Tag Archives: young adult

Review: The Uninvited by Cat Winters

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Title: The Uninvited

Author: Cat Winters

Publishing Information:  August 11, 2015 by William Morrow

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy, Horror

Series Information: Standalone

Format: Hardcover, 343 pages

Source: Obtained an ARC for review via the publisher

Recommended For: Fans of historical fiction with paranormal elements, strong heroines, and those of you looking for some swoony feels

Related Reviews: Review of In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

Twenty-five year old Ivy Rowan rises from her bed after being struck by the flu, only to discover the world has been torn apart in just a few short days. But Ivy’s life-long gift—or curse—remains. For she sees the uninvited ones—ghosts of loved ones who appear to her, unasked, unwelcomed, for they always herald impending death. On that October evening in 1918 she sees the spirit of her grandmother, rocking in her mother’s chair. An hour later, she learns her younger brother and father have killed a young German out of retaliation for the death of Ivy’s older brother Billy in the Great War.

Horrified, she leaves home, to discover the flu has caused utter panic and the rules governing society have broken down. Ivy is drawn into this new world of jazz, passion, and freedom, where people live for the day, because they could be stricken by nightfall. But as her ‘uninvited guests’ begin to appear to her more often, she knows her life will be torn apart once more, but Ivy has no inkling of the other-worldly revelations about to unfold.

We follow Ivy as she leaves her childhood home behind. She does her best to move on from the violence and guilt that her family brings. As Ivy leaves home, she walks by the store in which her father and brother committed a horrible act of violence and finds Daniel Schendel down on the floor, doing his best to remove the blood from his floorboards. Ivy does her best to push into Daniel’s life and provide him with some sort of solace to replace the guilt that she feels from her family’s crime. Over time, the two are able to build something beautiful despite the horror that is right outside their door.

“I know he’s in mourning and a tragic figure, which I’m sure melts your poetry-loving heart.”

This novel broke my heart in the very best way. Like other novels by Cat Winters, Ivy is living in a rather difficult time for women. Therefore the growth of her character was truly amazing to watch. Her strength shone through the terror and ugliness of the time in which she is living, I especially liked her role in driving an ambulance for the Red Cross. Daniel grows in his own way as well, and learns to trust that not everyone is as hateful and close-minded as those he had come in contact with prior to meeting Ivy. The secondary characters have their own layered and interesting personalities and I found that I really cared about each one.
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On the Same Page: Howl’s Moving Castle

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Title: Howl’s Moving Castle

Author: Diana Wynne Jones

Publishing Information:  April 22nd 2008 by Greenwillow Books

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Magic, Adventure

Series Information: Book one in the Howl’s Moving Castle Trilogy

Format: Paperback, 429 pages

Source: Borrowed from my public library

Recommended For: Readers looking for a fun and quick read that will bring them back to their childhood.

Related Reviews: Check out Amy’s post and Brittany’s post

Hi friends! Here again for our On the Same Page post! This month we read a classic that we had all neglected to read while growing up! Howl’s Moving Castle is one of those books that I have always regretted not reading, not to mention the fact that people keep telling me that I absolutely needed to see the movie – and we all know that I can’t watch it before reading! So that is just what I did, I set out to read Howl’s Moving Castle and I devoured it in a day! I loved this book so much, it reminded me of growing up reading The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, which I think is my go to highest compliment! Okay so let’s get into the comparison…

castle

The first thing that I should tell you is that I am finding that those who watched the movie prior to reading the book enjoy the movie a lot more, and vice versa. Actually, multiple people have told me that they were unable to even finish the book because they were not enjoying it as much as the movie! I read the book first and found that I enjoyed the book so much more than the movie. I don’t really see how I can write this post without ruining some of the plot so, spoilers ahead! Continue reading →

Beyond Books: 2015 Mid Year Check-In OR “The One With All the Recaps”

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Heyyy there friends!

Lots of great things have been happening in my life so I thought that I would check in with you all! I work very hard to keep this blog a hobby that makes me happy and never something that I “must” do, which means when I am out there enjoying life, the blog stays pretty quiet. So with that in mind, I thought it would be fun to catch you all up on what I have been doing/reading/listening to for the first half of the year!

#amlistening

Lore Podcast

lore

You guys, I can’t say enough great things about this podcast! Knowing my adoration for the macabre, Lindsey nudged me to give it a try and I am so happy that I did! So what is it? Lore is a bi-weekly (sigh, I know) podcast about true life scary stories. Each episode of Lore delves into a scary tale and uncovers the truth behind it! That’s right, we get a nice supernatural history lesson with each podcast! I was so enthralled by Lore that I actually went back and re-listened to some episodes! Now, I know most of you are thinking that this must be terrifying in order to hold my macabre interest! But you know what, it really isn’t! Some of the stories managed to get near my incredibly high threshold, but I played some episodes for my (incredibly sensitive and ahem..scaredy cat) boyfriend and he enjoyed them as well. So what I am trying to tell you is that this podcast is great for all types of listeners, those of you who love the macabre, and those of you who are in the mood for the kind of story you should listen to on a chilly October evening. Also check out Lore’s Twitter because Aaron is very fun and seems to really appreciate his fans. Also, we (ahem, I) am trying to come up with a name for our fandom…Loreates? Loreites? What say you fellow fandom dwellers?

For fans of: all things supernatural, the x-files, Welcome to Nightvale, Rick Yancy, Neil Gaiman, Mythology, folktales, chilly autum evenings…

#amwatching

Penny dreadful

Penny Dreadful is still going strong, if you like gothic literature then head over and binge this show because it is gloriously macabre and wonderful. Gotham started off slow but then I fell fast and hard for it. Batman villains, I was already in love before it even started. Outlander, though I am only half way through the season, I binged that entire half and can’t wait to devour more! The book wasn’t my favorite, but the show is stellar. All things Avengers are also my (and everyone’s) current obsession. Ant Man comes out next week and I can’t wait. Continue reading →

On the Same Page: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

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Title: The Wrath and the Dawn

Author: Renee Ahdieh

Publishing Information:  May 12, 2015 by Putnam Juvenile

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Retelling

Series Information: Book one in the Wrath and the Dawn duet

Format: Hardcover, 388 pages

Source: Received an ARC from the publisher via Edelweiss *all quotes based on an unfinished copy

Recommended For: Readers looking for something that feels familiar but is wholly different, and anyone needing a multitude of swoons

Related Reviews: My review, Amy’s Pinterest board and Brittany’s review

Hi friends! I am sure that by now you have already read my RAVE REVIEW of The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. Well, I loved this novel so much that I was highlighting so many quotes while reading. As you know, quotes are my favorite! So I am dedicating this On the Same Page post to the best quotes of the novel. Also? I preordered The Wrath and the Dawn. I never preorder books!! So go read Amy’s post, and Brittany’s post and then go preorder this book immediately because it was definitely the best debut that I have read this year! So, without further ado, the quotes!

Shazi to the wolves

“So you would have me throw Shazi to the wolves?”
“Shazi?” Jalal’s grin widened. “Honestly, I pity the wolves.”

beautiful laugh Continue reading →

Review: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

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Title: The Wrath and the Dawn

Author: Renee Ahdieh

Publishing Information:  May 12, 2015 by Putnam Juvenile

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Retellings

Series Information: The first in The Wrath and the Dawn duet

Format: Hardcover, 388 pages

Source: Received an ARC from the publisher via Edelweiss *review and quotes based on an unfinished copy

Recommended For: Readers looking for something that feels familiar but is wholly different, and anyone needing a multitude of swoons

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend. She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

There is so much to say, and yet I don’t think that I have enough words to convey how much I absolutely adored The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. I honestly don’t know where to start…

Let’s start with all of the things that The Wrath and the Dawn could have done. It could have given the readers a love triangle to frustrate the most easy going reader. It could have provided us with a strong heroine who suddenly shifts in character and falls apart due to a man. We could have been given women who hate each other due to their beauty, or jealousy. Honestly, this novel could have fallen into every trope imaginable, and somehow the author managed to move past these boundaries and therefore succeed in writing one of the best debuts that I have ever read.

Instead, Renee Ahdieh wrote a novel that encompasses love after it has grown and become something real, between two characters who grow and learn with one another. Characters who only lose themselves in the moment, still maintaining their sense of self and strength while learning to allow another past the walls around their hearts. The slow burn love story in The Wrath and the Dawn is admittedly the best part of the novel. It is the core of the novel, weaving through every page, yet it doesn’t take away from the underlying plot, the question of why Shazi is there in the first place and the struggle that Khalid has every waking moment.

“What are you doing to me, you plague of a girl?” he whispered.

“If I’m a plague, then you should keep your distance, unless you plan on being destroyed.” The weapons still in her grasp, she shoved against his chest.

“No.” His hands dropped to her waist, “Destroy me.”

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Review: Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

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Title: Crimson Bound

Author: Rosamund Hodge

Publishing Information:  May 5, 2015 by Balzer & Bray

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Series Information: Standalone

Format: Hardcover, 448 pages

Source: Received an ARC from the publisher for review

Recommended For: I don’t know, fans of dark fantasies who don’t have high expectations I guess

Related Reviews: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

I am going to mark spoilers as clearly as I can, but for those of you who are planning on reading Crimson Bound, you might wanna avert your eyes until after you finish. Then come back and let’s discuss!

A few things to note before reading this review…First, Crimson Bound was one of my most anticipated reads this year. Second, Crimson Bound is NOT at all part of the Cruel Beauty world; it is not a sequel or companion and has nothing to do with the author’s first book. Third, I am pretty easy to please, and rarely DNF books. I do not generally have an issue with love triangles and am not one who tears apart books due to unrealistic standards. I was an English major in college and it was necessary to critique in that way while reading so now that I have the time to read for pleasure that is exactly what I do – I am not here to be a critic. Finally, with all of that being said, I have to tell you that I did not enjoy Crimson Bound. In fact, I not only didn’t enjoy the novel, but I was angry over my disappointment upon completion. To sum up…

IMG_3672 (2)

But, let me explain…

Crimson Bound starts off strong, Rachelle is attacked in the forest (basically the only allusion to Little Red Riding Hood to be found in the novel) by a “forestborn” who marks her and leads her to make a choice that will bound her to him and The Devourer (our villain, he isn’t really fleshed out so?) forever. Race forward a few years and Rachelle is living with her choice, doing all that she can to fight for her (for lack of a better word) soul and save the world from the Devourer. She is doing so by the side of her best friend, Erec. Erec is made to be strong, unforgiving and extremely charming. In fact, Rachelle spends much time in the novel thinking about how he is a womanizer but is still oh so dreamy that she can hardly contain the stirrings in her loins. Admittedly, I liked Erec. He was definitely harsh, but he knew what he wanted and went for it and also seems to be quite a good kisser as the only swoony moments had to do with him and his ego. So as I said, the beginning of the novel was decent. There are many action packed moments and our main character Rachelle seems like she is strong and likable. Also there is a very strong “character” to be found in The Forest which often comes alive in response to The Devourer “waking,” and any novel that puts so much emphasis on a forest is okay in my book.

Then…things started to change in Crimson Bound. This novel that held such promise, and strength started to fall apart (much like the main character) at the introduction of the king’s bastard son, Armand. Armand is thought to be a Saint, as he went up against a forestborn and survived – though he lost his hands and thus lives as a martyr every day. The easiest way for me to describe Armand to you is for me to do what Rachelle did and compare him to Erec. You see, Armand was kind, and filled with the sunshine that Rachelle so needed for her soul. While Erec, oh Erec played to that dark side of her, the side that was wakened when she went up against the forestborn in the first place. Thus begins the dumbest love triangle ever and basically the reason that Rachelle spends A LOT of time putting herself down, thinking herself unworthy of Armand. Who, by the way, she was saying that she LOVED not long after meeting (and hello familiar trope) HATING him. Rachelle, who is a bad ass fighter and is strong in her convictions, falls apart when Armand (apparently) betrays her. In order to feel better about herself she lowers herself by sleeping with Erec. Yeah, you read that correctly. She goes to find Erec to “forget” what Armand did because she thinks that she is only worthy of being Erec’s mistress. This made me so angry. First of all, why is this strong woman falling apart like this over a man to where she actually thinks that she DESERVES to be with someone who hadn’t made her a priority up to that point, and when she was made a priority it is only as a piece of property. In fact, Erec stated multiple times that she belonged to him and that he wouldn’t give her up without a fight. YOU BELONG TO NO ONE, RACHELLE!! NO ONE BUT YOURSELF!!

Then throw in this whole religious aspect where The Bishop is preaching about renouncing The Devourer, and so on. Which only made me think that the author was trying to force the novel into this mold that didn’t fit, and it didn’t sit well with me. If the Bishop is preaching the will of God, and going against The Devourer, does that make The Devourer the stand in for Satan? Why is this religion taking up so much plot and reasoning for my character’s actions in my short young adult novel that has no time to give much explanation to the dynamics of the religion? Stop it. Then the ending, this is where it is going to get spoiler-y folks so look away…Rachelle finds out that Erec – you know the dude who she has such strong feelings for that she lowered herself to sleep with – is actually the forestborn from the beginning who first marked her AND the same forestborn who Armand went up against who took his hands. Erec confesses that he loves her and wants her to RULE with him (I mean every trope imaginable, this novel falls into, honestly). She obviously hates him and decides that she is going to sacrifice herself to The Devourer to wait for it…SAVE ARMAND! So she goes to The Dark Forest by sacrificing herself and of course Erec is there and they have a nice chat and he confesses his “love” and then as they are getting away from The Devourer he decides that he doesn’t want to go back to the real world and life in exile, or chains, or whatever so HAHA he SACRFICES HIMSELF TO THE DEVOURER – not to be confused with Rachelle who attempted to sacrifice herself for another, he is doing this to take his fate into his own hands. So, obviously she succeeds and comes back to life where she is no longer a forestborn but a mere human, and then she and Armand have an awkward few weeks together where they barely speak. Then within the last few pages of the novel she thinks she sees the forest come alive again and cries and realizes how bad she feels for Erec because he isn’t really dead he is just been devoured (hehe) by The Devourer so still lives in his stomach or something and what a horrible way to go?? Then Armand finds her and awkwardly tells her that he doesn’t want her to leave his side and they have sunshine and a kiss and BOOM it’s over.  What. / end spoilers

To sum up, I was pretty disappointed in this novel. I had the highest expectations and perhaps that is where I went wrong. To be fair, many people who have read Crimson Bound really enjoyed it so make your own judgments!

On the Same Page: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

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Title: Anna and the French Kiss

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publishing Information:  December 2, 2010 by Dutton Juvenile

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction

Series Information: Book one in the Anna and the French Kiss series

Format: Hardcover, 372 pages

Source: Bought for my personal library

Recommended For: Fans of contemporary novels, or most importantly, fans of English/French/American boys who have perfect accents and perfect hair and often use phrases like, “Yeah, that was pants.” Instead of “Rubbish. Crap. Shite.”

Related Reviews: Amy’s post on  her re-read and Brittany’s post on read-alikes!

You guys probably know by now that I am not a big contemporary reader…so even though I was gifted Anna and the French Kiss, and was told that I would definitely enjoy it, I will still wary to start. Let me tell you guys my opinion of Anna and the French Kiss in a word: SWOON. SO MANY SWOONS. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this book and the relationship between Anna and Etienne. Though I found some parts to be predictable, I still loved this novel very much. Well, as you can see we are featuring Anna and the French Kiss as our On the Same Page pick this month! Since there were so many swoony moments in Anna and the French Kiss, and because you guys know that I love quotes so much, I decided to make up some nice graphics to go along with my favorite parts. Enjoy!

Welcome to Paris“Welcome to Pairs, Anna. I’m glad you’ve come.”

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On the Same Page: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

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Hello my friends! This month the gals and I read American Gods by Neil Gaiman! It should come as no surprise to you that I love, love, LOVED it. It is well known that I am a Neil Gaiman fangirl. Therefore, it is no question that people usually come to me and ask questions like, “If I wanted to start reading Neil Gaiman books, where should I begin?” This question is generally so hard to answer because Neil Gaiman is such an interesting author, he writes all types of books, for all ages and levels of enjoyment. Due to his eclectic nature, I think that it is important  to do a reference interview of sorts before recommending any of his books, you may read something by him and loathe it, but then pick up something else he wrote and fall in love. Keeping that in mind I decided I would put together a little guide on Gaiman. If you don’t know where to start, read on and let me help!

If you like fairy tales…read Stardust:

Stardust is much more than a fairy tale, and given Gaiman’s nature it holds a lot of so called “horror” aspects as well. Stardust is a coming of age novel, a novel about family. It is also a story about different kinds of love. Like those feelings of “love” that really turn out to be just being in love with the idea of who you want someone to be and not who they really are. Stardust has witches, fallen stars, and pirates. It’s filled with intrigue, bravery, witty banter, and a sweet romance. The best thing that I can say about Stardust is that it is often compared to The Princess Bride by William Goldman, how can a review get any higher than that? If you enjoy fairy tales, witty main characters, and novels filled with light and dark moments, then Stardust is the book for you.

If you want to laugh out loud…read Good Omens (co-written with Terry Pratchett):

Good Omens is, in a word, brilliant. I am unfamiliar with the work of Terry Pratchett (I know, I KNOW) but I am looking to pick up his Discworld series immediately due to my love for Good Omens. In a nutshell, Good Omens is a story about the coming of the apocalypse. It’s the story of the angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley, who would rather it didn’t interfere with their very spoiled lives, thank you very much. What comes next is a novel full of shenanigans from a mass of people who are trying to prevent the end of the world, not to mention find the Antichrist who is somewhere, being raised by a rather regular sort of family. Hilarity ensues, as Aziraphale and Crowley do their best to save the world while also trying to maintain some sort of dignity. If you can, listen to the full cast audio of this one as it is rather fantastic.

If you need something to read aloud to the kids…read Fortunately, the Milk:

I say read this aloud to your kids but if I am being honest I laughed out loud to myself while reading this while on the train home from NYC. Fortunately, the Milk is a great read aloud as it is funny and quick, not to mention the fact that it is filled with wonderful illustrations. Fortunately, the Milk is a hilarious story of time travel, and dinosaurs, and of the love of a father who really just wants to get home to his kids who are obviously in dire need of some milk for their morning breakfast.

If you like fables, mythology, superheroes and some philosophy…read Sandman:

That’s right. Sandman has all of these things and more. I wasn’t much of a reader of graphic novels before I picked up Sandman, but now I am completely hooked. So much happens throughout this series but ultimately the reader is taken on many journeys through many different places and time. We travel through Hell at one point, and Shakespeare’s time, and to an inn at the world’s end. We meet some superheroes, and some different gods and goddesses. I love this series so much because so much happens in each volume that re-reads are absolutely inevitable. Our main character, Morpheus, is one of the seven Endless (Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, Delirium) and as our title character much of the story revolves around his troubles. The only thing (potentially) negative is that I want MORE from the other Endless. NEED more, please. Continue reading →

On the Same Page: Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

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Title: Midwinterblood

Author: Marcus Sedgwick

Publishing Information:  October 6, 2011

Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Mystery, Horror, Romance

Series Information: Standalone

Format: Hardcover, 272 pages

Source: Bought for my personal library

Recommended For: Fans of books that make you think, and love that moves beyond time.

Related Reviews: Amy’s post on the many moons of Midwinterblood, and Brittany’s review

Have you ever had the feeling that you’ve lived another life? Been somewhere that has felt totally familiar, even though you’ve never been there before, or felt that you know someone well, even though you are meeting them for the first time? It happens. In 2073 on the remote and secretive island of Blessed, where rumor has it that no one ages and no children are born, a visiting journalist, Eric Seven, and a young local woman known as Merle are ritually slain. Their deaths echo a moment ten centuries before, when, in the dark of the moon, a king was slain, tragically torn from his queen. Their souls search to be reunited, and as mother and son, artist and child, forbidden lovers, victims of a vampire they come close to finding what they’ve lost. In a novel comprising seven parts, each influenced by a moon – the flower moon, the harvest moon, the hunter’s moon, the blood moon – this is the story of Eric and Merle whose souls have been searching for each other since their untimely parting.

“It’s not even as if she is beautiful, not in the way people usually mean. She’s more than pretty, that’s what he can say, but it’s not that that has caught him. It is simply her face, her eyes. The moment he saw them something clicked. He suddenly realized what it was. He recognized her face. As if seeing an old friend, long forgotten…”

Okay, so you read the blurb right? You get the gist? Two people are slain and it echoes multiple lives they have lived together, moments where they keep finding and losing one another as time passes…deep stuff. This was a hard book for me to read for many reasons, almost all of them personal, but I read it and honestly am not sure that I can put into words how deeply it affected me. As you know we Gals on the Same Page write non-traditional reviews for this feature, but what I am going to do is try and put into words why this book affected me on such a personal level. We are about to get a little personal!

First, it is imperative to let you know that a few years ago someone close to me was murdered. As you can imagine this sort of thing affects you for the rest of your life, it is something that absolutely changes the way you view the world and there isn’t a day that goes by that it doesn’t affect me in some way. Second, I should explain to you that I am not a religious person. This is an understatement, believe me, but I believe “to each their own,” and therefore won’t get into my reasons or debates. Well it is no question that when my friend was killed I quickly spiraled down into a very dark place, I obsessed over the trial and hate and pain consumed me and I found it hard to even be around other people. One day I was at work making a cup of coffee and I just couldn’t stop thinking about the trial and about my friend. I hadn’t told anyone what had happened at work but my co-worker came into the break room, looked up at me and said, “Alyssa, Matt wants you to stop reading the articles, you are going to be stuck in the dark.” I felt like the world came crashing down in the at moment all over again. I just started sobbing and somehow managed to ask her “how” and “why” she was doing this to me. To make a long story short, this woman was a Psychic Medium who specialized in past life experiences. I know some of you are probably going to stop reading here due to disbelief and bias, and that is totally fine, this is a no judgment zone. I am not going to get into details about what this woman told me, except that I will tell you that she said we have traveled many lifetimes together, each time missing the mark where we can be together, each time he was lost to tragedy in order to move us forward toward an unknown goal. I am not going to explain to you how she helped me bridge a gap that I so desperately needed and how she gave me something to believe in again. I am just going to tell you that it forever changed me, and though I may not believe 100% in anything, I believe that anything is possible and I believe that everything happens for a reason. Continue reading →

On the Same Page: Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia C. Wrede

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Title: Snow White and Rose Red

Author: Patricia C. Wrede

Publishing Information:  December 15, 1993 by Tor Books

Genre: Fantasy, Fairy tales, Young Adult, Romance

Series Information: Standalone

Format: Hardcover, 288 pages

Source: Bought for my personal library

Recommended For: Fans of fairy tale retellings, and for those of you who don’t shy away from dialect from Elizabethan England.

Related Reviews: Brittany’s Post and Amy’s Post

You guys, Snow White and Rose Red is easily one of my favorite books of all time, and Patricia C. Wrede is by far one of my favorite authors. When the girls and I decided to choose our favorite book to read during our own birthday months it was no question that this was the way to go for December. This book was part of The Fairy Tale Series created by Terri Windling. The covers are absolutely gorgeous (I have all but one!) and the retellings are superb, and some of the authors who contributed to the series are Jane Yolen, and Charles de Lint. For this post I am going to share some wonderful fairy tale retellings with you guys. Also let it be known that I am going to share some (I believe) lesser known titles here so you don’t see yet another list filled with Cinder, and Cruel Beauty (P.S. I also loved those books)…

Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier

Original fairy tale: Beauty and the Beast

Synopsis: Whistling Tor is a place of secrets and mystery. A curse lies over Anluan’s family and his people; those woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom. For young scribe Caitrin it is a safe haven. This place where nobody else is prepared to go seems exactly what she needs, for Caitrin is fleeing her own demons. As Caitrin comes to know Anluan and his home in more depth she realizes that it is only through her love and determination that the curse can be broken and Anluan and his people set free.

My thoughts: As is her style, Marillier included some dark elements to the tale that really drew me in as a reader. I was invested in the characters, I felt their pain and disappointment as they did, and found myself on the edge of my seat hoping for a happy ending. As many of you know, Juliet is the queen of slow burning romances. This story did not disappoint, every look and small gesture radiated with something more and as always, Marillier broke my heart a little just to put it back together. Thankfully, Juliet Marillier made my heart sing per usual, she stayed true to her path of weaving so many elements into a beautifully layered story. She creates friendships between characters (both human, Other, and animal) that bring tears to my eyes and warmth to my heart. This book comes highly recommended; it is an absolutely unique and gorgeous retelling of an age old tale.

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