The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen ISBN-13: 9780545284134 Hardcover: 342 pages Publisher: Scholastic Released: April 1, 2012

Source: Checked out from my local library.

Book Description from Back Cover:
In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's point -- he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage's rivals have their own agendas as well.


My Review:
The False Prince is a middle grade or young adult fantasy novel. It's aimed at boys, though I think girls and adults would also like it. It's the first book in a trilogy, but it stands on it's own and doesn't end on a cliff-hanger.

I liked that the teen hero cared about and tried to help other people even when forced into a situation where a person normally wouldn't. The main characters were generally good people even though they didn't always act like it because of the difficult situation they were in. The characters were complex and had some depth, and I cared what happened to them.

While the twists won't be a huge surprise to anyone who has read a lot of traditional fantasy, they weren't obvious and there was even one I didn't expect. The suspense was created by the physical danger to the characters, but the conflict was mainly due to (non-romantic) relationship tensions.

There was a minor amount of "he cursed" style of bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting and engaging fantasy novel. It's now a favorite of mine, though this might partly be because it's been so long since I last read a good-values, traditional fantasy novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

And the winner is...

It's time to announce the winner of the Book Lover's Holiday Giveaway Hop. Including Twitter entries, we had 28 entries. Using a random number generator and numbering the entrants in the order I received them, the winner is:

Anne
who won "Read and Buried" by Erika Chase

Congratulations! I'll be contacting you for your address.

For those who didn't win, you can always buy a copy of these books from your favorite bookstore or see if they have them at your local library.

And the winner is...

It's time to announce the winner of the "Christmas Books" Giveaway Hop. Including Twitter entries, we had 35 entries. Using a random number generator and numbering the entrants in the order I received them, the winner is:

@loujarratt (LouCinda Jarratt)
won "A Wreath of Snow" by Liz Curtis Higgs

Congratulations! I'll be contacting you for your address.

For those who didn't win, you can always buy a copy of these books from your favorite bookstore or see if they have them at your local library.

Not book related, but important food info

I apologize for posting something not book related, and I'll try to keep this short. I grew up surrounded by corn and soy fields in mid-Illinois and now live surrounded by cattle (raised for meat) and chicken or turkey houses in northern Arkansas. I live on a farm and graduated from college as a BS in Animal Science. Since around 1996, corn and soy (and some other crops) have been genetically engineered to allow farmers to spray herbicides (kills plants) directly on their crops without the crops dying. Another variety are genetically engineered to produce a toxin deadly to insects directly in the food part of the crop so the insects die when they eat it. There are a lot of harmful side-effects from this whole scheme, but now one of the companies making these genetically modified crops wants to sell a variety that will withstand very, very serious poisons because the weeds have become resistant to previous herbicides used with genetically modified crops. This is not the answer to the problem, and it could lead to serious health problems to the farmers spraying the herbicides, to crops nearby on other farms that aren't resistant, and to consumers eating the foods. To learn more, visit this site.

A Killer Maize by Paige Shelton

A Killer Maize by Paige Shelton ISBN-13: 9780425251744 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: December 4, 2012

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Becca Robbins is selling her farm-made jams and preserves at a county fair where business is not the only thing that’s dead…

The last person Becca expects to run into at the Swayton County Fall Festival is her ex-husband, Scott Triplett, who’s operating a shooting gallery. Their unexpected reunion is made more complicated when the Ferris wheel operator, Virgil Morrison, is found hanging from his rickety ride, dead from a gunshot.

Rumors of a gypsy curse and the mysteriousness of the locals about the owners of the fair make finding the truth difficult. Becca must search through a labyrinth of lies, secrets, and superstition to find a kernel of truth.


My Review:
A Killer Maize is a cozy mystery. This book is the fourth book of the series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this book didn't spoil the whodunit of the previous mysteries.

The characters were engaging, interesting, and acted realistically. There was a low level of suspense mainly caused by wondering what would happen next and from the creepy feel to the fair and town. The mystery did involve gathering clues, but it wasn't really a "sort through the clues and piece together the puzzle" mystery. Becca got most of her information by watching people and talking with them, so the clues weren't always obvious. I liked that Becca was nice, worked well with those in charge of the investigation, and didn't do really stupid things.

While the corn maze ending was exciting, I still don't understand the logic of everyone looking around and hoping to run into whodunit rather than simply protecting the expected next victim (or victims). Until then, people had good reasons for what they were doing. But, hey, it worked. lol

There was no sex. There was a minor amount of explicit bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable cozy mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Book Lover's Holiday Giveaway Hop

As a part of the Book Lover's Holiday Giveaway Hop, I'm holding a giveaway for your choice of one of the following books:


Read and Buried by Erika Chase is a cozy mystery. You can read my review.

Hosting an award-winning novelist is quite a Christmas coup for the Ashton Corners Mystery Readers and Cheese Straw Society. But for Lizzie, Derek Alton is nothing but trouble—from his massive ego to his smarmy moves. When he’s murdered in her living room, it seems someone decided that this womanizing writer would be better off dead than read. After suspicion falls on Lizzie’s friend, she and her fellow book club members start unearthing a novel’s worth of nasty secrets about Derek.


City of the Dead by T.L. Higley is a Christian historical suspense novel.
You can read my review.

Up from the sands of Egypt rises the Great Pyramid, where Hemiunu, Pharaoh’s Grand Vizier, commands the historic building project as he orders his life—with justice, truth, and precision. But when a series of murders at the site threatens chaos, Hemi turns his attention to hunting down the killer...a killer who may be closer than he expects. Has someone decided to seek justice for or remove all remembrance of a past injustice that Hemi and his closest friends have been ordered to never discuss? The killer's targets are those who know that a past death was not an accident...


This contest is for USA & Canada residents only.


To enter the giveaway:

1) you can twitter me saying "Hi @genrereviewer. Enter me in the giveaway for [give the book name and author's name]."

OR

2) You can leave a comment to this post asking to be entered and naming which book you'd like to win. (I have comment moderation on to prevent spam comments, so don't worry if your entry comment doesn't appear immediately. It will soon.) Please also leave some way for me to contact you--or follow this blog so you can see the winner announcement. I'd be fun if you also included why you're interested in reading this novel.


This giveaway ends on December 10, 2012 at midnight. The winner will be randomly selected. I'll announce the winner on December 11, 2012 on this blog.

If you entered using twitter, I'll send you a @ or DM telling you of your win and asking where to send the book. If you entered using the blog comments, you'll need to leave your e-mail address or check back to see if you won so you can e-mail me your mailing address. If the winner hasn't responded with a mailing address within four days, I reserve the right to pick a new winner.

I hope everyone has fun with this!


The blogs participating in the Book Lover's Holiday Giveaway Hop:

Read and Buried by Erika Chase

Read and Buried by Erika Chase ISBN-13: 9780425251782 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: December 4, 2012

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Hosting an award-winning novelist is quite a Christmas coup for the Ashton Corners Mystery Readers and Cheese Straw Society. But for Lizzie, Derek Alton is nothing but trouble—from his massive ego to his smarmy moves. When he’s murdered in her living room, it seems someone decided that this womanizing writer would be better off dead than read.

After suspicion falls on Lizzie’s friend, she and her fellow book club members start unearthing a novel’s worth of nasty secrets about Derek. As they get closer to uncovering Derek’s scandalous final manuscript, someone decides to write finis to Lizzie’s sleuthing.


My Review:
Read and Buried is a cozy mystery. This novel is the second in the series. You don't need to read the previous novel to understand this one, and this novel didn't spoil the mystery in the previous book.

The characters were interesting, likable, and reacted in realistic ways. I liked that Lizzie was careful not to ruin people's reputations when she learned scandalous things related to the case. This was a clue-based mystery. I wasn't certain about whodunit before the reveal, but whodunit was certainly on my short list of suspects. I enjoyed that the author was able to keep me guessing.

There was a nice level of detail. There was more detail about her job and less about clothing and food than in A Killer Read, so it had more "normal" levels of detail. I felt the story pacing was smoother and kept my interest even better due to this. Lizzie's low level eating disorder, which I mentioned in my Killer Read review, has disappeared. She no longer showed angst over eating sweets.

There were no graphic sex scenes. There was some explicit bad language (11 uses of "God" in swearing and 7 uses of curse words). Overall, I'd recommend this well-written, interesting mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.