Book Review: "Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer" by Katie Alender

"Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer" came into my library in November and I was like "OMG I HAVE to read this!!!" The cover is amazing (hot pink bodice!) AND it says "Let them eat cake... and die!" on the back with a Marie Antoinette lookalike holding a giant knife. How can you say "no" to this book?! Very loosely (like almost not at all) based on Marie Antoinette's death, it's a great read with lots of descriptions of Paris and some fun characters.

Colette Iselin attends a fancy all-girls school and when the opportunity arises to travel to Paris with her class, she jumps on it. Little does she know she's flying into a murder spree: wealthy Paris socialites have started turning up beheaded. As if that weren't enough to ruin the trip, Colette discovers a portrait at Versailles that looks exactly like her and a creepy woman wearing 18th century garb starts stalking her.  Colette knows she's involved in the murders somehow but how? And what can she do? Her pampered, stuck up friends are basically useless and she only has a few days before she'll be the one losing her head.

The Perfect Halloween Book

A little scary, a little creepy, with a good dose of humor and lots of wackiness, Too Many Curses by A. Lee Martinez makes for good Halloween reading. 

Nessy is a kobold in charge of tending the castle of Margle the Horrendous and caring for all the beasts, ghosts, undead, and enemies that Margle has cursed into bizarre forms over the years.  Margle, in case you haven't guessed by now, is a wizard.  A greedy wizard with a inordinate love of revenge.  So when he dies, all of his odd (and occasionally gruesome) collections of both beasts and former enemies are thrilled.  Until they discover that the magics in the castle are unraveling in strange ways.

Nessy is the only one without a curse, so everyone's expecting her to save the day.  Nessy would much rather clean house (she prefers things tidy and orderly), but suddenly that's not so much of an option.  She and her friends (a bat, a disembodied voice, a purple people eater, and pieces of a wizard in a jar) are now frantically trying to outwit demons, an evil wizardess, and keep monsters on the loose from eating the other residents of the castle. 

If you find yourself waiting for Too Many Curses, check out one of A. Lee Martinez's other books.  Brew up some hot cider and curl up with some early Halloween candy and one of his books.  If you like wacky and a little creepy, you won't regret it. 

~ Book Ninja