Synopsis:
The death of a society girl in 1899 New York City isn’t quite what it seems, thanks to an impossibly complex snarl of love triangles.
Review:
I guess you would call The Luxe “Gossip Girl” set in Edith Wharton territory, but that makes it sound dreadful when in fact it’s pretty enjoyable. I don’t think I’ll continue on in the series but it was a fun read.
Synopsis:
Plucked from Brooklyn to attend an elite college for magicians, Quentin hopes that his life will be an adventure like those he read about as a kid, but the drama of real life and his own penchant for melancholia keep getting in the way.
Review:
The Magicians was almost crazy-making thanks to Lev Grossman’s unmatched talent for letting emotional suspense simmer behind the already awesome plot. I was so caught up in the drama of Quentin’s love life and friendships that I wanted as much of that as I did of the magical elements.
I feared that this book would be just a novelty–Harry Potter with cursing and threeways–but thankfully Grossman delivers the fantasy aspect as well. He does not back away from anything and I was truly impressed by the twists and turns the story took.
More than anything, it reminded me of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, only with magic. So fabulous. I’ve already started the sequel!
Synopsis:
MILFs in Brooklyn!
Review:
Amy Sohn is a writer who’s been on my radar since I first moved to New York City in 1995, and it’s like she’s lived the public, more successful version of my life. Her single girl escapades got published in the New York Press; I was an escapading single girl who read the Press every week. She wrote a novel loosely based on her own life that got turned into a movie; I do movie adaptations of books whose writers get all the attention. And now, she’s a freelance writer and mom living in tony Park Slope, Brooklyn, the #1 most livable neighborhood in New York City. I am a freelance writer and mom living in Long Island City, Queens, which ranks an embarrassing #16 (though I do grocery shop and playground hop in Sunnyside, which was the dark horse #3).
Now, having read Prospect Park West, I can finally liberate myself from at least one-half of the Amy Sohn-envy that has tinged my professional life. Success I want, sure–but at least now I have definitive evidence that momming in Queens trumps momming in Brooklyn any day.
My mom friends in Park Slope have confirmed that a lot of Sohn’s scathing mommy wars satire hits it right on the mark. We don’t get near the amount of drama and hilarity on Sunnymoms as they do on Park Slope Parents. We don’t have a sanctimonious food coop (though on is in the planning stages). With only 3 playgrounds, one dominated by weightlifters and drunks, and a smaller total area, it’s a lot easier to make friends in my neighborhood than it is in theirs. Bonus–no celebrities!
The book does go over-the-top. Like any good roman à clef, it’s got enough real life to make it authentic, and then goes completely nuts with sex and booze and drama galore. I loved it!
Synopsis:
A teenage girl discovers that she comes from a lineage of demon hunters, and finds herself drawn into the ongoing battle between good and evil.
Review:
I picked up City of Bones after reading a rave review of the next book in the series on the Queens Public Library’s email newsletter for YA picks. It sounded like a fun read, and I was not disappointed. I just got a book light so I can read in bed while Superfast Baby snoozes in her crib in the family bedroom, and I clocked some pretty late nights making my way through this one.
City of Bones follows Clary, a teenage girl who stumbles upon a group of teen Shadowhunters at a night club. She’s not supposed to be able to see them, but she can, so the Shadowhunters bring her back to their lair, where Clary discovers that her mother was once a Shadowhunter before renouncing their ways. When Clary tries to return to her Park Slope home, she finds it infested with demons and her mother gone, kidnapped by her ex-husband, Valentine, the nemesis of the Shadowhunters. And then her best friend, Simon, is turned into a rat and kidnapped by vampires… what’s a girl to do? Kick some vampire ass, that’s what!
Fantastic action scenes, terrific romantic tension, and a fun look at New York City–anyone who likes Libba Bray, Kiki Strike, or the Poison Study series will love this book like I did. I can’t wait to read the next one!
My friendly neighborhood humor writer Jen LiMarzi has published her first novel, Making Dead Ends Meet. I had a chance to read the manuscript & I’m really proud of her!
