Shades of Milk and Honey - Book Review

Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories #1)
by Mary Robinette Kowal

What is it about:
Shades of Milk and Honey is exactly what we could expect from Jane Austen if she had been a fantasy writer: Pride and Prejudice meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

In Regency England, Jane Ellsworth of Dorchester is a woman ahead of her time.

Not only is she highly skilled in the manipulation of glamour - plucking strands from the Ether to create genteel magical illusions - she's also ambitious for her art, and dreams of being recognised as a glamourist of note in her own right, as men are permitted to.

First and foremost, however, a lady of quality must marry well, and alas Jane's ambitions do not extend to her romantic prospects. Compared to her beautiful sister Melody, Jane feels invisible to suitors, and is resigned to a life of spinsterhood.

But when her beloved family comes under threat, Jane uses her magical skills to put things right, which attracts the attention of professional glamourist Mr Vincent . . . and unwittingly wanders in to a love story of her own.


What did I think of it:
After I read The Calculating Stars I decided to pick up this book to see if it was just as engaging. Now I must confess I'm no fan of Jane Austen, but I like the mash-ups, re-imaginations, etc of Austen stories well enough most of the times, so I hoped this Austen-like Paranormal would be fun.

And I can tell you that Austen fans will most probably love this book. It does everything I don't like about Austen books, and it does it well. I was bored and annoyed at the same time. I kept reading in hope it would get better the moment Jane's family comes under threat as promised in the blurb, but this happened too late and wasn't as suspenseful as I had hoped.

All in all this is not a bad read, but it was not what I wanted it to be. I might try other books by Robinette Kowal, but won't read other books in this series.

Why should you read it:
Fans of Jane Austen will probably love this book.


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The Calculating Stars - Book Review

The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut #1)
by Mary Robinette Kowal

What is it about:
On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process.

Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too.

Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.

What did I think of it:
This was another Hugo read, and I was surprised by how much I liked it.

I usually am not too bothered by the whole race into space thing. Give me aliens! This story immediately pulled me in though. The apocalyptic meteorite that starts this alternative history story sets the stakes right from the start: if humanity doesn't succeed in getting into space, there won't be any humans left in a couple of years.

Elma is a brilliant mathematician who also loves flying planes and has lots of experience as a WASP pilot. As she gets involved in the space program she begins to dream to go into space and to become an astronaut, but conventions and bigotry stand in her way.

I rooted for Elma from the start. It's frustrating to see how she and other women have to step back just because of their gender. Even though this story is an alternate history Robinette Kowal succeeds in creating the atmosphere of the time and fills the book with characters so real I wanted to kick the ones who stand in Elma's way.

Next to Elma's fight for a more equal society the race into space was also a lot more fascinating than I would have thought. I was glued to the pages to see where things would lead and if Elma would manage to fulfill her dreams. I liked how Elma herself isn't flawless, and how she is made aware of her privilege.

All in all a compelling and engaging read. I immediately dug up a book by Robinette Kowal I had in my TBR to see if it would be just as good.

Why should you read it:
It's a very enjoyable Alternate History read.


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Teaser Tuesdays - The Calculating Stars

I'm reading this as part of my attempts to read as much of the Hugo Nominations as I can manage. Just started on it, but I have high hopes.


Do you remember where you were when the Meteor hit?
I've never understood why people phrase it as a question, because of course you remember.

(page ? (somewhere right at the start of the book), The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal)


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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you sh"are doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!