Mayhem

Confession: I'm misleading you already. See that gorgeous cover up there? It's enough to make a cover whore like myself stop, stare, and covet. But I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the story is completely worthy of this gorgeous cover (I'll get to that part in a few moments). The bad news is that this the UK cover. We heathens here in the Colonies were not deemed worthy of such gorgeousness and instead were graced with this:

Is it any wonder we rebelled against King George III? I mean, really. If taxation without representation and unattractive book covers were to be our lot in life, what did England expect?

Alright, assuming it is what's inside the cover that truly counts (and yes, it is), Mayhem is a deliciously creepy foray into the dark world of Victorian London where the city is frozen with fear as Jack the Ripper terrorizes Whitechapel. But London in the late 1880s was also victim to another vicious killer now largely lost to history. Dubbed the Thames Torso Murders, dismembered female victims began showing up in the Thames river throughout London beginning in May 1887. An astute police surgeon, one Dr. Thomas Bond, was the first to recognize that these corpses showing up in the Thames had been dismembered by someone with surgical skill and training.

Author Sarah Pinborough has unearthed this lost and disturbing tidbit of history and turned it into a compelling fictional account of Dr. Bond's investigation into the Thames Torso Murders. 

Admittedly, this was an interesting journey for me. I had never read any of Pinborough's work before and was hesitant to pick up what I - erroneously, as it turns out - thought to be yet another Jack the Ripper novel. Instead of boredom, I found myself drawn in from the very first page into the thick, damp fog permeating the Gothic atmosphere of the novel as the squalid conditions of the less fortunate side of Victorian London's population immediately came alive. 

Jack the Ripper, thankfully, takes the backstage to our protagonist - Dr. Thomas Bond himself - as he struggles with the limitations of the times to find the monster who is dismembering victims and dumping them in the Thames. Yet in Pinborogh's skillful hands, even the murders themselves are secondary to the character of Dr. Bond. Possessed of a brilliant mind, his empathy with victims of London's poor and disenfranchised is not an asset but a demon that haunts his every moment. How the ugliness of his world changes him and his attempts to escape the torture it inflicts upon him is a vital part of the story. Dr. Bond is a necessarily flawed character and his deterioration mirrors the investigation he doggedly pursues.

And now, for the twist. Just to throw me off balance, Pinborogh tosses in a touch - just a teensy touch, mind you - of the supernatural. Think of it as a sprinkle of garnish on a well-made dish. Too much would ruin the meal. Too little and the chef shouldn't have bothered. But the perfect small amount? Ahhhhh. Nicely done.

I've heard through the grapevine that Mayhem is to be the first in a series to feature Dr. Bond. If so, Pinborough can count me in for the ride. Nicely done. Hits bookstores tomorrow. 

Title: Mayhem

Author: Sarah Pinborough

Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books

Date:  January 14, 2012

Source:  Publisher

The saga ends here....at least for us it does

If you've been reading this blog for any significant amount of time, you'll be familiar with A Reader's Respite's hateful relationship with Anna Godbersen's The Luxe Series.

We've only kept buying the books because of our overwhelming guilt that came with publishing such scathing reviews. We were pretty sure that Godbersen would forgive just about anything if enough money was pouring in (we know we would).

Well, the vicious cycle ends here with the third book in the series, Envy. Yes, we are aware there is a fourth book, but it's only available in hardcover right now and our guilt isn't $25 worth of guilt, thankyouverymuch.



Now you'd think that by book three, the teenagers-having-soap-opera-sex thing would be long past. They should be all grown up and able to have consensual promiscuous sex judgement free, right? Wrong.

You see, the time lapse between Book One and Book Three is only one short year. And in that one year, we've seen the belles of 1899 New York society run amok with no supervision, scheming and sleeping with boys right under their parent's noses.

But by the time we get to the Book Three, Envy, the chief protagonist is sixteen (now seventeen) year old Diana. Not only was Diana sleeping with her older sister's fiance in previous books, but in this latest installment we find her copulating with random men in hallways of New York's finest homes, whilst a big ol' ball is going on in the next room.

Again, folks, this is the year 1900. *sigh*

It's clear that Godbersen has no intention with messing with this tried-and-true method of teenagers-embroiled-in-sex-and-scandal masquerading as Young Adult Historical Fiction. Why meddle with success, right?

Read it if you must, if only because it's a good lesson to be AWARE of what your kids are reading. Then give your teen a copy of Penman's The Sunne in Splendour and introduce them to real historical fiction. They'll thank you for it later.





Well, happy holidays to all of you.....A Reader's Respite is happily giving away these first three books of The Luxe Series! Included is The Luxe, Rumors, and Envy. Just leave us a comment and on December 1st, we'll announce a random winner. :)

How to do it wrong and how to do it right. Sort of.

Yes, we know it seems as if A Reader's Respite is really picking on poor Anna Godbersen for her Luxe Series lately. But it is a series and since each successive book of the series seems worse than the last, who are we to turn down such fodder?


As most of you know by now, A Reader's Respite has been plodding our way through this horny-wealthy-elite-teenager- New York Society soap opera set in 1899 that's being billed as "historical fiction for teens."

We lamented the first in the series here, then later questioned our messed-up rationale for purchasing the second in the series here.

Yet even knowing what we were in for when we turned to that first page, we masochistically pressed onward. This time, we were rewarded with even more unrealistic hormone-crazed rich teenagers in turn-of-the-century New York having sex every chance they got. And trust us, you have no idea how many chances these societal teens had to have sex. Evidently, the sexual revolution actually occurred in 1899 New York.

They also found ways to fake their own deaths, blackmail each other into marriage (hey, at least the marriage part is an improvement), and run away with the stable help to California. Even their maids get in on the action here by acquiring a bit of cash and are perfectly able to sneak their way into the highest social circles with no one being the wiser.

But the icing on the cake? Well we won't ruin it completely for you, but suffice it to say that it involves a bearskin rug, a teenage girl with an older boy, lots of sex and all with in the confines of said girl's bedroom which just happens to be located within one of New York's most distinguished homes.



Clearly, parental supervision did not play a large role for teenage societal girls back then. Who knew?


Now all of this is not to claim that no one engaged in sex in turn-of-the-century New York. The birth rate of the time clearly refutes that. But if you'd like a better sense of high society scandal during this time period, we'd recommend that you turn to Paula Uruburu's new non-fiction expose of Evelyn Nesbit, entitled American Eve.



Not familiar with Evelyn Nesbit? Why, she was the original "It" girl, of course. The first supermodel, if you will. At only 16 years old, she was the most photographed woman of her time; the epitome of female beauty in 1900.



So it's not surprising that Evelyn inspired great passion in men and even greater scandal when her millionaire New York society husband murdered her lover.

True story, folks. The trial was a sensation and Evelyn became a legend in her own time.

Author Paula Uruburu's research is meticulous and while sometimes the book gets a bit heavy with hyperbole, the portrait of New York society at the turn of the century is stark and real.



With nary a bearskin rug to be found anywhere, thank goodness.






Now on to the giveaways.....A Reader's Respite is happy to offer a copy of American Eve to one lucky entrant. Just leave a comment here (all comers welcome, any country, any where) and on August 31st, we'll announce a winner, so be sure to check back and see if it's you!

And for those of you who find yourself intrigued by the trainwreck of The Luxe Series, just be patient and A Reader's Respite will be offering a giveaway of the entire series not too far in the future!

Review: The Luxe

The Luxe, by Anna Godbersen


Oh dear. Where oh where do we start?

Not too long ago, A Reader's Respite couldn't help but notice that inside every bookstore, prominently displayed in the Young Adult section, was a series of historical fiction aimed towards teens. There appeared to be three books in the series and because historical fiction and young adult are two of A Reader's Respite's favorite genres, well, we bought a copy of the first book in this series by author Anna Godbersen. It's titled The Luxe.

The Luxe (and we're still not sure of the exact meaning of this title), as it turns out, is basically a lurid soap opera for teen girls set in the wealthiest circles of 1899 Manhattan's Grand Society. The storyline is so preposterous that A Reader's Respite really must share. You're gonna love this:

Elizabeth Holland is the toast of Manhattan society. She is young, stunningly beautiful, and heir to one of New York's oldest families. She's also doing the horizontal hokey-pokey with the stable boy every chance she gets. Evidently this is what all young, pedigreed girls do in the year 1899.

Elizabeth's BFF, Penelope is gettin' busy with New York's most eligible bachelor, Henry Schoonmaker and wants desperately to snag poor Henry in marriage. Evidently the phrase "why buy the cow when you're getting the milk for free?" hadn't made it's way into the elite Manhattan society in 1899.

Things start to get interesting when Henry's dad forces him to ask Elizabeth to marry him. Needless to say, Elizabeth and Penelope's BFF relationship loses the FF portion at this point.

This leaves us with Diana, Elizabeth's younger (that's right, YOUNGER) sister who spends her time making out with strange men in coat closets during societal balls. One of whom, is Henry Schoonmaker. Yes, the same Henry who is schtupping Penelope and engaged to Elizabeth. But this is different because Henry and Di are in looooooove.

A Reader's Respite was left burning with questions...

1. How does it all end? (Predictibly, as it turns out.)
   
2. Who cares?
   
3. Who in the hell marketed this lurid tale to young girls?
4. Who in the hell actually believes that young girls in 1899 high society behaved/dressed/spoke this way?
5. Who keeps giving this book 5 stars on Amazon?
   

*Sigh* While we may not ever receive the answers we so desire, we're pretty content to tell you that while the writing isn't bad in and of itself (no typos, good grammar, etc), the concept of this story as historical fiction is a sham at best. One need only look at the gown on the cover. Take note that strapless gowns were not appropriate evening attire in 1899.

The sad part is, all the author would have to do is change the time period from 1899 to 2009 and it would have been entirely believable. But then it would have been called just trash.

I know, I know, you're looking for the part where A Reader's Respite offers to give away the book, but GASP, it's not here!

We laughed so hard at this novel that we've decided to read the two sequels just to keep our sense of humor finely honed. Look for reviews in the future and when we've finished with the trilogy, we'll hold a grand giveaway of all three books. Sound like a plan?

If you've been dying to read this book, don't despair....there are respected reviewers who liked it. As a matter of fact, it seems that A Reader's Respite is the ONLY reviewer who didn't...go figure.

Alaine - Queen of Happy Endings
Gimme More Books!
A Patchwork of Books
Everything To Do With Books
Exclusively Books
Debbie's World of Books
Stop, Drop, and Read!
Beth Fish Reads
Tower of Books