PSA: Don't You Forget About Kat!!!

Hello guys!!

I'm currently on easter break which means I got more time to be checking the Internet and Twitter and what have you, so when I came across this post by Stephanie Burgis, author of my much beloved Kat, Incorrigible, I knew I had to share it.

There is a lot more info in that post but basically there is this dispute going on between B&N and Simon & Schuster  so B &N is cutting down their orders for S&S books to practically nothing, and a lot of authors are kind of getting lost in the shuffle, among them Stephanie and the third installment of Kat's adventures Stolen Magic which should start hitting shelves toward the end of the week.

So, if anyone is a fan of Kat, don't forget to buy it! and if you haven't tried this series already you are missing out because Kat is just an adorable and delightful young heroine.

Okay! and I'm out!

Book Review: A Tangle of Magicks by Stephanie Burgis

Warning, this review contains mild spoilers about Kat, Incorrigible (US)/A Most Improper Magick (UK)

UK Edition

Also, A Tangle of Magicks is the UK version of Renegade Magic. 

At First Sight: For a moment there, it seemed like things would finally take a turn for the better for Kat Stephenson and her family, as her oldest sister Elissa is about to marry her love, Mr. Collingwood; and her middle sister Angeline, has her Mr. Frederick Carlyle.

But everything goes wrong on the day of Elissa and Mr. C's wedding, when the ceremony is interrupted by an irate Mrs. Carlyle, Frederick's mother, who isn't so keen on her son's showing interest in Angeline, and drags him away leaving scandal and a heart-broken Angeline behind.

To top it all off, Kat has finally met the head of the Order of the Guardians, and he's none too impressed with with Kat, and that has put her admittance to the order in serious jeopardy. And that's before her stepmother drags them all to Bath, so Angeline can find a new suitor.

Second Glance: I was so looking forward to reading A Tangle of Magicks/Renegade Magic since I loved Kat during her previous story. And for the most part I really did like book 2 but I also struggled a lot to make my way through.

US Edition

I liked it while I was reading it but it was too easy for me to put it down; and I found some things that really irritated me, namely, Kat's family. They were nice for the most part but Angeline comes of as mean more often than not, and Charles as a bit useless and clueless, same with Mr. Stephenson who really seemed to be completely disconnected from what went on in his family.

Mrs. Stephenson was awful as usual, but at least she was trying, in a misguided way, to do something for her family. It's with her relatives - Mrs. Wingate and her daughters - that the Stephensons stay with at Bath, and some of them were just as horrid as her, though I did like Lucy, the youngest daughter of Mrs. Wingate for the most part.

Bottom Line: In the end I liked A Tangle of Magicks/Renegade Magic, but it didn't have the same spark that Kat, Incorrigible had. Maybe I just missed the balance that Elissa brought in the circle of sisters. I don't know. But it still was a lovely middle grade book with a magic bent; and I'm looking forward to the next book. 

2/3

Full Cover Image! Isn't it cute?

Book Review: Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis

US Cover

At First Sight: Kat Stephenson's family is in a fix. Her older brother Charles has gambled the family into ruin, her father is rarely concerned with much other than his studies, her stepmother is always scowling at Kat's improper behaivor, and her older sisters Elissa and Angeline are keeping secrets from her. 

But Kat is good at digging out secrets, and she soon discovers Elissa and Angeline's. First, Elissa is planning on sacrificing herself for the family and marrying an older, by all accounts nasty man called Sir Neville. And second, Angeline is dabbling with their mother's legacy: Magic. 

Mr. Stephenson's first wife - the girls and Charles' mother - was a notorious witch who caused many scandals in her life, but there was a lot more to her than that. She was not only a witch but also a Guardian - a member of an Order of Magic Workers, more powerful than ordinary witches, who work to keep evil witches from hurting innocent people. 

And, while Angeline might inherited the witch-powers, it's Kat who became the heir to the guardian legacy, which is currently landing her in all sorts of mishaps. 

UK Title and Cover

Throw in a house party, some besotted suitors, an evil witch, and a lot of improper behavior, and Kat is knee deep in trouble.

Second Glance: Kat, Incorrigible is a sweet story about Magic and Sisterhood. I loved the Stephenson sisters, and I think Stephanie Burgis did a great job portraying their bond - how they got on each other's nerves, how different they were, and how much they loved one another. 

The story is set in 1803, and I loved the period and the descriptions, and just the over all feel of time that I got. I could feel Kat's annoyance with proper behavior and how she sometimes felt a little left out -as all baby sisters feel, I think, at some point or another - without ever questioning that her sisters loved her.

This is a story that grabbed me from the first page and it only took me a chapter  to know I was going to love it, it was just love at first sight for me and Kat.

Bottom Line: A great story about sisters and magic, with a dash of romance and an adventurous young narrator. I can't wait to read the second book in the series -Renegade Magic - which will be published in the UK in August 2011.

Favorite Quote: "I couldn't hide the books from Angeline, or keep her from finding out that I'd looked at them. But I had something better than secrecy now. 

I had the perfect opportunity for blackmail."

1/2 

Full Cover of Kat, Incorrigible. Isn't it Lovely? From left to right: Angeline, Elissa and Kat