this book.

All in all, this ended up being a lot more enjoyable than I had expected from the first few pages. If you do pick it up, make sure you give it a good chance, even though it is rather cheesy. Remember, cheesy can be fun!

The Bottom Line

I wouldn’t have read this if it hadn’t been provided by the publisher. It’s not my favourite Austen adaptation, but it was fun enough. Would recommend to people who are huge chicklit fans.

Other Reviews

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The Story

From the back of the book:

Rank, wealth, and elegance are no match for a young lady who writes novels…

Sylvester, Duke of Salford, has exacting requirements for a bride. Then he encounters Phoebe Marlow, a young lady with literary aspirations, and suddenly life becomes very complicated. She meets none of his criteria, and even worse, she has written a novel that is sweeping through the ton and causing all kinds of gossip… and he’s the main character!

The Response

I rather wish that I had read this before Venetia; it was quite hard for anything to live up to the awesomeness of that one. So while I would’ve loved this on it’s own, reading it after Venetia was slightly disappointing… Not that it wasn’t good, because I did enjoy, it wasn’t AWESOME and the main character wasn’t so LOVABLE and the hero wasn’t quite as DASHING.

That, said, though, it was still good and fun and lovely with everything I love about Heyer books. Also, I have to say that it is quite possible that this was one of the funnier of Heyer’s books that I read. Highly amusing, indeed! The conversations had between Phoebe and Sylvester could be utterly hilarious, and left me laughing quite a bit. Huzzah!

The one thing that I didn’t really believe in this book, though, was how much Phoebe managed to change as a character, though. Quivering and terrified in her home, but then as soon as she leaves it, she’s all giggling and outgoing and making jokes with a Duke and all sorts of stuff she never would’ve done before. Would have liked to see her meet up with her family again to see if the change in her manner, her much greater confidence, were to stick around. She was impulsive and witty and I loved her in the last two thirds of the book, but I can’t see that the two sides of her were really even the same person.

The highlight of this book, for me, was little Edmund. I am going to fully believe that it’s not just because he has the same name as my all-time favourite fictional child brat (Edmund Pevensie), but because he called someone a “ridicklus gudgeon!” He was an utter darling and I adored the dynamics between him and whatever adults happened to be around when he graced the pages. Whether he was a troublemaker, or just homesick for his nurse, he was able to reach out of the pages and tug at my heartstrings.

As far as the Phoebe’s book, well, it drove most of the plot – whether we were talking about her feelings about it, or about how it influences others in the ton once it’s been published. Everything about The Lost Heir, with the dashing Sylvester as the main villain, seemed to me to be very much poking a little fun at the popular novels of the time, and I definitely appreciated that. In this sense, it very much reminded me of how Austen makes fun of gothic novels in Northanger Abbey.

The Bottom Line

Definitely required reading for fans of Regency England! It was cute and there were definitely points where it was laugh out loud funny, and although it was no Venetia, it was still highly enjoyable.

Other Responses

Becky’s Book Reviews, Book Magic, A Work in Progress. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.

The Story

From the back of the book:

Venetia had no guile, and no affectations; she knew the world only by the books she had read; experience had never taught her to doubt the sincerity of anyone who did her a kindness. So when Damerel, seeing the approach of a carriage round a bend in the avenue, strolled out to meet his guest it was neither a wrathful goddess nor a young lady on her dignity who sprang down from the vehicle and gave him both her hands, but a beautiful, ingenuous creature with no consciousness in her frank eyes, but only a glow of warm gratitude…

One of the most beguiling, charming, intelligent, and humorous heroines to grace the Regency period, Venetia ranks among Georgette Heyer’s most unforgettable. Find out for yourself why legions of Heyer fans read the affair of Venetia and the rakish Lord Damerel again and again.

The Response

Oh! This one was wonderful and lovely and perfect! Venetia is one of the most charming characters EVER. She is wonderful and lovely and charming and smart and innocent and hilarious! She’s like a cross between LM Montgomery’s Valancy from The Blue Castle and Anne from Anne of Green Gables. Love love love!

This is the very first of Heyer’s books that have actually made me tear up at one point – I got so sucked into the story that it was impossible not to feel Venetia’s heartbreak when Damerel decided that marrying Venetia would completely ruin her. Oh, it was utterly anguishing.

But thankfully that wasn’t the mood of the entire book. It really was extremely funny! Heyer has some of the wittiest dialogue, and it’s always extremely amusing and diverting to pick up one of her books. Even in the ones that I have found not-as-enjoyable.

And it really wasn’t even just Venetia who is wonderful. All of the characters are amazingly written, even those that make you want to strangle them, like Mr. Yardley. But for the most part, they are all wonderful! I was particularly fond of Venetia’s younger brother, Aubrey, as he was way too involved with his studies to know what on earth was going on most of the time – except when it was obvious to him that Venetia and Damerel were in love and were going to get married.

I have to say, I’m REALLY looking forward to rereading this one again already – is it too soon to do that immediately after finishing it?

The Bottom Line

Loved this one utterly! One of the best of Heyer’s regency books that I’ve read so far! Highly recommended.

Other Reviews

Flight into Fantasy, Becky’s Book Reviews. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.

The Story

From the Chapters website:

Be careful what you wish for. Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the twentieth century to seek a titled husband, beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilts’, suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. Nothing is quite as it seems, however: Ivo is withdrawn and secretive, and the English social scene is full of traps and betrayals. Money, Cora soon learns, cannot buy everything, as she must decide what is truly worth the price in her life and her marriage.

The Response

There’s a blurb on the back of the book that compares this author to Jane Austen and Edith Wharton. I’ve never read Wharton, so I can’t comment on that comparison… but comparing someone to Austen means this author has some mighty big shoes to fill, and this isn’t doing Goodwin justice. If you go into this book expecting to get some Austen, you’ll be disappointed. If you go into it expecting a light, fluffy summer read, you’ll be very happy with what you get out it.

Because that’s what it is. It’s light and fluffy; it’s feel good fiction.

The premise of the story was what caught my eye – the idea of an American girl marrying a British Duke… why, a Duke could be considered close enough to royalty to be a rather distance echo of the recent marriage of the new Duke & Duchess of Cambridge. And while not many of us can ever hope to attain something like that (even though all girls dream, in childhood, of marrying their prince) reading this is reminiscent of that and a way for us to live vicariously through Cora Cash.

Not that Cora Cash is exactly what you would call a normal girl – she’s the richest girl in America, and one of the most beautiful. Not normally what you would find easily empathizable, but Cora is an exception, especially after her marriage to Ivo, Duke of Wareham, when she finds herself completely out of her league. And it’s the journey of Cora learning to adjust to the unknown world of the upper class British society where things really start to get interesting.

The fact that the story was told from a few different perspectives made the characters feel more three-dimensions – specifically Cora. We got to see how she sees herself, how her maid sees her, and how her friends and family see her – and we get to see how she changes and grows into her new role as a duchess through the eyes of everyone around her. Overall, she had charm – not nearly as spoiled or snooty as one would expect from a person in her position.

The relationship between Cora and her husband was certainly the highlight of the book, though. It’s not often that I actually find a whole lot of interest in books where the main characters are already married before the book is half over. Goodwin is able to create tension between her characters that makes you want to shake them both and give them a good talking to, while at the same time making you want to cheer for them both and hope everything works out wonderfully. The fact that Cora and Ivo don’t know each other well before the wedding, as well as the fact that they both come from completely different worlds (England, where tradition and old money rules, versus America, where modernity and new money rules), makes for very interesting dynamics as they learn about each others’ worlds and how to live in them.

While Goodwin was very good at the development of her characters and how they interacted with each other, I was rather disappointed by the voices of the characters – they didn’t speak as if they were from the right time period. It didn’t feel as authentic as it could have, unfortunately. Once I had gotten about a third of the way into the novel, however, I was so caught up with the story that I wasn’t bothered by the language that was being used anymore.

The Bottom Line

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and will be looking forward to reading other books by the author.

Other Reviews

Unabridged Chick, We Be Reading, BookLust. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.

The Story

From the back of the book:

An impetuous young lady and a fugitive nobleman…

When spirited Eustacie stumbles into a band of smugglers, she is delighted to be having an adventure at last. Their leader, young heir Ludovic Lavenham, is in hiding, falsely accused of murder. Pursued by the law, Eustacie and Ludovic find refuge at an unassuming country inn.

And the delightfully sensible couple who try to keep them out of trouble…

The resourceful Miss Sarah Thane and the clear-thinking Sir Tristram Shield gamely endeavor to prevent Ludovic’s arrest and Eustacie’s ruin as the four conspire to recover the missing talisman ring that will clear Ludovic’s name.

The Response

Oh, this is such fun and has become one of my favourite Heyers! Huzzah huzzah! I’ve read 10 or 11 now of her regency novels now.

I think what I liked best about all of these were all of these hijinks that the characters were involved in – especially the two main females, both of whom were so longing for adventures.

It was a little unusual that two of the characters got hooked up and both realize they are in love half way through the novel, though. I’ve seen where one knows they are in love and the other one doesn’t. And I’ve heard that there are ones where both know they are in love but doesn’t think the other loves them back… But I haven’t seen declarations of love half way through the novels before – does that happen in others of her novels? I do have to admit though, that I much preferred the love story between Shield and Sarah than to the one between Eustacie and Ludovic. I like it when it’s drawn out and the characters don’t know they’re in love until the last few pages of the book.

In all honesty, I didn’t particularly like Eustacie and Ludovic at all actually. She’s a little bit of a flake, and he’s… well, I think they will end up going on lots of exciting adventures, but will need Shield to bail them out constantly. Hmm.

The character growth of Shield though, was wonderful. Oh, he hated women and had very little sense of humour at the beginning, but Sarah’s hijinks and whatnot totally grew on him and made him realize that hijinks are good and wonderful stuff such as that. Oh lovely!

Beau, the villain, was a little disappointing though. Very much a fop, but I just don’t feel like he would be smart enough to be a bad guy. Boo to him!

All in all, though, this was so so so much fun and I loved it and yay I love Shield and now I want to go on an adventure!!

The Bottom Line

So much fun – one of the best of Heyer’s that I’ve read! Love love love love love! Hijinks! Humour! Romance! Adventure! All the best fun! Highly recommended!

Other Reviews

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The Story

From the back of the book:

In Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, the feather-brained Bertie Wooster complicates his life by interceding with the predatory Madeline Bassett on behalf of his friend Gussie Fink-Nottle and finds himself entangled in terrifying misunderstandings. In the mounting storm clouds of the Wooster horizon there is but one ray of comfort – the presence of Jeeves, steadfast and reassuring. No cause has ever been lost while Jeeves was around, and in this uproarious novel his mastermind rises effortlessly to the occasion.

The Response

Oh Bertie, Bertie, Bertie. You do have quite the habit of getting yourself into all kinds of scrapes, don’t you? What on earth would you do without Jeeves to bail you out all the time? Oh, goodness, it would be utter chaos!

Without a doubt, the highlight of this book is definitely the relationship between Jeeves and Bertie Wooster – or rather the utter and complete dependance that Bertie has on Jeeves. While we can rest assured that Jeeves would survive in someone else’s employ, we are left with the impression that Bertie would end up married to a half a dozen women, and probably blubbering in the corner of a jail cell due to some grave misunderstanding, if he were without Jeeves for an extremely extended period of time. And that’s not something I would particularly like to see. I have to admit that I am extremely fond of seeing how affronted Bertie gets at Jeeves before having Jeeves explain to him that he really is helping Bertie out of some insane circumstance.

Oddly enough, the only other Jeeves book that I’ve read is Right Ho, Jeeves, which also had a whole lot of focus on the relationship between Gussie Fink-Nottle and Madeline Bassett – in that one, Gussie wanted Bertie’s help to woo Madeline Bassett, whereas in this one they’re having extreme relationship issues and Bertie is determined to keep them together (in the fear that he would have to marry Miss Bassett if the two were to split). It led to a good sense of continuity, I felt, even though that one was written mid-way through the series, and this one near the end.

(Yes, this was one of the last of the Jeeves books that were written, and if I was reading them in order, that would make me quite sad. Thankfully, that is not the case!)

I definitely enjoyed reading Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves though really wish some of the secondary characters had a bit more time in the spotlight – especially Gussie Fink-Nottle. I do quite like him a lot… though I think that like might just stem from the fact that he has one of the worst names in the history of bad names.

The Bottom Line

Highly recommended to people who really enjoy a good comedy of manners. Am looking forward to reading more J&W books.

Other Reviews

The Grim Reader, Worthwhile Books. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.