Book review: Prudence by Gail Carriger

Title: Prudence
Author: Gail Carriger
Release date: March 2015
Publisher: Orbit
Series: The Custard Protocol, book one
Genre: Steampunk

Description: ON BEHALF OF QUEEN, COUNTRY . . . AND THE PERFECT POT OF TEA

When Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama (Rue to her friends) is given an unexpected dirigible, she does what any sensible female would under similar circumstances - names it the Spotted Crumpet and floats to India in pursuit of the perfect cup of tea.

But India has more than just tea on offer. Rue stumbles upon a plot involving local dissidents, a kidnapped brigadier's wife and some awfully familiar Scottish werewolves. Faced with a dire crisis and an embarrassing lack of bloomers, what else is a young lady of good breeding to do but turn metanatural and find out everyone's secrets, even thousand-year-old fuzzy ones?

My thoughts: I'm a big fan of Gail Carriger's so I had high hopes for 'Prudence', the first book in her latest series. Thankfully, Ms Carriger did not disappoint. 'Prudence' focusses on Rue, the daughter of Alexia from the Parasol Protectorate series. Rue is approximately 20 years old in this series, and begins the story by stealing a snuff box at a party then shape shifting into a werewolf to get away. Rue has the power to steal supernatural forms by touching the owner - for example, touching her 'uncle' Biffy the werewolf turns her into a wolf until morning, or touching her adoptive father Lord Akeldama turns him mortal while she becomes a vampire. It seems like a pretty cool power to me and I got the impression that Rue had been a bit of a terror growing up.

Lord Akeldama, apart from being a prominent member of vampire society and one of the best dressed men in London, is a bit of a spy-master, always knowing the gossip and news from across London. It's for him that Rue acquires the snuff box, only to find it contains a new kind of tea - from India. When he gives Rue a dirgible, she takes it to India to set up a venture for him with the tea. Of course things don't turn out as planned, and even before they arrive in India, a lioness has tried to steal Rue's parasol and her Navigator and Chief Engineer are refusing to get along.

I loved the group of Rue's friends who end up on the ship with her. There is Quesnel, very French and very flirtatious, who throws Rue in a duck pond at the start of the book. Her best friend is Prim (daughter of Ivy, for those who've read the Parasol Protectorate series, but very unlike her mother) is the perfect hostess and has been involved in all of Rue's best scheme. And there is Percy, Prim's twin brother, who can never get his nose out of a book, even (shocking!) at the dinner table. I can't wait to see what other adventures the four of them get up to. There are some other interesting supporting characters, too, and as the series goes on I suspect some will have bigger roles to play (Lyall, for one).

Although it's set in the same world as Ms. Carriger's other books, you really don't need to have read them before you start this series. I think the story is different enough from the other books that it's definitely going to keep me interested. It also builds up the world very well - I think it's a fine place to start for new readers of Gail Carriger.

Overall, this was a very fun book. I'm already really looking forward to the next book in the series. I'll give this one 8/10.

~Ailsa

Stacking The Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. 

I'm back staying with a friend who has a brilliant college library. I'm making good use of his library card! So here are the books I got this week. All title links go to goodreads.

Not pictured: First Test by Tamora Pierce. (Check my review here!)

Protector of the Small: Page, by Tamora Pierce. This is the sequel to First Test, and I'll probably read it and the rest of the sequence this week. 

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. This has been a huge bestseller in the UK since it was released last year, and it sounds intriguing with a dolls house making things happen. I thought I would give it a look. 

Honor's Knight, by Rachel Bach. This is book 2 in a trilogy. I read the first one in the autumn and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. It's more sci-fi than I'd normally read but I enjoyed book 1.

The Witch With No Name, by Kim Harrison. The last book in the Hollows series!! Nooo!! I'm really excited to see how things finish for these characters though. 

Prudence, by Gail Carriger. It doesn't have the dust jacket on, so I didn't spot it on the shelf at first! Book 1 of a new series from Ms. Carriger. I love her writing and this was one of my 'Waiting on Wednesday' picks the other week so I was very excited to find it here. I'll probably review this later this week. 

Leave me your links and I'll check out the books you got.

~Ailsa

Waiting On Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jess at Breaking The Spine.

I have three books to look at this week. They've all been released in the last couple of months, but I haven't had a chance to read them yet, and I'm making myself read a few more books on my kindle (or get my next job lined up!) before I buy... the waiting is hard!

First up:
Deadly Spells, book 3 in the Prospero's War series by Jaye Wells. I've read the first two books in this
series and really enjoyed them. Kate Prospero is a cop, and from a powerful magical clan - one of the clans she's fighting as a cop. I'm loving the developments in her professional life as a cop, seeing how her attitude to magic is changing, and of course the hints at potential love interests that are starting to creep in! I'm not a fan of insta-love at all, so I'm glad that by the end of book two, there were just some things starting to take shape.

Second: Vision In Silver, by Anne Bishop. Book 3 of the 'Others' series. I like
the way these stories are told, following main character Meg who is a seer - when she makes a cut on her body. Meg is making a home for herself amongst the supernatural creatures who live on the edge of a town in North America. In this series, supernatural creatures are way above humans on the food chain, but the humans have a bad habit of forgetting that! At the end of book 2 it looked like things were getting pretty bad for humans in America, but something in far away Europe could be trying to change that... I'm looking forward to seeing what's next for Meg and her friends, and how they deal with the next set of challenges.

Third: Prudence, by Gail Carriger. I'm a big fan of Carriger's work, and Prudence is about the daughter of my favourite of her heroines, Alexia, making her own way in the world. I can't wait to dive into another aspect of Ms. Carriger's world, and see some old friends from the previous series' too, hopefully.

Feel free to share you're WoW links in the comments :)
~Ailsa

Letterbox Love: belated birthday edition

This is a catch-up Letterbox Love/Stacking the Shelves post for the last few weeks, because I've been so busy lately!

 

All links go to Goodreads.
First up, there's the great 'Beyond Jealousy', book 4 in the 'Beyond' series by Kit Rocha. I loved this, and posted my review on Thursday. (Click through to see a contest!)
   

Next, there's 'The Lady Always Wins' by Courtney Milan, a short historical romance story which was free on Kindle for a while. I'll be posting my review for that one this week.

Then there were my birthday books:

'Prince of Thorns' by Mark Lawrence. First in a fantasy series that has been on my wishlist for a few months. I'm planning on taking this on holiday with my in April.

'Half-Off Ragnarok' by Seanan McGuire. 3rd in her InCryptid series. I'm not sure if I'll review this one yet, as I really don't have praises I haven't already said. I love every one of Ms McGuirre's books I've read, and this was no exception.

'Curtsies & Conspiracies' by Gail Carriger. Book 2 in the 'Finishing School' series. I'll probably review this one when I read it, sometime next week after my dissertation is handed in.

'Lunch in Paris' by  Elizabeth Bard. Another that's been on my wishlist for a while. It's been a while since I read any travel stories, so I'm looking forward to this.

Last but by no means least, I was one of the 'Gollancz Geeks' picked out the hat to review this.

'The Boy With The Porcelain Blade' by Den Patrick. I'm reading this at the moment & enjoying it. I think 'gritty fantasy' might be an apt description.

What did you get recently?

-Ailsa

Book review: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Title: Etiquette & Espionage
Author: Gail Carriger
Release Date: February 2013
Publisher: Atom (UK)
Genre: YA fantasy
Source: Gift

Description: It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.
Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners--and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. 
But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but the also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage--in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

My thoughts: I love Gail Carriger's 'Parasol Protectorate' series, so I was looking forward to this new 'Finishing School' series, which is set in the same world, 25 years earlier. Thankfully Ms Carriger did not disappoint: 'Etiquette & Espionage' is as much fun to read as her previous novels.

We first meet Sophronia as she is trying to hide in the dumbwaiter in her house to spy on the conversation her mother is having with a neighbour. Unfortunately it doesn't go as planned, and an incident with a trifle leads to having to meet a mother who seems more exasperated than angry - a state she seems to be in a lot around Sophronia. That same afternoon, Sophronia is whisked off to the finishing school, but right from the start, things don't go to plan. Before they even make it to the school, the carriage is attacked by 'flywaymen', who use contraptions like hot air balloons to attack passing carriages. As they get to the school and start to learn more, Sophronia and her new friend and roommate Dimity realise that it was no random attack, and start trying to piece together what the flywaymen were looking for, and why.

As readers have come to expect from Gail Carriger, the book is a lot of fun. She continues to paint this steampunk, alternate-history Britain in beautiful little details, while keeping up a plot that had me racing through the story. Fans of the series will be glad to see some familiar faces, albeit a little younger. One of my favourite things was seeing a young Madame Lefoux, who has always been one of my favourite characters. I also thought it was fun to meet a new vampire, one of the Professors, and another werewolf, both of whom seem like very interesting characters with much more to them than we get to see in this book. There is just enough to hint at the fascinating personal stories the two must have, and given Sophronia's constant curiosity, I'm sure there will be more revealed about them in the future books.

I've always enjoyed books set in boarding schools - Enid Blyton, Hogwarts, and many others, and reading something like that again was a flashback of being curled up on a cushion in the school library, reading about the adventures people could have living away from home. Sophronia and her friend get to try things like figuring out how to get past mechanical hall guards, how to sneak in and out of the ship's boiler room, and how to pass notes undetected while dancing.

With 'Etiquette and Espionage', Gail Carriger has produced just the sort of fun-filled story readers have come to expect from her, and the Finishing School series promises to put a new twist on the 'adventures at boarding school' theme.
Overall, I give Etiquette & Espionage 8 out of 10.

~Ailsa

Letterbox Love/Stacking The Shelves

 

It's that time of the week again! I managed to get a couple of days ahead on my college work this week, so hopefully I can take a little time to read over the weekend. I have one book to show this week:



Etiquette & Espionage, by Gail Carriger.

Descripton: It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to finishing school. 
14 year old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners-and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. 
But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's young ladies learn to finish... everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage - in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.


I've been wanting to try this for a while, but decided to wait for the paperback. This was another surprise gift from my boyfriend, and I ended up staying up late last night reading the first few chapters. I love it so far, so I'll probably be posting a review sometime next week.

What books did you get this week?

~Ailsa

Soulless

 Soulless is the first of four parasol protectorate books which tells the story of Alexandra Tarrabotti, a half Italian spinster who also happens to be a 'preternatural' (aka soulless). A cross between PG Woodehouse and Jane Austen, Gail Carriger has created a wonderful alternative steampunk Victorian society in which werewolves and vampires are a key part of society.

After an attack from a strange vampire, Alexia, a preternatural/soulless (who has the ability to cancel out supernaturals) seeks to investigate what is happening to London's high society. However she isn't the only one as Lord Maccon, Alpha of the London pack and Head of BUR, with the help of his unflappable Beta, Prof. Lyall also seek answers to the unexpected new vampires and missing werewolves.

It's hard to put into words, how much I enjoyed this book (and it's sequels). Carriger is an extraordinary writer - she has created this wonderful world, with incredible characters, the most wickedly funny dialogue and all with a lovely dash of romance.  As an aspiring writer, reading (and rereading) this series make me want to weep because I will never write a book this well.

One of the main strengths of the book, is the characters. It is a rare (and lovely) thing when a reader becomes so attached to a set of characters - but it would be impossible not to with this book, as each individual character is so complete, it makes you want to cherish them. Even presumably 'minor' characters leap off the page and make you pay attention to their story.

So, if you enjoy intelligent and funny dialogue, excellent world-building and characters who stay with you long after you close the book - then this is for you.

But if you don't believe me - then simply read the below quotes. They show the wit and style that is the trademark of this series.And truly you'd have to be soulless not to at least crack a smile!!

 "A vampire, like a lady, never reveals his true age." 

 "My dearest girl,' said the vampire finally, examining Lord Maccon with an exhausted but appreciative eye, 'such a banquet. Never been one to favor werewolves myself, but he is very well equipped, now, is he not?' Miss Tarabotti gave him an arch look. 'My goodies,' she warned. 'Humans,' chuckled the vampire, 'so possessive'"

 "Miss Tarabotti was not one of life's milk-water misses--in fact, quite the opposite. Many a gentleman had likened his first meeting with her to downing a very strong cognac when one was expecting to imbibe fruit juice--that is to say, startling and apt to leave one with a distinct burning sensation" 

"Please, Lord Maccon, use one of the cups. My delicate sensibilities.” The earl actually snorted. “My dear Miss Tarabotti, if you possessed any such things, you certainly have never shown them to me" 

  "Hello, princess,” said Lord Maccon to the vampire. “Got yourself into quite a pickle this time, didn't you?” Lord Akeldama looked him up and down. “My sweet young naked boy, you are hardly one to talk. Not that I mind, of course" 

 "Mr. Haverbink bowed deeply, muscles rippling all up and down his back, and lumbered from the room. Miss Hisselpenny sighed and fluttered her fan. "Ah, for the countryside, what scenery there abides..., " quoth she. Miss Tarabotti giggled. "Ivy, what a positively wicked thing to say. Bravo.” "

Overall, an exceptional witty and fun read, with wonderful in-depth characters that will stay with you forever. Without further gushing, I give this book (and series) 10/10!! 

Timeless, by Gail Carriger

Title: Timeless
Author: Gail Carriger
Release date: March 2012 - available now!
Publisher: Orbit
Genre: Steampunk
Source: Christmas present
Notes: #5 in the Parasol Protectorate series

Description: Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.
Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

My thoughts: I've been a fan of this series and the world Gail Carriger has created since I read Soulless (the first book in the Parasol Protectorate series). So it was a little bittersweet to pick this one up knowing it's the end of the series, even though we have other books set in the world to look forward to.

In 'Timeless', the questions about the God-Breaker Plague come back again, and this time the characters need to look deeper. Conveniently for that investigation, after a few adventures in London, Alexia & her family are summoned to Egypt. Meanwhile back home, the werewolves are dealing with another problem we had seen in an earlier book (I forget which one) which had been sorted out at the time - that Professor Lyall had engineered Lord Maccon coming down to take over the Woolsey pack. It turns out they have other repercussions to deal with from that.

The short version is, I loved this. I think Gail joins the people like Keri Arthur and Ilona Andrews in my head where I know that I'm going to like the book, regardless of which characters it includes, or what adventures they get up to.  We get to spend a lot of time with the werewolves in Timeless, who I always love reading about. A relationship that I was really hoping for did develop, and I'm so happy for the characters involved, and hope we'll see more of that in the spin-off books. Lord Akeldama also gets plenty of page time, and it's interesting to see how, even as an old vampire, he is being affected by changes, and the developments of the world. Akeldama is another person who I hope will be there in the future spin off books, because I think there is more to him, more facets of his personality, than we've seen so far.

As a whole, I felt like the book was.. heavier, than some of the others. There seem to be a lot of things here that are setting up for future things (ie, seeing Prudence's powers, and the restrictions on them), and a lot of things that are tying up this series. It was a very filling book, I finished it feeling pretty contented about everything, and the way it had ended.

Overall, 'Timeless' is another example of Gail Carriger's humorous, engaging style, a good conclusion to the Parasol Protectorate series that also leaves readers eager for the upcoming spin-off books.

I give Timeless 9 stars

~Ailsa

Blog tour: Interview & giveaway with Diane Alberts

Today I am happy to welcome Diane Alberts to the blog, as part of her blog tour for new book, Divinely Ruined.
Author bio: Diane Alberts has always been a dreamer with a vivid imagination, but it wasn’t until 2011 that she put her pen where her brain was, and became a published author.  Since receiving her first contract offer, she has yet to stop writing. Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, and a Senegal parrot. In the rare moments when she’s not writing, she can usually be found hunched over one knitting project or another.
She is a multi-published, bestselling author with Entangled Publishing and Decadent Publishing. She is repped by her fabulous agent, Lauren Hammond of ADA Management. She has, as of this date, two books with Entangled Publishing, and five books with Decadent Publishing. Her February release with Entangled Publishing, ON ONE CONDITION, hit #18 on the Barnes and Noble Bestseller List. She has a lot of projects currently being shopped around by her fabulous agent, and her goal is to write so many fantastic books that even a non-romance book fan will know her name.

Let's find out a little more about the book!

She finally meets a decent man–after she’s oath-bound never to touch men again!
Rebecca’s life sucked before she became an angel. Crappy apartment, awful jobs, abusive boyfriends–it was no wonder she jumped at the chance to escape it all and become a real live angel. The problem is Rebecca’s not very angelic, and she’ll have to do more to earn her wings than end her love affair with the word f–er, frick.
Especially when she’s assigned to save single father Tony Weis, whose less-than-pure thoughts wreak hell on a telepathic angel’s nerves. It’s all Rebecca can do to keep her hands off him…but when she loses her memory injuring herself to save Tony’s daughter, now it’s Tony’s turn to be her angel and care for her. But will Tony’s devotion tempt her from her angelic path, even if it means being human again?

I had the chance to ask Diane a few questions for the blog.
Ailsa: First of all, 'Divinely Ruined' deals with the idea of guardian angels, but your angels were originally human. Rebecca is still very influenced by who she was in her human life - is she different in this, or do others have problems with adapting to 'angel behavior', too?

Diane: I think she, in particular, has a hard time adjusting to the new life she is in. She had such a dark, unhappy life as a human, so she thinks she is ready to give it all up for the glory of the life of an angel. She doesn’t want love and a family anymore…or, she thinks she doesn’t. But Tony helps her see past her fears, and helps her move on from them.
If not for her past life as a human, I think she wouldn’t have been so tempted by Tony, since he represents everything she wanted when she was human, but could never find.

Ailsa: Aww! So what's your favourite thing about Rebecca? How about Tony?

Diane: I love that Rebecca, despite her attempts at being a hard-hearted, perfect, non-swearing  angel, finds everything she didn’t know she wanted in Tony and Miranda. She is stubborn and tries to ignore the signs, like any red-headed angel would, but not too hard-headed to admit it.
And my favorite thing about Tony is the way he acts around those he loves. He tries to hide behind a hard shell and act like he doesn’t care about anything or anyone, but around Miranda and Rebecca, the real Tony shines through.

Ailsa:  Tony's daughter is adorable! Did you always plan for her to be an equally important main character? I love how much she is tied in to the plot, not just someone there to lighten things up and look cute.

Diane: Yes! To me, she is a central character because she drives Tony to be a better person. She makes him want to be an amazing father and a good human…despite his skepticism toward life. She needed to shine through as the adorable, amazing little girl she is. And, I’ll tell you a little secret. She’s based off my own daughter.

Ailsa: That's so nice to be able to base a character on your daughter! A lot of our readers are also aspiring writers - how would you describe your writing process for the story? Did it come to you fully formed, or did it take a while to come together? Is that typical for you?

Diane: Well, the first thing that came to me was the fact that I wanted to write an angel story that is different from all the other ones. In other angel books, they are ethereal beings that have great, sunny dispositions and never lose their temper. I thought it would be a fun change of pace to switch it up and have them be more human. And Rebecca? Well, she came with a foul temper and bright red hair.
Tony quickly followed, and with him came Miranda. A single father, down on his luck and miserable—in desperate need of saving. Saving that Rebecca could give, and only her. The rest of the story just flowed along after the characters formed, and after lots of re-writing and revising, I subbed it to Entangled!

Ailsa: Hurray! Finally, what would you say to people who still aren't convinced to try the book - what do you think makes Divinely Ruined different?

Diane: It is such a refreshing take on angels, and I tried to blend in the realistic world with the fantasy world. I tried to make you believe that angels like Rebecca really do exist—and maybe you know one. But more importantly, this is not like any angel book you’ve ever read. Trust me…I know! Pick up a copy today!

---
Thanks Diane! If you want to know more, you can read the first chapter online, Entangled Publishing or follow these links to buy: Books on Board,  Amazon,  or Barnes and Noble.


Find Diane on the web:
Website: www.dianealberts.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/DianeAlberts
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Diane-Alberts/121705201245084
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5081315.Diane_Alberts


Finally, Entangled Publishing are offering a giveaway copy of 'Divinely Ruined'! Just leave a comment  to enter, open to midnight June 7th. Winner will be chosen at random and announced as close to June 8th as I can manage.

Review: Divinely Ruined, by Diane Alberts

Title: Divinely Ruined
Author: Diane Alberts
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Release date: April 2012
Genre: Romance
Source: review copy from publisher

Description: She finally meets a decent man - after she's oath-bound never to touch men again!
Rebecca's life sucked before she became an angel. Crappy apartment, awful jobs, abusive boyfriends - it was no wonder she jumped at the chance to escape it all and become a real live angel. The problem is Rebecca's not very angelic, and she'll have to do more to earn her wings than end her love affair with the word f-er, frick.
Especially when she's assigned to save single father Tony Weis, whose less-than-pure thoughts wreak hell on a telepathic angel's nerves. It's all Rebecca can do to keep her hands off him... but when she loses her memory injuring herself to save Tony's daughter, now it's Tony's turn to be her angel and care for her. But will Tony's devotion tempt her from her angelic path, even if it means being human again?

My thoughts: Divinely Ruined is a sweet story about a woman who's been given the chance at a new life as an angel. Her first task is to save Tony, and that is immediately problematic. First, there's the challenge of making Tony let her in to help. Being an angel makes her telepathic which helps, but it also leaves her susceptible to the mental images Tony comes up with of them being very friendly together. Not on purpose (most of the time) - he just didn't expect an angel to be pretty and favour low cut tops. Each chapter starts with an Angel Rule, and Rule Number 2 is "never fall for your subject". Rebecca is so determined to do a good job and earn her wings, but Tony is very distracting, especially with his adorable daughter, Miranda.

I liked watching Tony and Rebecca start to trust and become familiar with each other, and then to properly care about each other. Rebecca connects with Miranda almost straight away and is an important part in bringing them together. The story is fairly short (less than 200 pages) but has a lot of character development packed in. There was one big thing Rebecca did that I got a bit annoyed with, near the end of the book - she reacts very badly to something Tony does, and I really don't think it was fair of her.

This is a sweet romance story with just a hint of angels involved, and was a pleasant read for an evening. It wasn't particularly 'deep' or needing lots of thought, but it was nice to have something light for a little while. I'll give this a 6 overall.

~Ailsa