Random Magic, by Sasha Soren- Review, Blog Hop and re-cap of guest post!

Of late the thump of books coming through my mail slot has become a very frequent and delightful sound. I love three things above all else as worldly pleasures, cats, books and food, so naturally surprise packages of books (who doesn't love real mail after all?) are the highlight of my afternoons.

So imagine my surprise when one of these packages opened up to this! This was not just a book delivery but an experience. As I unwound wrapping paper and iridescent tinsel I have to say I was strongly reminded of the packages I used to send and receive with my good university friends when I was back home in Saskatoon and they were spread about in Ontario. It came complete with a fun letter, tea, chocolate, a rubber ducky a book mark and as I started to read a feather stuck between the pages. Each piece was tied into the story in some way, and it felt like part of the pleasure was discovering what each things purpose was.

The package, of course, contained Sasha Soren's Random Magic. And the minute I finished the never ending Tommyknockers I pulled it off my shelf and sunk my teeth into it.

I've posted the description a couple of times, but roughly it's the story of Henry, who goes on a quest to find Alice (as in from Wonderland) after she is accidentally shifted from her story. Henry meets Winnie, a beginners witch and they set off on a mammoth adventure in which they have a very great deal of bad luck and meet the most astounding number of folks, whatwolves, vampires, muses, witches and more.

I was immediately sucked in and have to admit that the first day I read half of the book and barely put it down. It has a whimsy reminiscent of Terry Gilliam and Diana Wynn Jones mixed together, and a voice quite a bit unlike any I've heard before. Henry and Winnie were both very love able and the various characters they run into interesting and enjoyable. It has a rapid pace, with lots of break points which makes for a really smooth read, and gives you ample places for pee breaks from the tea you're quite inevitably going to find yourself drinking. If only because everyone in the story so frequently are.

An enchanting read, I highly recommend it for your next reading sit in (rainy afternoons anyone? snowy ones coming soon!).

Random Magic, By Sasha Soren
Published by Beach Books, LLC, January 2010

Now if you haven't already checked it out, have a look at Sasha Soren's guest post for Giving me the Creeps October, Crafty Dames: Famous Witches.  Also make sure to check out the song hop and the daily posts until November 2nd for the Random Magic Blog Hop!

Tour organization: Lyrika Publicis

Tour prizes coordinator: @LaFemmeReaders
Contact the tour: @RandomMagicTour
Win something wicked:
Gift-wrapped first edition, Random Magic
Cute wicked witch rag doll (Mme. Alexander collectible)

Song Hop, October 24th
Well-Read Reviews
http://twitter.com/wellreadreviews

Elbit Blog
http://twitter.com/merigreenleaf
Cerebrate’s Contemplations
http://twitter.com/cerebrate

A Reader’s Adventure
Twitter: n/a

 La Femme Readers
Twitter@LaFemmeReaders
StoryWings
mailto:http://twitter.com/storywings
What Book Is That?
http://twitter.com/heynocupcake
Daily Blog features from now until November!
Oct. 26
Daisy Chain Book Reviews
http://twitter.com/daisychainbooks
Feature (incl. excerpt): ‘Haunting Places: Ireland’s Spookiest Castles’

Oct. 27
Escape Between the Pages
http://twitter.com/LoriAtEBTP
Review
Feature (incl. excerpt): ‘Bell, Book and Candle: A Modern Witch’s Toolkit’

Oct. 28
La Femme Readers
http://twitter.com/lafemmereaders
Feature (incl. pix gallery): ‘Casting Random Magic’
Tour treasures: Win something wicked!
Gift-wrapped first edition,Random Magic or Cute wicked witch rag doll (Mme. Alexander collectible)
Oct. 29
Spellbound by Books
http://twitter.com/Meeka_21
Review
Related event: Spellbound by Books’ Spookfest  (‘Here Be Vampires,’ incl. excerpt)
Related event: WORD for Teens’ Book Spooks (http://tinyurl.com/2flkayp) (‘Haunted Places,’ incl. excerpt)

Oct. 30
Bewitched Bookworms
http://twitter.com/BwitchedBkworms
Review (dual review): 'Chatting Over The Cauldron: Random Magic
Oct. 31
StoryWings
http://twitter.com/storywings
Review
Feature: A love spell!
Related event: vvb32’s Trix-‘n’Treatz
(‘Vamps!,’ incl. excerpt, feature film)

Nov. 2 (All Souls’ Day)
Electrifying Reviews
http://twitter.com/ABennettBooks
Review (vlog)
Feature: November's Unearthly Rites: Day of the Dead
Related content: Electrifying Reviews' video channel