A Curse So Dark and Lonely – Brigid Kemmerer

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Library
Published: January 29th, 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic, Romance, Fairy Tale, War Setting

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REVIEW:

This is hands down one of the best fairy tale retellings I have ever read. I did not have high expectations at all, having found Brigid Kemmerer’s Letters to the Lost to be a MEH read (please don’t curse me!), but this story hooked me right from the start.

Belle’s & The Beast’s Tale – Mallory Reaves

This manga series does not reimagine the story of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The author takes some liberties, but they do not change the core of the story. But the art is apparently inspired by the movie, which I have yet to see.

It’s delightful. We all know the story, so it’s not as if I was expecting to be blown away by it. In fact, I would most likely have been annoyed if there were important changes. But this is Belle’s tale, so we have her insight. She narrates the story, not some unknown character.

While Belle could have been prettier – she looks a little unoriginal, doesn’t she? – I absolutely loved how the other characters were represented in manga format. The locations are astounding. It’s a delight to the eyes.

And heart. Because it’s romantic. After all, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is a romance, so if it’s not beautiful enough to sweep us off our feet, then it failed, right? Fortunately, this manga did not fail. I read it in one sitting. There was no way I could have stopped myself from reading.

Review: Hunted by Meagan Spooner

Hunted by Meagan Spooner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: March 14th 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen
Point of View: 3rd Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 11+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fairytale Retellings, Beauty and the Beast

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BLURB:

Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them.

So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance.

Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?

Waiting on Wednesday (#16)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly post created by Breaking the Spine that features our most anticipated books to be released.

It’s no secret that I am a #1 fan of fairytale retellings so, when I saw this book, I immediately shrieked in delight! Plus Beauty and the Beast is my #1 favorite princess tale so, really, how can I resist?

Review: Beauty and the Beast (Timeless Fairy Tales, #1) by K.M. Shea

Beauty and the Beast by K.M. Shea

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: December 12th 2013
Publisher: Take out the Trash
Point of View: 3rd Person
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fairytale Retelling, Beauty and the Beast, Magic

BLURB:

Once upon a time Elle made a mistake. A small miscalculation sends her through the roof of an enchanted chateau. Stranded until her broken leg mends, Elle is forced to rely on the good will of the sour chateau owner —the cursed Prince Severin.

Prince Severin—the commanding general and staunch supporter of his brother the crown prince—is cursed to look like a beast until a maiden falls in love with him. However, he has given up all hope of shattering the curse after several painful and failed attempts to break it. As such he has only disdain for Elle, leaving her to the devices of his bossy servants. This suits Elle perfectly as she dislikes the entire royal family, Severin included.

Unfortunately for the unsuspecting pair, the chateau servants are determined to break the curse and spend the majority of their time pushing Elle and Severin together. After bonding over gardens, animals, and terrifying squirrels Elle and Severin show signs of friendship, and perhaps something more…

But not all love stories can end that easily. After all, Elle is not what she seems, and Severin’s life is placed in danger when hostilities flare between his brother and the monarchs of a neighboring country.

If they really want the love of a lifetime Elle, a loyal liar, and Severin, an indifferent beast, will have to use every trick they know to survive.

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: May 5th 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 14+
Genres & Themes: New Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Fairies, Fairy Tale Retelling, Beauty and the Beast, Curse, Danger

BLURB:

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!