The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee - 513 pages

Henry "Monty" Montague is heading out on his Grand Tour of Europe with his best friend Percy.  It's meant to be one last hurrah for Monty and Percy before he settles down to estate management with his father.  However, his father is using it to punish Monty for being a little too interested in boys.  So Monty sets out for Paris with Percy, his sister and their leader.  But Monty can't seem to keep out of trouble.  He gets caught naked at Versailles, steals a locked box, is chased by an angry baron, set on by highwaymen, poisoned, and attacked by pirates -- all while bringing everything he knew about life and love into question.

I started reading this book for the LGBTQIA challenge last month.  However, I didn't finish it on time.  It got really great reviews, but I found it difficult to get into the first half of the story.  Monty is an extremely unlikable character in the beginning - a narcissistic alcoholic.  If the book wasn't for the challenge, I wouldn't have kept reading it.  I'm glad I did stick with it as by the end of the book you really start to like the various characters.  The author also included several notes in the back of the book on the grand tour, epilepsy, politics, and queer culture in history.

Alchemy by Margaret Mahy

Alchemy by Margaret Mahy - 207 pages

Roland's teacher gives him two choices -- either spy on a fellow student for him or be turned into the authorities as a thief.  But why is his teacher so interested in the Jess?  Who is the mysterious man that seems to be following Roland around?  And what is the voice in his head protecting him from?

This is a supernatural romance from Margaret Mahy.  While I didn't enjoy it as much as her other book The Changeover, it was interesting and kept my guessing as I read it.

Avalon Rising by Kathryn Rose

Avalon Rising by Kathryn Rose  352 pages

In the aftermath of Morgan le Fay's war on Camelot, the once great kingdom struggles to rebuild. Knights scour the world, attempting to restore the Round Table's glory by locating Avalon and the Holy Grail before the dreaded Black Knight can do so first.
Vivienne, Merlin's former apprentice, toils in secret day and night on orders from the Lady of the Lake to build an aeroship. The Lady has seen the future and promised that the ship will ensure Camelot's knights succeed in their quest.
But when a company of knights goes missing―including Owen, Vivienne's brother, and Marcus, her beloved―Vivienne changes the plan and commandeers the aeroship for a rescue mission, altering the fates of all involved. Now, the Lady sees danger in Vivienne's future. And for Marcus, either betrayal or death.

The Sorceress by Michael Scott

The Sorceress by Michael Scott - 512 pages
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Book 3

The fight now takes Flamel and the twins to London where they find new monsters and unexpected support from immortal legends.  Flamel's wife Perrenelle continues to fight her own battles to escape imprisonment by Dee back on Alcatraz.  I like this series because each book covers just a few days in the ongoing conflict so the action never stops.  The reader doesn't have to suspend disbelief for heroes that continually find themselves in scrapes over many years. 

The Magician by Michael Scott

The Magician by Michael Scott - 496 pages
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Book 2

In action just days from the start of the series, Flamel and the Newman twins find themselves in Paris still on the run from the nefarious Dr. Dee who is hunting for the missing pages of the Codex.  One of my favorite historical figures, Niccolo Machiavelli joins the hunt for the twins as well.  Loads of action and new monsters make for a fun addition to the series.

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott - 400 pages
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Book 1

Fans of the Percy Jackson books will love this series for its mix of historical and mythical figures with fast paced action.  The story opens with two 15 year old siblings, Sophie and Josh Newman being drawn into a world they never suspected existed when the bookstore where Josh works is attacked by otherworldly beings.  Josh soon learns that his boss is actually the immoral alchemyst Nicholas Flamel who has been charged with keeping a magical book, the Codex, out of the hands of evil.  Josh and Sophie become embroiled in the conflict which leads them on to a worldwide adventure.  

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney  299 pages

Freak. That's what they call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood at Ironbridge High School. A horrific fey attack that killed her father when she was just a child left Donna branded with iron tattoos that cover her hands and arms - and magically enhanced strength, that she now does all she can to hide. Now, after ten years of wishing for a normal life, Donna finally accepts her role in the centuries-old war against the darkest outcasts of Faerie - the dark elves. Aided by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout, Donna must save her best friend's life - and that means betraying one of the world's greatest secrets and confronting the very thing that destroyed her family.

Rose by Holly Webb

Rose by Holly Webb - 234 pages

Rose is thrilled when she is taken from the orphanage to be a maid in the house of an alchemist.  It's been her lifelong dream to get a job and support herself.  But there are problems with her job.  She keeps seeing magic all over the place, and even worse, doing magic herself.  Then her friends from the orphanage start to disappear.  Now Rose must work with the alchemist's apprentice to try to save the missing children.
I really enjoyed this book.  It had great atmosphere and Rose was written really well.  It was refreshing to see a character in kids fantasy that didn't think magic was the greatest thing in the world.  I was also interested to see while reading the author's bio in the back of the book that this is the first book in a popular series in England.  I'll have to look into getting the other books for the library also.

Fyre by Angie Sage

Fyre by Angie Sage - 705 pages
Septimus Heap series: book 7

Marcellus and Marcia are actually going to work together to destroy the Darke ring.  They need both alchemie and magic to destroy it.  Unfortunately, the Darke ring is trying its hardest to escape.  When it does it's going to take finding an ancient Committal spell and bringing the very first ExtraOrdinary Wizard Hotep-Ra back to do it.
This is the final book in the Septimus Heap series.  It is a good conclusion to the series.  It ties up almost every loose end that I can think of.  It also shows how the characters have grown and progressed over the course of the series.  I also like that it sets it up for Angie Sage's new series which looks like will be based on a character we only get a tiny glimpse of in this book.