Review and Blog Tour: The Elf of Luxembourg by Tom Weston

Title: The Elf of Luxembourg

Author: Tom Weston

Pages: 290

Source: Author for review

Rating: 6/10

Challenges: Read 'n' Review Challenge

First Sentence: "'Steady, Belle, steady,' cried Emile Fradin to one of the cows as it stumbled."

Summary (From back of book):

The thing about El Dorado is... No, forget that. The thing about younger sisters is...

What's an older sister to do? It's not all fun fairs and ice-cream. Well, it is -- but that's beside the point. When one is in Luxembourg, there is a certain standard to maintain, and vacationing with Elves and Vampires is just so old school. But can Alex convince her younger sister, Jackie, of that? No, of course not, so she may as well get used to it.

But deep beneath the ancient city of Luxembourg there lies a secret. The Vampires believe it is protected by the Elf. The Elf believes it is protected by the prophecy concerning Alex and Jackie. And the sisters? They believe shoes in Luxembourg are too expensive.

Why are the Vampires going toe-to-toe with an Elf for the pleasure of the sisters' company? Why does the Elf think Alex and Jackie can sing? And just who let Sir Walter Raleigh and the Conquistadors into this story?

To answer these questions will take all of the sisters' cunning, bravery and imagination, as well as some souvenir shopping.

My Two Cents:

This book had a great concept, a lot of research behind it and some really shining moments. It is, however, one of those books that could have used a little something more.

Weston has some great, interesting ideas here. He's got ancient guardian elves and spoiled-child vampires. He's got Conquistadors searching for El Dorado. He's got two sisters who just want to have fun on their trip, but who get caught up in a centuries-old battle because, inexplicably, their names are included in an old carving. And, he's got a lot of research and knowledge behind him about Luxembourg and the quest for El Dorado.

The problem for me was there were just too many ideas in here for them to be developed to my liking. I think this book could either have been split into two separate books or have been longer than its 290 pages and the ideas would have come together more fully. As it was, we only got what I would call the "primary" conflict -- between the Elf and the Vampires -- for about 30 pages.

Alex and Jackie were what I would consider pretty typical teenagers. Weston wrote them pretty true-to-life, which isn't an easy task for an adult male author. I wasn't exactly a fan of either of the sisters, but they were well-written.

There also are a lot of places where the grammar isn't quite solid or a homonym is exchanged for the word that's supposed to be there, and this is where this book could've used some extra editing. Those mistakes were pretty distracting to me, but I'm more overly sensitive to grammatical errors than a lot of people.

This wasn't an "ohmygosh this is a book I can't wait to finish" book, but it was pretty solid on the whole. If you like some history mixed in with your fiction (For example, Weston gives the reader the history of several of Luxembourg's summer street festivals), or if you like traditional mythological beings looked at in new ways, you might want to give this one a try.

About the author:

Originally from England, Tom now resides in Boston, Massachusetts. Before turning his hand to fiction, Tom had a successful career as the CEO of a consulting company, conference speaker and writer of industry articles and business books. His novel, First Night, set in Boston during the New Year’s Eve festival, introduced the unlikely heroines, Alex and Jackie, and the ghost of a 17th century Puritan named Sarah Pemberton. First Night won an Honorable Mention in the Middle-Grade/Young Adult category, in the Writers Digest 17th Annual International Self-Published Book Awards. The sequel to First Night, called The Elf of Luxembourg, was published in January, 2010. As with First Night, The Elf of Luxembourg is also a supernatural mystery, with a blend of humor and history that has become Tom’s trademark. Tom is currently working on Book 3 of the Alex and Jackie Adventures, and is researching the background material for the story, which will be set in Ireland. Tom has also written the screenplay, Fission, based on the true story of scientist, Lisa Meitner, and the race for the atomic bomb, and which was named a finalist at the London Independent Film Festival.

Review and Blog Tour: The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Title: The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Author: Sarah Addison Allen

Pages: 265

Source: Publisher for the Pump Up Your Book Promotion tour

Rating: 10/10

Challenges: Read 'n' Review Challenge

First Sentence: "It took a moment for Emily to realize the car had come to a stop."

Summary (From back of book):
Emily Benedict has come to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother's life. But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew, she realizes that mysteries aren't solved in Mullaby, they're a way of life. Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor, Julia Winterson, bakes hope in the form of cakes, not only wishing to satisfy the town's sweet tooth, but also dreaming of rekindling the love she fears might be lost forever.
Can a hummindbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily's backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in.

My Two Cents:
This was another stellar read from Sarah Addison Allen. I truly can't say enough good things about her books, nor can I recommend them to enough people.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon has a little more magic than Allen's first book, Garden Spells, but it's still fully believable. In fact, the magic is so believable that I wanted to move immediately to Mullaby so I could know each and every one of these characters.

I have to say that my favorite character in here was Grandpa Vance. At just over 8 feet tall, he is a Mullaby legend in his own right, but an incident involving his daughter 20 years earlier places him even more on the periphery of the people in town. He is certainly a "gentle giant" who doesn't know how to handle living with Emily, but who tries hard. One of the sweetest parts about Vance, I think, is his tendency to check the dryer at random intervals. I'm not going to tell you why, because that's explained in the book, but the explanation brought tears to my eyes.

I also loved Julia. She was sassy and standoffish, but Allen shows you the reason why she tries to keep aloof from others, especially Sawyer. I loved that she was a baker. To me, characters who have a specific identity or hobby, especially one that is deeply rooted in their past, are really interesting. A person's hobbies can tell a lot about them, and I liked hearing the reasons why Julia began baking.

To me, there was a lot more that could have been done with this book, though. Even as detailed as it was, there were some things I would have liked to see more of. I especially wanted to see more of the interactions between Win and his father. The Coffeys have a huge family secret that Win's father is desperate that no one should know, but we really don't ever get his reasons as to why he's so desperate to keep the secret. It's insinuated, especially based on past events, but I kind of would have liked to see a little more discussion between Win and his father on the matter.

Also, the book ended too soon. I know Allen wanted to leave the reader with a little mystery, even though it's obvious how that mystery will be resolved, but I would have really liked to see how it played out instead of imagining it. But that's just me!

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes books with a little bit of mystery and whimsy. This was a fun, quick read.

About Sarah Addison Allen

Sarah Addison Allen is the New York Times bestselling author of Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen. She was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina, where she is currently at work on her next novel. You can visit Sarah Addison Allen’s website at www.sarahaddisonallen.com.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in order to participate in the Pump Up Your Book Promotion tour. Receiving a free copy in no way influenced my review.