Nancy Springer - Enola Holmes Mysteries

I've just finished this six book series by Nancy Springer and I absolutely loved them. They're young-adult mysteries and they're truly a delight. The concept and characters were so refreshing, I couldn't stop reading them. I was through the whole series in one week.

Enola Holmes is the 14 year old much younger sister of Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes. Through a series of unfortunate circumstances Enola ends up on her own in Victorian London, solving mysteries and evading her brothers.

Enola sets herself up with an imaginary male boss (a necessity in Victorian England where women weren't allowed to have a brain) who is a perditorian, a finder of people or things.Then she sets about, in complete opposition to her brother, Sherlock, to find the missing and solve the mysteries - often crossing his path without Sherlock even realising his little sister was there.

The books are a lot of fun. Nothing nasty happens in them and the character Enola is such a lovely person - she goes out at night dressed as a Nun to help the homeless and often causes herself a lot of extra trouble just because she decided to help someone. They're a great read and it's a pity there aren't more of them. Six books just weren't enough for this engaging heroine Enola Holmes.

Cassandra Clare - Clockwork Angel (2010)

This is the first book in Cassandra Clare's new series The Infernal Devices, it's also a prequel to her excellent Mortal Instruments series. This series is set in the Victorian era and follows the arrival in England of Tessa Gray, a sixteen year old orphan, who seeks refuge with the Shadowhunters. The Shadowhunters keep the balance between humanity and Downworlders (Vampires, Demons, Warlocks and other supernaturals). Tessa gets caught up in the Shadowhunters fight when Downworlders try to use her shape-shifting ability to bring down the Shadowhunters so they can use and abuse humanity as they choose.

It's a fun book. Definitely aimed at the current teen trend towards paranormal romance. I liked it and I liked the first series too. I'm enjoying the Victorian aspects in the book. The historical edge with the paranormal and the strong female characters are something I'm attracted to. I love a good action book with one or more kick-ass female heroines.