Finished What a Scoundrel Wants by Carrie Lofty (who I got to meet briefly at RWA this year).

This book takes the legend of Robin Hood and twists it by focusing on his nephew, Will Scarlet. While working as a hired swordsman, Will finds himself caught up in a deadly plot — along with Meg of Keyworth, a blind alchemist that he saves. Soon, the two are off on a dangerous adventure to save Meg’s sister from the clutches of an evil man — and fighting their attraction to each other …

I don’t read a lot of historical romance (unless they’re westerns), but I picked this one up because I’m a sucker for Robin Hood stories. And Lofty does a lot of interesting things in this book.

For one, Meg is blind. I can’t remember the last time I read a book where the hero/heroine was blind, and Lofty does a really good job of depicting how horrible it must be, especially back in those days. But Meg doesn’t let her blindness keep her from doing anything she wants to — including bedding Will. She was a really cool heroine.

I liked Will too, and there was some nice banter between the two of them, as well as some action scenes. And you all know that I love me some good action scenes. 🙂

It all added up to a very enjoyable read, especially if you like Robin Hood stories like I do. Thumbs up.

Up next: Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas.

Books in my TBR pile: About 25.

Finished The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

This is a fantasy book that I bought for Wheezley because he likes a good epic fantasy tale — and I knew that I’d get to read it after he was done. 😉

The book focuses on Locke Lamora, a charming thief, grifter, and all-around con man who’s the leader of the Gentlemen Bastards, a group of like-minded individuals in the city of Camorr. Locke and his merry band of men are working on their next big score when they get involved in a war between the mysterious Gray King and the current head of the underworld in Camorr. Tragedy follows, along with the biggest scam of them all …

This is basically an epic fantasy heist book — kind of like Ocean’s Eleven with swords. There’s not a lot of magic, but the world building is impressive. Camorr is basically a sea city, and one of the spectator sports is watching people fight sharks and other sea monsters, if that tells you anything.

Both Wheezley and I loved this book — so much so that we’re still quoting lines from it. Locke and his men are just fun characters to read, and the twists and turns in the plot will keep you guessing. This is easily the best epic fantasy that I’ve read in the last few years, and I’ve been raving about it to everyone. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel — after Wheezley gets done with it, of course. 🙂

Big thumbs up.

Up next: What A Scoundrel Wants by Carrie Lofty.

Books in my TBR pile: About 25.

One thing I have to catch up on is all the books that I’ve read while the blog has been on forced hiatus. So forgive me if the reviews are a little shorter than usual for a while.

Finished Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. This is the first book in her hugely popular Vampire Academy young adult series.

The book focuses on Rose, a half-human/half-vampire who’s training to become the guardian/protector of her best friend Lissa, a mortal vampire princess. The book follows Rose as she and Lissa deal with all sorts of things — cute boys, mean girls, and someone who seems to have it in for Lissa.

I really, really enjoyed this book. Mead packs so much in here — everything from friendship to depression to survivor’s guilt — and she does it really, really well. It’s a lot deeper than some of the YA that I’ve read, but it’s also fun too — which is a hard balance to achieve. There’s also a twisty mystery about who the bad guy is and romance for both Rose and Lissa.

This is definitely one of the best YA books that I’ve read in a while, and I’ll be reading the next one in this series — just as soon as I whittle down the TBR pile a bit. 😎 

Big thumbs up.

Up next: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

Books in my TBR pile: About 25.

What about you guys? What have you been reading this summer? Share in the comments.