Sorcery & Cecelia (Or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot) by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

The Blurb On The Back:

Dear Reader,

A great deal is happening in London this Season.

For starters, there’s the witch who tried to poison Kate at the Royal College of Wizards. She must have mistaken Kate for the Mysterious Marquis (which is curious, since they look nothing alike). And a handsome man seems to be spying on Cecelia, though he’s not doing a very good job of it – so just what are his intentions?

Then there’s the strange spell that has made our friend Dorothea the toast of the town. Could it possibly have something to do with the charm-bag under Oliver’s bed? (Speaking of Oliver, how long can we make excuses for him? Ever since he was turned into a tree, he hasn’t bothered to tell anyone where he is.)

Clearly, magic is a deadly and dangerous business. And we might be in fear for our lives … if only we weren’t having so much fun!

Love,
Cecy and Kate

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer’s YA/crossover fantasy epistolary novel is a mix of Georgette Heyer and Diana Wynne Jones. Although the authors clearly have a lot of fun with the story (which developed as a writing game), the pace really sags at times and the plot struggles to come together while the period references are heavy handed at times (particularly the references to Byron and the Prince Regent). I also had a problem in visualising Cecy and Kate as we’re not given a lot of information about them and their characters are largely interchangeable (both are sparky, intelligent and forthright and prone to getting into trouble). The romance element is predictable and the male protagonists underdeveloped, while the antagonists are fairly stock characters. That said there are some amusing moments and I enjoyed the fact that the two girls stand up to their love interests and call them on poor behaviour. I’m not sure that I’d rush to read the sequel to this but I’d definitely check out each of the authors’ other works.

Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes

The Blurb On The Back:

He’s lying on his side, his legs pulled up, eyes closed, face serene.

The recovery position.

Only he’s never going to recover.

Detective Gabi Versado has hunted down many monsters during her eight years in Homicide. She’s seen stupidity, corruption and just plain badness. But she’s never seen anything like this.

Clayton Broom is a failed artist, and a broken man. Life destroyed his plans, so he’s found new dreams – of flesh and bone made disturbingly, beautifully real.

Detroit is the decaying corpse of the American Dream. Motor-city. Murder-city. And home to a killer who wants to make you whole again …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Lauren Beukes’s horror thriller evocatively captures modern-day Detroit and modern technology but the horror elements felt under-developed and lack explanation, which I found a little frustrating. In addition, many of the point of view characters barely rise above stock characters – particularly Jonno who ticks many of the cliché boxes for bloggers and journalists. I liked Gabi’s 15-year-old-daughter Layla, a bright girl who’s a little off-kilter but her catfish storyline didn’t grab me and didn’t go anywhere and some elements (particularly a scene involving the need to retrieve a bullet) defied logic and credibility. Ultimately, it’s an okay read with a good pace that kept me turning the pages and while it didn’t quite come good for me I would always check out Beukes’s other work.