"According to Jane" by Marilyn Brant

From the book: It begins one day in sophomore English class, just as Ellie Barnett's teacher is assigning Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". From nowhere comes a quiet 'tsk' of displeasure. The target: Sam Blaine, the cute bad boy who's teasing Ellie mercilessly, just as he has since kindergarten. Entirely unbidden, as Jane might say, the author's ghost has taken up residence in Ellie's mind, and seems determined to stay there. Jane's wise and witty advice guides Ellie through the hell of adolescence and beyond, serving as the voice she trusts, usually far more than her own. Years and boyfriends come and go - sometimes a little too quickly, sometimes not nearly fast enough. But Jane's counsel is constant, and on the subject of Sam, quite insistent. Stay away, Jane demands. He is your Mr. Wickham. Still, everyone has something to learn about love - perhaps even Jane herself. And lately, the voice in Ellie's head is being drowned out by another, urging her to look beyond everything she thought she knew and seek out her very own, very unexpected, happy ending.

I had to continue my Jane Austen alternative literature spree. Since I had "According to Jane" on my iPod Touch through the Kindle app, it was easy. When I first spied this book I thought it was a YA book due to the description. The book surprised me as it was not. It was an adult book with adult scenes and situations. Ellie merely has Jane Austen helping her along as a very opinionated spirit guide. As you view Ellie's life you actually travel back and forth in time. Yes, occasionally, I would be a bit confused as to where you were in her life, but that was quickly resolved by reading a bit further. I can see why the author chose to do it this way as the juxtaposition of these timelines made the lesson more poignant. Even though the book ends on a expected note, it is still satisfying.

I think this is a good, quick read. If you love 80's music, this book is right up your alley since the author also pulls the characters around that musical theme. I gave the book 4 stars.

"A Little Bit Psychic" by Aimée Avery

This book by Aimée Avery was a delight. It was a small quick read of about 110 pages. I started this one quickly after I finished "Mr. Darcy, Vampyre" since I thought I'd continue the Jane Austen theme.

In this 21st century version of Pride and Prejudice, both Lizzy and Darcy liked each other from the start. Since they knew each other as children. Lizzy is psychic and sees things that eventually come true. The big characterizations of Pride and Prejudice still exist in this new telling. Yes, there are still misunderstandings that stand in their way. Yes, Darcy is as stubborn as ever. Especially when his plans go awry and he is still too inflexible and unwilling to change them. And yes, Lizzy is sharp of wit and humor who is still self conscious of her beauty.

I gave this book 4 stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys a small quick read. It is well done and really doesn't need more pages for the story to be rounded out. Go read it, you will enjoy it!

"Mr Darcy, Vampyre" by Amanda Grange

"Mr. Darcy, Vampyre" is one of the many paranormal stories to be retold from Jane Austen's original stories, mainly "Pride and Prejudice". In fact, the story begins where "Pride and Prejudice" leaves off. The marriage and wedding tour of Lizzy and Darcy. Now, it's been quite a bit since I've read Jane Austen's book, but I admit, she starts to draw you back into the world and time period of that original story. Unfortunately, after that, it gets a bit lost.

Now, normally I do what I can not to spoil a book at all, but in this case, I will do a lot of spoiling. Lizzy, at first, is not the hot headed strong character I remember. I do understand that with her husband not coming to her during the wedding tour was ego-crushing to say the least, I would still expect Lizzy to have confronted Darcy to a degree he could not refuse. This finally happened, but not until it was toward the end of the book. In fact, 2/3 of the book was quite slow. The characters you meet during their wedding tour were interesting, but sometimes I wanted to scream, "Tell her already!" It was extremely frustrating that he kept the secret from her for so long in the book. It was also frustrating that she would not actually demand an answer for so long.

Finally at the end of the book, she finds out after being abducted by an old vampire. For me, the whole scene was at first, interesting, but was so quickly and too easily ended. The reason? She gave him a gift. The gift of love. This was the only thing that could defeat him. Anyone who has read "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" will recognize that scene. After that the couple too quickly relaxes as they truly get to know one another. There is also another climatic scene soon after that which I also felt was ended too quickly and too easily. I feel that if the author put one of those scenes at the middle or toward the beginning of the book the action would have been written much better. Also she would have been able to extend the scene at the end. I think it would have proved more interesting.

All in all, it wasn't a horrible read despite what I have said. It is not for the die-hard Jane Austen fan. It did have it's interesting spots, but does fail in the end. I gave it 2 stars.

Misfit Salon's Ginormous Baby Giveaway

Wait, I think that is actually a book giveaway. :D For her 6 month blogaversary, she is having 2 contests. One is a choice of 6 books, several signed. That one ends on Jan. 22. Details on the requirements at her site.

The second is for the ARC "The Swan Thieves". That contest ends on Jan. 14. Details at her site.

Go there for the contests, stay for the content. It's a great site.

Now, I gotta figure out if this tatoo is permanent... *continues to wash forehead* "StephanieD!"

"Lament" by Maggie Stiefvater

*Warning, this is sort of a backward review. It may contain some slight spoilers for Ballad, but I promise to make those very small*

I couldn't wait to start this book and quickly started reading after I got it. I had to read this one because I was so enamored with "Ballad" which is actually the second book in this series. I had to know more about Deirdre and James. Plus, I had to find out who the heck Luke was. As I started reading, the worst thing happened to me. I got sick. Had a fever. Now, this wouldn't have been so bad but it also accompanied a bad headache. So, I couldn't read. Of course, I did read in-between headaches, but the story was so good, it was torture to have it dragged out for me!

Enough of that, and back to the book. I was thrown back into the world of James and Deirdre when they were first aware that "They" were real. I also found out who exactly Luke was and why she fell so hard for him. All characters are deliciously flawed which perfectly counters the fantastic world to which they are thrown. The secrets revealed are mixed with a good dose of faerie (oops, I mean, "Their") lore. The lore is more of what had come out after Christianity took over Ireland. Yes, it is a character driven book but there is still plenty of plot within the twists and turns thrown at Deirdre and Luke. I know that others have said that the beginning of the book is a bit slow. Perhaps I did not see this because of my special circumstance in reading the book, but it did not seem slow at all to me.

For those that have read this series backwards like me might be disappointed that there is very little of James in this story. However, you will be satisfied that you have a better picture of Deirdre perhaps forgive her a bit more for her role in "Ballad". Unfortunately, I was left with more questions than answers. I would love to know what happened specifically to Deirdre in "Ballad" and I also want to know more of the story as it continues. I want to know what happened to Luke. I want to know more!

I gave this story 5 stars. The biggest flaw in this series is that there are so many loose ends and not all are tied up in the next book. However, that in itself is more likely intentional and one can hope that as the series continues you aren't left totally hanging and questions formed are answered. Yes, I do recommend this book.

Mary, Young and Fair (traditional tune, arranged by Maggie Stiefvater) Thought I'd include this since so much of the book talked about traditional folk music.