Fict - Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris

Anyone who has worked in an office setting, and especially anyone who has faced layoffs, can relate to this book. The paranoia, the office politics and awkward social situations. The author did a great job getting in the heads of the various characters. The descriptions of office social situations were on point. They were laugh out loud funny, cringe inducing, sad, but definitely relateable.

I did have some trouble keeping track of all the characters, especially the ones who were were introduced, or just mentioned, and then never heard from again. The timing of the book was also a little hard to follow since it jumped back and forth. Both of these resolved about halfway through when the story followed a more linear path. This was about the time that I really started to enjoy the book. All in all, I'd recommend it.

Fict - Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato

This review has a spoiler so I'm saving you from reading this annoying book that promised to be a good historical mystery/thriller.  Where to start?
Englishwoman goes to 60's Venice to study art.  Meets Italian Adonis vaporetto driver (who looks like a painting), & is descended from the most famous glass blower in Murano:  Corradino Manin.   Woman gets pregnant, returns to England, never hears from Adonis again & becomes a bitter feminist.
Fast forward 20 yrs: their daughter Leonora Manin, now a divorced women artist in search of her own roots, goes to Italy. The story alternates between Leonora's life in Italy and her ancestor Corradino Manin's life in Venice in the 1600s.  This was the only interesting part of the book - where you actually learned something of the ancient glassworks and how that society functioned.
Improbable coincidences/plot turns:
- Despite having received divorce proceeds of an English manor grand enough to have its own name, Leonora promptly runs out of money.
- She lands an impossible job at the ancient prestigious Murano glassworks, which for hundreds of years has only hired native male Venetians.
- Enter another Italian Adonis - a policeman this time (who also looks like a painting), who proceeds to find her an oh-so-cute, affordable (impossible to find) apartment in the heart of Venice.  Leonora makes an enemy at work, a descendant of a rival glass blower to Corradino Manin. Think Hatfield-McCoys, except these people hold grudges for CENTURIES! Then, surprise? Leonora gets pregnant to Adonis, who has a stiletto heeled, hell-on-wheels ex-girlfriend/reporter who writes a damning article about Lenora's ancestor. Leonora spends the rest of the book, (and pregnancy) trying to clear her ancestor's name and wondering why Adonis won't become her baby-daddy.
- You would think that Corrado Manin not having fingerprints, which the author emphasizes several times, would be crucial to the plot at some point?
- And why focus on the feminist mother at the beginning, when that fact is never again relevant?
- I also anxiously waited (in vain) for the reporter ex-girlfriend to wreak havoc on the relationship, as promised.
Incipid, with inconsistent time sequences, improbable events, and annoying stylistic tics (italic "thoughts" direct from the characters' brains.)
Yawn . . . . zzzzz

YA - Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff

What to say about this book - I really wanted to like it, I really, really did.  I thought for sure it would quench my thirst for some fun fantasy horror.  Boy, was I disappointed.  Clementine has been magically trapped the basement of her burnt out home for years, caught somewhere between this world and the next.  When a couple of boys from town stumble upon her, one - Fisher, is able to hear her and saves her.  From there she reintegrates herself into her family and the community.  She figures out the history of her town, her craft, and the reasons she was locked away.  She poses some questions, get some answers.  The book was so awful that I'm having trouble articulating how bad it actually was.  Trust me - if you're looking for some YA fun - keep looking.

YA - Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

  I was so in love with this book that I asked a co-worker to read it just so I could confirm that I wasn't overreacting.  She agreed.  Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson is FABULOUS!  There's murder, romance, political intrigue, rich imagery - it has it all.
  When we meet Princess Lia, the First Daughter of the House of Morrighan, she is horrified that she is to be married to a man she's never met.  She is a peace offering, a pawn in a political alliance, secured by her own father.  Lia can't do it, and so, she flees with her closest confidant - her handmaiden.  
  As Lia settles into life in a sleepy, yet beautiful fishing village, she is intrigued when two beautiful men walk into the tavern in which she is working.  What she doesn't know - one is the prince she left at the altar, the other is an assassin who has orders to kill her.
  Kiss of Deception is the first book in a trilogy that promises to be one hell of a ride.  And, may I say, whichever movie studio is bidding on the rights to this book has a huge hit on their hands.  I can't wait for the next installment which, unfortunately, isn't set to be published until sometime in 2015.  My advice: read this book before everyone else catches on!

YA - The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer

  Can I just say that I really, really enjoyed this book?  Finally, an author creates a work for young adults that assumes they're literate, capable and open to learning.  The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy follows a group of friends (Luke, Ethan, Elizabeth and Jackson), their pet gerbil Baconnaise, and the evil force that is changing the face of their school - kTV.  kTV has created a reality program centered on a few students from Selwyn Academy called "For Art's Sake".  The program has corrupted everything that Ethan and his friends hold dear.  No longer are hallway conversations debating the merits of Monet vs. Manet, people are more interested in who Maura Heldsman made out with last week.  When one of their own crosses to the dark side, the rest of the group will stop at nothing to rid their school of kTV.
  Seriously, this book was great.  Like I said earlier, it's refreshing to see a YA author use an extended vocabulary (I had to grab a dictionary more than once).  It's also refreshing to read a book about kids that care about school, their families, and each other.  Really - you need to read this book.  It's my favorite of the year (so far).

NON FICT - Sex With Kings : 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge by Eleanor Herman

  Sex with Kings is educational gossip at its finest.  It covers scandalous relationships from the past through the semi-present (the book was published in 2004, so the Charles and Camilla info is a little dated).  Herman uses what little recorded information she can get her hands on, mostly personal correspondence, to paint an extremely entertaining portrait of what royal sex lives were like over the last 500 years.  What I've learned from this book is that mistresses were an extremely powerful force at their zenith.  After that they were usually exiled, sent to covenants, beheaded, publicly derided, and subjected to the merciless gossip of those once fawning courtiers.  Some, of course, laughed all the way to the bank - raking in millions upon millions in titles, estates, and pensions.  Some, on the other hand, as I previously stated, were not so fortunate.
  If your desire is to write a research paper about the sexuality of the past royals, this probably isn't the book for you.  The content is somewhat disorganized, jumping back and forth between kings, their mistresses, and time periods.  If you're looking for an entertaining and sometimes hilarious read - this will do the job.  I found the stories to be really interesting, especially the focus on the mistresses' fall from grace.  Not to mention the money! Oh, the money!  Oh yeah - how could I forget the queen?  The poor queen.  Being queen stinks (apparently).  Give this book a read if you need to relax and enjoy.

YA - Creed by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie

  Creed centers on the total misfortune of Dee, her boyfriend Luke, and Luke's brother Mike.  Dee has planned a surprise getaway for Luke's birthday, but everything goes astray the minute their car breaks down.  In freezing cold, all three walk towards the closest town, but once there realize that the town seems to be deserted.  There's no one at the gas station, no one on the streets, and no one in the houses.  They decide to take refuge in one of the homes and what they find sets the tone for the rest of the book.
  Creed was a good book.  It's one that I'd recommend to a teen looking for a thriller/horror novel.  The plot is unusual and the pace moves quickly.  I will say YA is entering this trend where there is no "consumer satisfaction".  Part of the twist is that not everyone gets what they deserve, some things fall through the cracks, and good doesn't always trump evil.  Personally - I'm over it.  There is no shock value in it anymore.  The shine has worn off and now it's exactly what I'm expecting. 
  I was provided with an advanced reader copy of Creed via NetGalley.  Creed will be released on 11/8/2014.  Look for at the Lewes Public Library.