Fellow book lovers,

I write to you– in rather giddy frame of mind, admittedly– to inform you of the latest bookish developments in my Paris sojourn. Because yesterday afternoon, drizzly, dreary day that it was, also happened to be class-free for lucky moi! Needless to say, I used my spare time to hit the books– the good ones, that is– and visited two bookstores in Left Bank Paris, both within (relative) walking distance of the Luxembourg Gardens: reading spot extraordinaire. In other words, I completed my ultimate rainy day fantasy, and it rocked.

Just on the other side of the Seine, Shakespeare & Co., which I’m sure you’ve heard of, is the Parisian bibliophile’s true Champs Élysées. It has history, too; it was formerly the stomping grounds of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, and other Lost literary expatriates. It’s not the original Shakespeare & Co., of course, as the Sylvia Beach-owned shop was shut down during World War II; however it remains true to its namesake, still accommodating starving authors and hosting  various events. There’s books everywhere— floor to ceiling on both floors, wedged into various nooks and crannies, lining the doorways and piled on the stairs– and whatever novel you purchase is stamped with the shop’s logo on the way out (I bought The Last Tycoon by Fitzgerald, pictured above). There’s even a resident cat, who lounged in the reading room while I was there. Furthermore– and this is the best part–  everything and everyone is english!

‘Tis the stuff of dreams.

It even has charm!

If you’re feeling slightly more Parisian, however, you may want to visit L’Écume des pages (The Pages’ Sea Foam) instead. (I discovered this one while leafing through an article about designer Sonia Rykiel’s daily schedule.) This shop is undeniably French, but as it turns out the atmosphere of a bookstore is international.  You can walk right in, close your eyes, take in the familiar bookstore smell, and be completely at home.

What do you think? Am I missing anything? I’m dying for suggestions. Leave a comment and let me know!

I’ll keep you posted,

Happy Tuesday! (Almost) every Tuesday at around this time, I participate in The Broke and the Bookish‘s Top Ten Tuesday weekly meme. This week’s theme is Top 1o beach reads. You know the type: light, fluffy, and requiring a total of zero brainpower– in other words, the perfect escape from the real world. So without further ado, here are 10 books (let’s count the series as one, yes?) without which your beach bag would not be complete.

Again, these are:

– Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

– The Selection by Kiera Cass

– Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

– Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

– Belles by Jen Calonita

– The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

– Spoiled and Messy by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

– Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

– Heist Society by Ally Carter

– Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

I’ll keep you posted,

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.

Self-professedly, I am not a big fan of Holly Black. Aside from The Spiderwick Chronicles, and also the first chapter or so of White Cat, which needless to say did not send me any particularly good vibrations, this is the first real, live Holly Black book that I’ve read. And in all honesty, I am not impressed.

First of all let’s get one thing straight: this book isn’t scary. If you are looking for horror, look elsewhere. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is really more of a paranormal type with a dash of trepidation than anything else. Sure, there are buckets of gore–quite literally– but truthfully the only thing that really gave me the jimjams was  the Coldtowns’ questionable food-related hygiene practices. I don’t even want to think about the diseases carried by the rodents eaten at mealtimes.

This isn’t to say that Black didn’t try. Au contraire, my friends. I’m happy to report that every chapter is preceded by a nice, cheery quotation about death. Although originally promising, this concept quickly began to grate on my nerves. It’s a drop superfluous, a tad redundant, and a wee bit ostentatious for my tastes. Also, for some strange reason, not at all relevant.

Moreover this novel is somewhat lacking in the plot department. It’s paced rather slowly, and most definitely reads more like a series debut than the standalone it’s claimed to be. Although I did appreciate the climax’s plot twist, in essence The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is just another big book with a small storyline.

On the more positive side of the plotless coin, the lack of transpiration of any real events leaves ample room for top-drawer world building. Really, my kudos go to Black for her sterling setting.  It’s well done, all of it: the one-way tickets to quarantined vamp towns, the reality TV fan base hysteria, the subtle nuances between celebrity vampires and the monsters under your bed. The caricature of the vampires’ human cult following is pulled off to a T, actually; the Coldtowns’ romanticism of them is deftly detailed and addressed. And furthermore the characters’ flashbacks allow the world’s full backstory to take shape, which wholly satiated my curiosity’s appetite.

The assorted blog posts and articles littered throughout the novel are equally entertaining. There might not be much story to tell here, but it is undoubtedly well told.

I want to take a moment to complain about Tana’s and Gavriel’s romance. Because frankly, the very bottom of my very romantic heart simply cannot comprehend why these two people like each other. (Aside from mutual physical attraction, but honestly, YA, I’d thought we’d moved past this.) So Tana saved Gavriel from an indubitably gruesome fate, so what? Surely that’s enough to inspire a helluva lot of gratitude, but nothing more. Nothing ardent. Nothing even remotely resembling love. Right? Because, really, if stashing a hog-tied guy in your trunk is all it takes to instill his undying affection, I don’t see why more of us aren’t putting this technique to good use.

A final warning: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown‘s relationships are very modernist. The characters range the full spectrum of sexuality, which is indeed a wonderful message on Black’s part. However if your opinions are more conservative, this is in all likelihood not the novel for you.

Will I be reading any more of Black’s books in the near future? I can’t say. I may be giving them the cold shoulder for a while. Recommended for fans of fanged and delusional love interests, admirably extensive settings, and death: liberally applied.  3/5 stars.

I’ll keep you posted,

When 16-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London’s Downworld,where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos. Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa’s power for his own. Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by — and torn between — two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm’s length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world… and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

I’m not going to compare The Infernal Devices to The Mortal Instruments. I’d really rather review this series independently instead of stacking it up against another, and honestly it’s been way too long since I reread City of Bones anyway (watching the movie, although satisfactory and highly diverting in its own way, sadly doesn’t count). Yes, the YA community has been ablaze with various grievances par rapport à the books’ similarities since Clockwork Angel was first published in 2010, but frankly I can’t find it in myself to be bothered. Because the truth is that Cassandra Clare gave me exactly what I was craving, and it was delectable.

In all honesty, I wasn’t looking for authenticity when I zealously downloaded these books onto my Kindle. What I needed was escape. I needed to embark on a ragingly wild ride comprised of action, witticisms, and reckless abandon. I needed a page-turner, and I needed it stat. In such dire circumstances, who better to turn to than Cassandra Clare, who has found her trademark writing avenue and stuck to it like fangirls to Will Herondale? And by jove, did she deliver. I read this series in a matter of days and loved every moment of it. Its biggest failing? It ended.

And oh, what an ending! Regardless of the infamous gripe that The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments display a disproportionate amount of synonymies– re. characters or otherwise– I don’t think anyone can claim that this series’ ending wasn’t ludicrously creative. In one word, it was bittersweet. But for some reason I also felt like it was cheating? Notwithstanding, I was ridiculously happy at the resolution. Whoever says you can’t have your cake and eat it too has clearly not met Tessa Gray.

The Infernal Devices‘ strongest suit, by far, is its characters. Love them, hate them–  it doesn’t matter. You’re all chummy regardless. Over the course of the series, it’s nearly impossible to not come to care for each and every last one. And the characters’ relationships with one another? Priceless. Not only was the love triangle– albeit typical, but again this is Cassandra Clare–  achingly realistic, but their friendships were engaging and altogether charming. I, for one, was positively enamoured with Jem’s and Will’s solidarity. Three cheers for strong and healthy relationships between characters who aren’t potential love interests! They anchor one another, and it’ s beautiful. And between them and Tessa, I can’t get over the way these characters are woven together. They just fit, and it’s both uncanny and heartrendingly real.

I don’t feel the need to make a lengthy commentary on the world building. The Shadow World, of course, is well described, but we knew that already. It’s the whole London in the late nineteenth century part that’s novel. Being nowhere near knowledgeable on the subject, I can safely say that I quite enjoyed it. Tessa’s love affair with books, of which I have read a grand total of two, was particularly amusing. Also, I now want to go to Whales. Note to self: stop spending money on ridiculously-priced beverages and start saving for rolling green hills and dapper Welsh accents.

Just a reminder: you do not need to read The Mortal Instruments before delving into this series. If you want to, go for it. However I would recommend sticking to the original trilogy. Everything just sort of goes downhill from there until you want to pitch the books across the room or light them on (Heavenly) fire.

This is not the series for you if you’re feeling analytical, judicious, or mildly peevish.  However if you need to stop thinking for a while and start flipping pages, by all means read on. 4.9/5 stars.

I’ll keep you posted,

Happy May! Along with begetting some serious flowers– what has been up with the rainy weather lately?– this month is dedicated to raising lupus awareness. And what better way to spread the word than through an anthology whose entirety of proceeds will be donated to the non-profit Lupus Foundation of America?

But this isn’t just any anthology. Containing short stories ranging from paranormals to mysteries, Empower: Fight like a Girl has been brought to you by the women behind the scenes of our favourite TV shows: Game of Thrones, Law & Order, Family Guy, Gilmore Girls, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek: Voyager, Grimm, Battlestar Galactica… oh my!

Authors contributing stories to this volume include:

• –Amy Berg
• –Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
• –Akela Cooper
• -Liz Edwards
• –Jane Espenson
• -Shalisha Francis & Nadine Knight
• –Lisa Klink
• –Pang-Ni Landrum
• –Lauren LeFranc
• –Kam Miller
• –Jess Pineda
• –Jennifer Quintenz
• –Lisa Randolph
• –Kay Reindl
• –Kira Snyder
• –Jeane Wong

Enjoy!

I’ll keep you posted,