The Diviners

I'm still wrapping my head around The Diviners. Libba Bray creates a world brimming with interesting characters, intricate settings and complex plots. There was so much history all around New York, prohibition, flappers, inter-racial relationships. I love that Libba Bray explored different relationships in a story set in the twenties. I loved everything about how these people came together. That being said, I couldn't get enough of Evie. As much as I enjoyed the other characters, I found Evie's character complicated, caught between wanting to do the right thing and being a 17-year-old girl wanting to have fun. I was always racing to find out what was going to happen to her or what she was going to do. What she did at the end was unexpected. The very end. Both things. But I was happy about the second thing because, love him.

I mentioned recently that I had a lot of "first books" and that I should start reading them. The sequel to the The Diviners was just released and I wanted to know if I would want to purchase it. The answer is, yes, I would like a copy of Lair of Dreams stat. There are so many unanswered questions. I want to know about Sister Walker, Sam's mother and James. I want to know what Will is trying to protect Evie from. I want to know more about Memphis and Isaiah. I want to know if anyone is going to find out about Blind Bill. Octavia has to know something about those boys, right? If not, I feel like she'll eventually be a casualty. I want to know about the eye and the dreams. I kind of want more back story on Henry too. Also, I'm a little torn between Sam and Jericho. I think I like Jericho better, but I feel like Sam might win in the end. Also, what does that guy want with Mabel?! Though the beginning took its time introducing us to all these characters, it was worth it. I want to know more about all of them. I want to know about their lives and if they survive the oncoming storm.

Libba Bray notes at the end of the novel, the research that she did to come up with this world.  You can tell that the details were all thought through. The streets, the sounds, the people feel concrete, like they were real places, like Bray had been there. I enjoyed the cabs, the car with a crank, the outfits. Each detail made the world of The Diviners more real. It's nice to find a little reality in my fantasy. I'm so happy and excited that I read The Diviners and I'm eager to read not just Lair of Dreams, but more my Bray.

First Books In A Series

I think I might make fall First Books Season. I look at my shelves, as I so often do, and I see all these books that are "the first", the first in a series. Often I see the second and third books for sale and I wonder, should I buy the next book? I haven't read the first book yet, what if I don't like it? I don't want to waste my money on buying more books in a series if I don't like the first book. When the books are on for a discount, that makes them so much more tempting.  I know I'm two steps from being a total book hoarder, but I'm resisting those steps.  I'm trying to make smarter choices with my limited space. So, I need to read these first books.  I need to decide if these series are for me.  I need to know which books to spend my money on.

Some firsts I might read this fall:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor

Enclave, by Ann Aguirre

Bloodsucking Fiends, by Christopher Moore

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer

The Diviners, by Libba Bray

A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness

Of Poseidon, by Anna Banks

The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

Omens, by Kelley Armstrong

Partials, by Dan Wells

I think I'll stop here.  I could go on, but it's not like I could even read these 10 in 3 months unless I took some time from my job and family life (I could stop sleeping).  Which one should I start with? They all sound so good!