First up was Stephenie Meyer's new book for adults, The Host. Meyer is one of those authors who isn't necessarily the best writer in the world (like I could do any better, ha) yet I find myself attached to her stories. She's also fairly responsible for getting teens, particularly girls, to read, which is a somewhat difficult feat. The Twilight "Saga" (I think it's silly to call it a saga instead of a series) captured my interest when the second book was released in the fall of 2006 and I am eagerly awaiting the release of Breaking Dawn in August and the Twilight movie in December. Anyways, The Host details an Earth taken over by parasites... nice and peaceful parasites who basically make the world a better place. Wanderer is assigned to the body of human Melanie, who was previously part of the violent and sneaky resistance. Wanderer begins to communicate with Melanie and is lead to her human uncle's compound in the desert where she is forced to prove herself to a band of not so trusting people, including her boyfriend, Jared. It was a quick read and I enjoyed it overall. My one qualm is that all of her books contain these annoying self-sacrificing women who have to be picked up and taken everywhere. It's too much and I want to read about somebody who is a little more assertive after a while. 
After Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell I advanced to 1930s England with I Capture the Castle. This book is by Dodie Smith of 101 Dalmatians fame. Cassandra, a 17 year old girl, lives in a castle with her father who is ailed with writer's block, her step mother, a former servant's son, Stephen, her younger brother, and her older sister Rose. Forced to sell anything of value in the castle to pay the rent (which is eventually not paid) the family is virtually destitute and relies on Stephen to provide for the family. Things get interesting when the wealthy American Cotton's become the family's new landlords at nearby Scoatney. Simon and Neil, the sons of the family create quite a disturbance at the castle and Cassandra and her sister find themselves both experiencing the perils of being poor, first loves, first heartaches, etc. Cassandra paints a very real picture of the family, their hardships, and quirks. Cassandra herself is passionate, caring, and a little self-centered in the good way that most 17 year olds should be. I loved this book.
After reading the first quarter of The Mists of Avalon, I picked up Anya Seton's Avalon, which I mentioned in the previous post. This book follows a woman named Merewyn throughout her life. Growing up in Cornwall, she thinks that she is of the royal blood line of King Arthur, when in reality she is a bastard and the result of a Viking raid. She falls in love with a distant relative of King Edgar, Rumon, when she meets him while looking for healing water for her dying mother. Rumon is on his way to England from France to live a peaceful life in the court. Merewyn's mother asks Rumon to take Merewyn with him to England and to promise to not let her or anyone else know of her true parentage. He keeps this promise, but views her initially as a burden. He later falls in love with her after years of treating her poorly and lusting after the enchanting, but evil Queen Alfrida. This book follows Merewyn from Cornwall to England to Iceland to Greenland and back to England. It takes place during the reigns of Edgar, Edward II the Martyr, and Ethelred II the Unready. It also features northern heroes like Erik the Red and Leif Erikson. It was an interesting read, as I don't know too much about this time in history. Anya Seton is a timeless author and I look forward to reading more of her stuff.Much like May, June doesn't look promising for me to complete much reading. Off to read the rest of The Mists of Avalon.
