More exciting news for those who can or will be near NYC for March Break!

On March 14th, Rick Riordan will be at the Met in NYC, talking about Percy Jackson and Greek Mythology! According to his blog it will be his only appearance until the release of the Red Pyramid in May.

The Met is running an awesome sounding program geared around Greek Mythology, and the tickets to hear Rick speaking are only 15$.

Also, don't forget that March break is also the NYC teen author festival, some new times and events have been added to the list, so make sure to check it out!

My first guest Blog!

While perusing the Book-blogosphere, I ran into a book reading challenge that I can sink my teeth into. Started by Chelle of Tempting Persephone, Pursuing the Lioness is a challenge aimed at reading some or as many of Tamora Pierce's large list of published works as you can or want to.

Wellllll, seeing as the Lioness Quartet were some of my first absolute favorite books (outside of Grover's the Monster at the end of this Book), I most definitely had to join up one way or the other.
Unfortunately I had a Tamora Pierce rediscovery last summer and read all of her books except for 6 of them (including re-reading my beloved Alanna Stories). So I'm going to use this challenge as an excuse to finally get to those last six books I've missed and to re-read a couple of my especial favorites.

I'm also going to share my Tamora Pierce love affair in a guest post for Tempting Persephone, watch for it in the first couple of weeks in March!

For another great bloggers Alanna reminiscence, check out Persnickety Snark.

Fablehaven, Grip of the Shadow Plague

My Immediate reaction when I finished this book last night?? ACK! Why isn't chapters open RIGHT NOW! Oh sure, I had big intentions of just ordering the fourth book with the fifth book when Keys to the Demon Prison releases on March 23rd, from Amazon... you know, a nice big box of books for home delivery.
Hardy, Har, Har.
Thank god for Irewards and an Indigo three blocks from work, is all I can say, yah and hour long lunch breaks to get there on. Now how I'll make it through March waiting for book 5 remains to be seen, but right now I have another blissful 544 pages to keep me busy until the weekend (hopefully!), so I just have to focus on that, until it's done of course. Yes, yes, I can tell already that March will be the month of pining.

Grip of the Shadow Plague , picks up just a little later in the same summer in which The Rise of the Evening Star left off. Seth is busy trading batteries with Newel and Doren for treasure and Kendra is still brooding over Vanessa's revelation at the end of book 2. Tanu, Warren and Coulter have been abroad looking into the possibilities she's suggested, but have returned with unlooked for news. The Knights of the Dawn are meeting, and Kendra's been asked to join them.

Book three really encompasses a huge amount of story. There's an adventure through another secret preserve called Lost Mesa, plus the latest crisis at Fablehaven, not to mention half a dozen great surprise revelations. At this point I'm so enamoured of the characters that I wish Seth was my little brother, especially when he's being particularly difficult- like liping off to dangerous Centaurs, or gripping about his lack of excitement on a preserve full of crazy magical creatures.

"If you guys fought another three-headed flying panther, you're going to have to buy me antidepressants"
"Nope," Kendra said. "Just a dragon"..."I got to help feed zombies."
Seth paled. " You fed zombies," he whispered in awe. He hit the side of his leg with his fist. "Why do you torture me like this! You probably didn't even like it!"
"I didn't," Kendra admitted...
"You did converse with an ancient and powerful demon," Grandpa reminded him.
"I know, which was so cool, but she won't even care," Seth complained. "She'll just be glad it wasn't her. The only thing that would make her jealous would be if I led a parade riding a unicorn while ballerinas sang love songs."
"Don't try to pin your secret dreams on me," Kendra said with a smirk.
Am I going too far if I guarantee you'll love this book? Maybe (but I doubt it), so instead let me say that if you liked book one or two even an itty bitty bit...you're going to LOVE this book. And do me a favor, avoid my idiot repeat mistake, have Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary ready to go.

Fablehaven Grip of the Shadow Plague , by Brandon Mull
Published by Aladdin Books, March 2009

Fablehaven, Rise of the Evening Star Review

So Seth and Kendra's lives are just getting more and more interesting, which generally means more dangerous as well, but dangerous equals fun right?

An incident at school, involving a crazy teacher and a Kobold (don't you just hate it when that happens?), makes it apparent that they need to head back to the safety of Fablehaven. Upon arrival they discover the preserve is abuzz. After the previous summers near catastrophe, it has been decided that the secret artifact needs to move, since obviously the preserve is no longer secret, so neither is the artifact. But the artifacts "identity" isn't the only secret...so is the location, not to mention the security surrounding it.

Because of all the mystery, three talented individuals have been recommended to the Sorensons to help. They all seem like great people, until things start to go wrong.

Between the frienemies and the everyday dangers of Fablehaven, Seth and Kendra (especially Seth) are in for another rough visit to their grandparents.

This series just keeps getting better and better as Brandon Mull stretches his wings and starts to make this series soar. Now that the ground work is laid we're free to run around the preserve and have unabashed fun with the creatures there, and the greater picture is taking on a complex pattern that's particularly delicious.
Trust me on this one,have book three (Grip of the Shadow Plague) on hand, or be prepared for some serious fablehaven withdrawal.

Fablehaven, Rise of the Evening Star, by Brandon Mull
Published by Aladdin Books, May 2007

City of Fallen Angels Chapter titles!

So Cassandra Clare has posted the City of Fallen Angels Chapter titles with brief little descriptions of their meanings....and they're goodies!
Think of it as the bread crumbs leading to both the September release of A Clockwork Angel and the following March release of City of Fallen Angels.

Would you drink the milk?

Growing up my grandparents had a house overlooking an idylic lake in northern Saskatchewan. Their front yard was a beach and their back yard was an enormous vegtable garden. We had a playhouse with bunk beds, where we spent a lot of our nights, and spent afternoons floating around in the lake or exploring the woods. It was heavenly.

On their first ever visit, Kendra and Seth have discovered that their reclusive Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson have a similarly idylic home. The difference between their grandparents and mine? Turns out theirs are caretakers of a preserve for magical creatures, good and bad, one of 5 secret fablehavens across the world. Geez, and I alwasy thought my grandparents had it all!

As exciting and enticeing as it would seem, the grounds are full of risks, and it's no small feat to keep two young kids from running into trouble. Their Grandpa Sorenson's warnings do nothing but entice Seth, although Kendra is carefull to follow the rules. Needless to say this leads them into a great deal of trouble,and you have to wonder... can one 13 yearold and one 11 yearold salvage the situation?

This series is garnering a lot of "the next Harry Potter" in reviews and commentary (as if every book of any note hasn't been called that since Harry Potter started it's long launch into the stratosphere of reading). But honestly, Harry Potter has a very special place in literature for me, and this certainly doesn't qualify as the "next Harry Potter" in my eyes, likely nothing ever will. That being said I'm really enjoying the series, I've already torn most of the way through the second book, Rise of the Evening Star, and am eagerly anticipating the March 23rd release of the fifth book.

Sisters Grimm, and not just because it's siblings with a Grandparent subsisting in the middle of a fabled environment. But the spirit is the same, lots of adventure and mystery, an evil group trying to take over, and the joys and horrors growing up in the middle of stuff most kids spend their entire childhood wishing for.

I adore the Sisters Grimm, and I have to say that Fablehaven
is fast becoming a favorite as well.

Fablehaven,by Brandon Mull
Published by Aladdin, April 2007

" If I have to tie you up and sit on you until this insane whim of yours passes, you are not going to Idris."

Ah, how the best laid plans go asunder. I suppose it's safe to say that obviously, everyone ends up in Idris for this, the third book in The Mortal Instruments series. It changes the feel of the series in a way but has a very nice flavour in and of itself.

Originally this was the final part in what was planned as a trilogy. But in August Cassandra Clare announced that there would be a fourth book, City of Fallen Angels. It's hard to say without reading the last book, but currently City of Glass nicely ends the story arc for me, so don't let the March 2011 release date of the fourth book put you off reading the series.

I can't say much about this book without giving stuff away, suffice it to say that the issues between Jace and Clary continue, Simon is struggling with his "life" change as an uninvited guest in Idiris, and the only city safe from demons isn't, at least not while Valentine has it in his sights.

I have to say I'm a stickler for endings in any book series; so many authors build up to such lack luster endings. And since J.K Rowling came along, I have had the most absurd standards that I tend to hold authors too. Cassandra Clare has made the cut with these first three books. The big climax was very satisfying, and her image of angels was as creepy as it was enthralling (super nice touch!). Obviously she put a lot of serious thought and planning into the series and it really shows.

The best part for those of us who loved the books, it has a sister series The Infernal Devices, releasing on September 7th, 2010 (yup that's right, exactly 2 weeks from Mockingjay's release! boy oh boy!!). Although it takes place in Victorian England, Cassandra has mentioned that Magnus will be part of the cast!! Parts of the ending to City of Glass have what looks like references to characters probably in this sister series and Cassandra Clare has said that although the Infernal Devices is it's own series it does interlink with The Mortal Instruments series. All in all this looks like it's shaping into a really great franchise of books.

City of Glass, By Cassandra Clare
Published by McElderry Books, March 2009

For more reviews of this book, visit:
Book Nerds
The Story Siren
Persnickety Snark
Books By Their Cover *be aware, HUGE spoilers on this review

The third Hunger Games book gets a title and a cover!

So I'm not the early bird on this news, alas it is 7 days old! Which in Internet speak makes it virtual ancient history (which really was one of my favorite subjects, by the by). But I'm so insanely excited I HAD to pass it on.

Both the cover art and the title to the Third and final Hunger Games book has been announced!! And without further ado... here it is!!



And if you've read the first two you can recognize what a beautiful title Mockingjay is. Lets hope Suzanne Collins is of that wonderful group of writers who writes finely outlined books with masterful endings. So far it has certainly seemed to be the case.
I think I might just wish my life away until the August 24th release date.... cross your fingers for a midnight release!

Linger Contest...my first Advanced Reader Contest!!

Alrighty folks, so i'm posting this in my first ever attempt to get an "ACR" (book blogging lingo for Advanced Reader Copy), which would be super, unbelievably, uber cool and fantastic! I must admit, i've picked Shiver up a few time and have been thinking of reading it due to the large volume of people reading it raptly in the subway station (always a good sign). Also it has a great cover.
So keep your fingers crossed.

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other.  Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack.  And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.

Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.

Enter to win an advanced review copies of LINGER, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie's blog.

For the Percy Jackson lovers out there.

So this weekend marked the movie launch of the very popular and uber cool Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Now I have serious doubts about the movie, the dude they cast as Percy is too cool and too old, but I'll still check it out, if for no other reason then to complain about it later.



Buuuuttttt, in much more exciting Percy Jackson news.................
You can now read the first chapter of Rick Riordan's next god complicating series, The Kane Chronicles, on the razzmatazz Disney site. It's releasing May 4th of this year, and promises to be another awesome storytelling adventure.

First chapters can be notoriously vague, but this is a goodie. And lets face it, the pet cat showed up in the first few pages, always a good sign. But the mysterious circumstances, the separated siblings, and the possible paranormal weirdness, all make for good indications of another slam dunk for Rick Riordan.

If the new series isn't the news you were hoping for when i mentioned for Percy Jackson lovers....than Ricks latest Blog post will be the news you're looking for. Yes he has started the spin off Olympians series that was promised back in the brouhaha surrounding The Last Olympian. Apparently he's nearing the end of the revisions for book one and hoping to get it to his editors in three weeks (he said that on the 11th). So cross your fingers and we might just get a nice September surprise! Go Camp Half-Blood!

The Kane Chronicles, The Red Pyramid, By Rick Riordan
Published by: Hyperion Books, May 4th, 2010

The Sweet Finish....

Valentines day seems a good day to post my review of the final part of the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman series, These Three Remain. If for no other reason then its the one where he eventually gets the girl.
But boy oh boy, talk about having to jump some real hurdles before scoring her!

This book didn't disappoint, which is nice since it's where the most fundamental pieces of the Pride and Prejudice  story happen. The first proposal, and refusal, the visit to Pemberley, the Lydia drama, and the reuniting of the now happy couples.

Pamela Aidan did such a fantastic job of the reflected pieces of the original drama. To read Darcy's experience of the first proposal, was no less captivating and enjoyable then the original, and in some ways just as surprising (in it's own way).

One of the most gratifying scenes is his drunken confession of the whole debacle to his friend Dyfed. The first moment he begins to realize, with Dy's help, that perhaps listing Elizabeth's short comings and familial faults wasn't the best way to couch a marriage proposal, is truly enjoyable.

Word on the street is that Pamela Aidan is continuing on with her story of Darcy. I'm not sure that I require more, but I do love the new characters she's created for the Gentleman series and would gladly learn more about them. Maybe at some point she'll branch off and create a series for Dyfed, or perhaps for the underused character of Darcy's sister Georgianna.

One way or another, she's written a lovely spin off for Pride and Prejudice  lovers. A highly recommended Valentines read.

These Three Remain: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman, By Pamela Aidan
Publishe by Touchstone, January 2007

Coolest of the cool

So my good friend Mel, over at The Coma Girl Designs, sent me the link to these fabulous MacBook Cases a couple of weeks ago...AND I JUST CAN'T STOP THINKING OF THEM!!!

What more can a prolifc reader want than to pretend her MacBook is some fab hardcover book? They're hand distressed so no two are exactly alike, and the leather is "hardcover" to protect your laptop. Anyhow, I figured if I want one so bad, you might too!

Send the gift buyers in your life over to Twelve South, and you might just land one before I do!

"Other crack teams get bat boomerangs and wall-climbing powers; we get Aquatruck"

Gack! Give away of the century!! That's right folks, this story turns X-men right away, right down to the old school yellow and black unitards (notice how much that word looks like retard? I'm just saying that maybe it suggests a little something about adding one to your wardrobe). But seriously... I'm just pulling your leg, there is an aquatruck, but Magnus is running it so it's still super hip and cool, a la Shadowhunter/downworlder.

Book two of The Mortal Instruments, does not suffer the lull that middle books can often fall into in a three parter. Just like book one, City of Ashes  is a fast paced, breathlessly exciting read. With more daemons, more shocking discoveries, and of course that nasty little love triangle which has gotten oh, so awkward in light of Valentines news at the end of City of Bones .

Alec and Isabelle's parent's and younger brother Max have returned, but not with good news. The Inquisitor is fast on their heels, and she's as bad as her name suggests, zeroing on Jace in the most unpleasant manner. Things have gone from bad to disaster at an alarming rate and Clary is going to have to pull her weight amongst the shadowhunters and downworlds if the people she cares about are going to survive Valentines machinations.

If you even remotely enjoyed book one of the series, City of Bones , you'll love City of Ashes . And I feel compelled to say, there is an absolutely bone chilling incident in the the actual city of bones in this book that still creeps me out a little. Make sure you have book three on hand way before you'll think you need it; you'll be shocked how quickly you work you're way through the 496 pages.

In keeping with my first post I'm also including some great quotes from the book, just for your giggling pleasure.

"'I don't want to be a man,' said Jace. 'I want to be an angst-ridden teenager who can't confront his own inner demons and takes it out verbally on other people instead.'"


"‘Well, I’m not kissing the mundane,’ said Jace. ‘I’d rather stay down here and rot.’
‘Forever?’ said Simon. ‘Forever’s an awfully long time.’
Jace raised his eyebrows. ‘I knew it,’ he said. ‘You want to kiss me, don’t you?’"


""You Might want to lie down," Magnus advised. "I find that it helps when the crushing sense of horrible realization sets in.""


""How did you get Magnus to let Jace leave?"
"Traded him for Alec," Clary said.
Isabelle looked mildly alarmed. "Not permanently?"
"No," said Jace. "Just for a few hours. Unless I don't come back," he added thoughtfully. "In which case, maybe he does get to keep Alec. Think of it as a lease with an option to buy."
Isabelle looked dubious. "Mom and Dad won't be pleased if they find out."
"That you freed a possible criminal by trading away your brother to a warlock who looks like a gay Sonic the Hedgehog and dresses like the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?" Simon inquired. "No, probably not.""

City of Ashes , by Cassandra Clare
Published by McElderry, March 2009

For more reviews of this book, visit:
Book Nerds
The Story Siren

The Greatest Comic Strip Ever...

Someone online alerted be to the fact that today is the 15th anniversary of the end of the Calvin and Hobbes strip. And it made me a little sad, I have to say.

Until I read one of the cartoons, and then my day was made...just like it always has been with that little punk and his tiger.

One of the only thing in the world that will get me out of a bad mood or make me laugh and/or smile no matter what is the good old Calvin and Hobbes, everytime. And that has been the case since I was first introduced to the strip at the tender age of 8 (incidentally, one year after it got picked up, though how I came upon it in Saskatoon, Saskatchwan so quickly is beyond me). Like many I was horrified when I heard Bill Waterson was bringing it to a close, though I vividly remember my friends being more upset about the end of the Farside cartoon (which happened at the same time) and being very insulted over the whole thing.

Nowadays I share my love of Calvin and Hobbes with my husband, who'd turned into a rabid fan by my gentle insistence, and who now claims he wants The Complete Calvin and Hobbes more than I do. As if.

The Clevland post has done an article about the anniversary, which includes some early strips as well as a classic Bill Waterson interview, reputed to be his first in many, many years. Obviously I now have to plan a trip to the states this summer, if for no other reason then to stock up on Calvin and Hobbes Stamps. If I could use american postage I might have bought a life time supply!

Book two of the Fitzwilliam Darcy, A Gentleman Series.

In 2nd year university all the interesting course's started to open up to me, and with great excitement I took a Gothic Literature course. I took a Philosophy course, as well, which unfortunately did not go as well as the Gothic class (yes, my coffee table exists, I don't question it because I was the one who went to IKEA and bought it! So lets stop wasting our time on debating it's existence...sigh, what a waste of a term!!)

Considered sensational reading, and generally frowned upon in the 1800's (like all novels), they were still very popular and even today people generally know the names of the BIG ones like The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, and of course the most famous one, by modern pop culture standards,Frankenstein  by Mary Shelley. Jane Austen herself has a Gothic parody that is well known to her fans, Northanger Abbey (Vintage Classics).

Pamela Aidan has written her second book in the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman , series in the Gothic style. In a Q & A I read with her she mentions the book is "a tribute to Northanger Abbey " but since it doesn't at all parody the genre I would say this book falls nicely into the modern Gothic category which is often summed up with mystery, fainting women, a dangerous romance, old castles or abbeys with hidden passageways, and of course ancestral curses (which were biggies).

Darcy is finding himself still badly distracted by the thought of Elizabeth and decides that he must actively look for the woman to usurp her and make his wife, thereby performing his "Duty" to his family and name. This means social engagements with school chums, and vying debutantes of his social class, of which he's become completely put off by in his years out in the social hub bub of London.

Bringing him to his visit to Norwycke Castle.

The party turns out to be a social diorama including seven women and six gentlemen (other than himself), largely all fishing in the social sea for a "good catch" in the marriage market. Additionally the host is quickly on the way to a stupendous bankruptcy, there's a pervading mystery, a mob, and a dangerously beautiful woman who may be exactly what Darcy needs to forget Miss Bennett.

Throw in his funny and far too perceptive valet Fletcher, and you'll fly through this book. Make sure you have book three on hand, as you'll be impatient to start the final part... however will Darcy deal with the failure of his first marriage proposal??!

Duty and Desire: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman , By Pamela Aidan
Published by: Touchstone, October 2006

Shadowhunters: Looking Better in Black Than the Widows of our Enemies Since 1234

If I made a list of books that I reluctantly started and then fell madly in love with, it would be huge. Jacket descriptions often do a book absolutely no justice, and cover art can be humiliating to carry or just plain bad (do I hear movie covers anyone??).
Often, I find myself lured by recommendations from authors I enjoy, which is how I ended up reading the The Mortal Instruments.

Although I probably would have stumbled upon City of Bones on my own very easily (the series has become huge), I actually heard of it first through Stephanie Meyer (author of The Twilight Saga , but if you didn't know that then where in heavens name have you been the past few years??). Just Prior to the release of the third book, she announced how excited she was to finally be able to read the third book of one of her favorite series; and that's when I started paying attention.

I picked it up several times between March and September of last year, and every time I would read the jacket description, be totally uninspired and put it back down again. Finally in early October I started running really low on good YA reading and picked it up in a sale at Zellers.
I prevaricated, I almost bought the first two in one trip, but they were big (512 pages), and i figured the first one alone could hold me over the week or so before I found myself back up there.
Boy was I wrong.
A few days later I was gleefully heading up at 8pm to pick it up after dinner, talking my husband into the walk by promising a latte on the way.

The story is my favorite type, epic battle fantasy, with a really terrific bad guy. And who doesn't love a detestable bad guy? It has the requisite love interest but Cassandra Clare gives it an excellent twist which leaves you feeling just a mite dirty at the end. But one of the best parts? It's lippy teens prancing New York City like the black clad bad ass you always wanted to be. The fact that they fight daemons just adds to the cool factor.

A brief synopsis? Girl meets odd threesome of teens, girl ends up hanging with odd threesome after home life becomes horribly disrupted. Girls best friend joins the crew, and then girls life as she knows it becomes irrevocably changed. Cliff hanger.. the end of book one. OK so there's some really great stuff in between as well, but I don't want to ruin it for you.

Word to the wise, though Cassandra Clare has a really great site, and there's tonnes of online info about the books etc., DO NOT READ ANY OF IT! Full of spoilers! Rife with them in fact, and nobody gives the polite little warnings before hand either. Cassandra Clare has built a three book story arc full of surprises, don't ruin it by stumbling on casual references to how when so and so, does such and such, blah, blah, blah.
But if you were never one for surprises, the type who always found out what your Christmas presents were before opening, then be my guest. Like I say, she has a great site!

Since one of my favorite parts of this book was how it was exciting, as well as funny, I thought I would leave you with some humorous quotes that i enjoyed. Seriously...you need to read this series.


"'Don't tell me,' Jace said,'Simon's turned himself into an ocelot and you want me to do something about it before Isabelle makes him into a stole. Well, you'll have have to wait till tomorrow. I'm out of commission.' He pointed at himself-he was wearing blue pajamas with a hole in the sleeve.'Look. Jammies.'

"'It wouldn't be my move,' Jace agreed. 'First the candy and flowers, then the apology letters, then the ravenous demon hordes. In that order.' "


""I have a high pain threshold. In fact, it's more of a large and tastefully decorated foyer than a threshold. But I do get easily bored"

" "Is there some particular reason that you're here?"...
"Not this again."
"Not what again?" said Clary.
"Every time I annoy him, he retreats into his No Mundanes Allowed tree house." Simon pointed at Jace."

"'Hello' is girly," he informed her. "Real men are terse. Laconic."
"So the more manly you are, the less you say?"
"Right." Simon nodded..."That's why when major badasses greet each other in movies, they don't say anything. They just nod. The nod means, 'I am a badass, and I recognize that you, too, are a badass,' but they don't say anything because they're Wolverine and Magneto and it would mess up their vibe to explain."

"Clary: "Don't stop there. I suppose there are also, what, vampires and werewolves and zombies?"
Jace: "Of course there are. Although you mostly find zombies farther south, where the voudun priests are."
Clary: "What about mummies? Do they only hang around Egypt?"
Jace: "Don't be ridiculous. No one believes in mummies.""

""Don't order any of the faerie food," said Jace, looking at her over the top of his menu. "It tends to make humans a little crazy. One minute you're munching a faerie plum, the next minute you're running naked down Madison Avenue with antlers on your head. Not," he added hastily, "that this has ever happened to me.""

City of Bones, The Mortal Instruments, By Cassandra Clare
Published by: McElderry, February , 2008

For more reviews of this book, visit:
Book Nerds
The Story Siren
Books By Their Covers

And the Austen craze continues!

You know how it is. You pick up a genre of book, read it, love it, want more of it, and pretty soon you're on a full blow Austen craze! Or at least, that's where I'm finding myself right now.

So to fulfil that need I've branched out into the world of fan fiction, with An Assembly Such as This: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman ; by Pamela Aidan. Now in High School I labored through Wuthering Heights (which i loathed), and for some strange reason then felt compelled to read The Story of Heathcliff's Journey Back to Wuthering Heights, which is also a foray into published fan fiction. Obviously since it was the same characters and story line, just continued...i loathed it too. Why that was surprising is a mystery to me these days, but so was my dogged reading of Wuthering Heights even though every few pages it put me to sleep.

Seeing how this series is based on a story I love, it had better odds of agreeing with me. And agree it did. Who doesn't love hearing the point of view of the love interest in their favorite love story after all? And this is what the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman , series is; an in depth look of his side of the story, fleshing out all his time away from Elizabeth into its own new story.

An Assembly such as This, is the first book in the trilogy, so Pamela has fleshed out Darcy's story considerably, book one covers all the ground in Hertfordshire up until his and Bingleys sudden leaving and then follows them through to Christmas which Darcy spends at Pemberley with his sister Georgiana and his Cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam and his family.

Pamela's Darcy is very much Colin Firth's version from the BBC mini series, very up tight and awkward, stern and completely at a loss whenever he's presented with Elizabeth's wit. He's so absolutely wound up in his station and what's appropriate for a gentleman that he's willing to deny the hopeless and desperate love he's been taken by unawares. Although this makes him somewhat temperamental he's beloved by his servants, Georgiana, Bingley and the rest of his acquaintances. And it's their continual hints of being very aware he has fallen in love with Elizabeth Bennett, which so disconcert and confuse him, that made me soften to him. Well that and Trafalgar, his troublemaking and very eager young hunting dog.

As a history buff though, one of my favorite aspects of this book is the historical components that she touches upon, but which Austen doesn't go into as they were just an everyday part of her and her readers life. The Regency was a very colorful time, especially in the upper classes, and Pamela Aidan gives us a lot of fun peeks at some of the more vibrant and over the top people of the time as well as events. My favorite is a ball of Lady Melbournes (towards the end of the book), in which Pamela manages to touch on the Prince Regents opulent parties, Lady Caroline Lambs prancing with Lord Byron, and the scandal that was the Waltz at that time period...all in just a few pages.

All and all this has been a fun read, and I'm thoroughly looking forward to book 2!

An Assembly Such as This: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman , By Pamela Aidan
Published by: Touchstone, May 2006