The Beast by Lindsay Mead

This so far has been my favorite Beauty and the Beast retelling. It was slow at first the book's opening heavily focused on world-building that payed off in the end. The places that the book describes are explained with enough magic and fantasy ground in reality to make it seem like a real place. The characters are the usual suspects, Belle, Gaston, Belle's father, the Beast, but these characters that have appeared in various stories for well over a century have a fresh feeling. Belle is still the girl we know who wants adventure it the great wide somewhere, but she is also a kick ass hunter who somehow also remains a lady. It's refreshing to have a female lead in a book who is equal parts bad ass, but does so in a fancy dress with minimal complaint. Then there is Gastone (aka Gaston) who I really dislike because of the Disney movie, but he proved to actually be an okay guy. He's still arrogant, but acceptably so. Belle's father is still an inventor but also the leader of a group of hunters that have been charged by the Catholic Church to find and kill hellhounds (kind of like werewolves or black dogs for my paranormally inclined readers). Then there's the Beast. The Prince Aleksander from the neighboring kingdom of Vakre Fjell and his entire kingdom is cursed. Those outside of the protection of the palace turn into hellhounds and those within the palace are trapped. The prince himself has been turned into a "hideous" beast and can only communicate with people through their shared dreams using magic.

The books is incredibly well written, and minus a few questions I have (like how does this shared dreaming thing work, and if everyone is trapped in the palace grounds and can't leave, how and where do they get their food and supplies for all their finery?) it's a well thought out world and concept. I can't wait for the sequels to be published. You can support the author here.

Withering Rose by Kaitlyn Davis

A big thanks to Netgalley for letting me receive a copy for free for an honest review.

This book was amazing, it was reminiscent of the 10th Kingdom miniseries and book I love so much. The premise of this series is that their was a parallel universe to ours that was full of magic and fairy tale like wonder (read: horror). But due to an earthquake in both multiverses they collide and form a new world that is a combination of both, and of course the natives of Earth are afraid of the magic that comes with the new inhabitants and decide to hunt them down and remove magic from the world. Kind of like the European Witch Hunts. The main character Omorose is an unfortunate magic user who must hide her magic abilities and forsake them because she would be killed if she was discovered, and also she is cursed. Every time she uses her ability she losses time and it shortens her life. So in a desperate attempt at freedom to use her magic, or rid herself of it forever she escapes to the Beast's kingdom, who the Earthling's and Fairy Tale people both fear.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I'm definitely adding the rest of this series to my TBR list. What I liked most about this story is the complexity of the world the author has created. It's part dystopian and part high fantasy. The characters could use a little more depth, they seem a little flat at times, and their backstories get a little confusing as they are glossed over. However I absolutely loved the idea that magic users suffer a curse, because magic costs something, and I like the reason behind the curse. I was conflicted over the Earthling's reaction to magic existing and how they are so untrusting of the people from the fairy tale world, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that it was a very accurate response. People were afraid of something they had no control over, and they did what they always do. They hunt it down and kill it. Case in point, the Salem Witch Trials. The persecution of the Protestants by the Catholic Church, the Spanish Inquisition. So while I would like to believe that people would be more accepting in circumstances such as the ones presented in the book, history has shown again and again that that would not be the case.

The Musketeers

***SPOILER ALERT*** this post will contain some spoilers so beware.

I have found a new favorite TV show in the form of this swashbuckling adventure The Musketeers from BBC based on the classic tale The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. The show differs from the book I am told. (I'm still waiting for my copy of the book I ordered from Amazon to arrive so I can confirm the differences for myself.) 

The show begins with two travelers in the rain who are on their way to Paris to petition the King to lower taxes as their farming community in Gascony can no longer afford the burden. They stop at an inn at the insistence of the younger traveler as his father is tired and he can tell. This proves fatal. Furthering my belief that motels on the side of the road are murder traps! I digress... the pair, as well as other guests of the inn are set upon by bandits claiming to be Musketeers led by Athos. (I saw this, and having the firm conviction that the Musketeers where all honorable and whatnot I starting singing the "mmm why you lying" song to myself.) The young boy attacks the bandits but they get away, he apologizes to his father, only for his father to collapse and die from a bullet wound, his last words being "Athos". The young boy with the now tragic backstory making him a main character is D'Artagnan, played by Luke Pasqualino.

(What a hottie). He continues on to Paris to find Athos and kill him for murdering his father (it's the 1630s and while dueling is currently illegal in France, his honor demands satisfaction and revenge, or whatever). Then we are taken to Paris to meet the Inseparables (aka the Three Musketeers): Athos (Tom Burke) , Porthos (Howard Charles), and Aramis (Santiago Cabrera).

(Again, what hotties, though Aramis is my favorite, look at that beard, it's so Errol Flynn.) Who are being ordered by Captain Treville to find a missing group of Musketeers.

D'Artagnan has arrived in Paris, in which he is chased and forced to jump from a window to escape being wanted for a murder he didn't commit, framed by a "completely unimportant" lady he meets in a inn. He finds a cute girl and offers to pay her to kiss him. Which allows him to escape and then face the wrath of Madame Constance Bonacieux. 

Seriously I wouldn't mess with her. D'Artagnan collapses, you know because he jumped through a window like an idiot. A brave idiot, but seriously, don't jump out windows guys, even if you're running for your life, you're more than likely to break your leg, or other bones that would hinder said escape more than help. Anyways Constance helps D'Artagnan and then he goes off to find Athos because he has a one track mind. So D'Artagnan appears in the Musketeer Garrison courtyard and loudly asks for Athos of the King's Musketeers, when Athos, the real Athos, confirms who he is, D'Artagnan challenges Athos to a duel saying one of them will die here, and illegal dueling ensues. D'Artagnan proves to be a skillful swordsman, if not a little rough around the edges, but is no match for Athos, or Aramis and Porthos when they join in. The madness is stopped by Constance who arrives to scold them for fighting, Athos continues to insist he is not the man D'Artagnan is looking for, this is all interrupted by Captain Treville

and some Red Guards who are there to arrest Athos for murders and robbery. D'Artagnan convinced there is more to his father's murder than meets the eye agrees to investigate with Porthos and Aramis to clear Athos name and figure out the mystery of the rouge Musketeers, and the missing troop of Musketeers, which shocker are all related. (I really do love this show, I'm just a sarcastic little shit.) 

The show has a villain of the week set-up, as well as a big overall baddie who is usually behind most of the other villains, In season one the "villain" is the Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu played by the ever perfect Peter Capaldi.

Season two the villain is Douchefort Rochefort.

And season three has these two guys, Lucien Grimaud and Maquis de Feron.

Throughout all their adventure the Musketeers forge a strong bond of friendship while serving their King and Queen.

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Aramis really serves his Queen y'all

Yea that's right the Dauphin (Prince of France) is Aramis' son, not the King's, which differs from the book (so I am told) but I like the star crossed/forbidden lovers story line. All the characters have some pretty set character traits; Aramis is the romantic hero archetype who woos women and is suave and debonair but also a swashbuckling hero in this gunpowder fantasy. Athos the brooding drunk who is the one in charge of this group. Porthos the former Court of Miracles thief with a heart of gold, cheats at cards, and is basically strong as an ox. D'Artagnan is the rookie farm boy, rough but promising which completes this team of Inseparables, and of course you all know the Musketeers motto:

Just kidding, we all know it's:

I could literally spend all day looking up and posting images of Aramis, he's my favorite.

But I shall leave it at this. While sometimes the plot of the Musketeers gets a little convoluted, or implausible, overall I really like it. It's semi-historical, it has romance...fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles- oh sorry that's The Princess Bride, excuse me. *Ahem* It has romance, adventure, fencing, etc, but no giants or monsters really, and as for miracles and true love, well you'll just have to decide that for yourself. 

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle

***SPOLIER ALERT*** this post will contain some spoilers so beware.

Something I discovered at work one day while shelving books. Once again I was captured by the premise of "goblins". The book tells the story of two sisters who are moving to a remote estate after the death of their father. Older sister Kate and her younger sister Emily move to Hallow Hill (where for thousands of years young women have been disappearing) with their cold guardian, and cousin who is determined to take back Hallow Hill as his own inheritance instead of the girls' at all costs. As luck would have it shortly after arriving Kate begins talking "nonsense" about a Goblin King named Marak Sixfinger who intends to kidnap her and make her his wife, as is the goblin custom to kidnap their brides (one of my favorite tropes). Kate is inexplicably good at avoiding capture, until her cousin in an attempt to force Kate into a Mental Asylum, convinces Kate that her sister has been kidnapped by the goblins, hoping for a reaction from her that would permit him to have her taken away and unable to inherit the estate. However Kate keeps her calm and walks right into the underground kingdom of the goblins and offers herself to Marak in exchange for her sister's safe return. (Be careful with how you word things when dealing with mythical creatures y'all!) Marak agrees and then reveals he has not taken her sister but it was, in fact, their cousin. So Marak and some goblins go and rescue Emily who once rescued demands she too be taken underground with the goblins because she refuses to be separated from Kate. So Kate marries the Goblin King and adventure ensues. I won't reveal the rest, and leave it for you to read and enjoy yourself.

Overall this was a good read. It it targeted towards middle grade readers so it tends to gloss over some topics, particularly the repercussions and implications of kidnapping brides. I would have enjoyed a more in-depth look at that. I would recommend this book to my fellow Labyrinth enthusiasts.

Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs

             
I stumbled across this book while I was hunting for more fae books after reading Hidden Huntress by Danielle L. Jensen and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. Since I have a huge nerd-on for Labyrinth (1986) and subsequently anything along that line, I had to check this book out.

It's a okay book, the plot was a little rushed and confusing at times. The characters could have used a little refining, but overall it was a quick and enjoyable read. The book starts out with Greta already in Mylena and has been for a while, establishing herself as a bounty hunter. All the while concealing her humanity and posing as a sprite. She has been taken in and claimed by a high elf like creature who trains her and becomes a father-figure to her in this world that is not her own. We also meet the Goblin King, Isaac who has dream invading abilities, an ability to get under Greta's skin, and for some reason you cannot say his name because that gives him the ability to invade your dreams???

The fae(ish) creatures of this book are pretty standard, though they're kind of like weres in the sense that during eclipses they lose their ability to reason similar to a werewolf during the full moon. And of course that's a big plot point in the book. Anyway Greta's adoptive father gets murdered, leading her to seek revenge with a half-baked, ill-conceived plan and an overestimate of her abilities. She meets a group of human boys living in the woods who have escaped from an evil wizard who seems more like an afterthought than an actual nefarious villain. The books gave me serious Peter Pan feels in the sense they reminded me of the Lost Boys, which there was a joke about later in the book that had me smiling!

These boys have some hairbrained scheme to free the other human slaves working for the big baddie, which they rope Greta into. She quickly forms a bond and has a sense of camaraderie with the boys, all the while there's a bounty on her head because it was revealed to the world that she's human, and Isaac is looking for her because he's in love with her. There's this big deus ex machina ending and basically everyone goes home happy. Don't get me wrong I really did enjoy this book, I just feel with a little more work the plot could have been expanded upon and made this a better read. I'm still going to read the sequel(s) and see where this goes.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

         
This book was everything I hoped for and more. It's a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, which as you'll recall is my favorite Disney Princess Movie. The book starts about a girl named Feyre who is taking care of her family as they have lost their fortune, their mother, and their father was violently rendered unable to work by bill collections. She is out hunting in the forest on a cold winter day and she shoots a wolf that turns out to be fae. Because of her actions she is taken by the fae lord Tamlin to live on his estate for the rest of her life to make up for killing a fae in faerie land. (It's called Prychian, but it's your typical Tír na nÓg / Otherwolrd / Annwn / Gwyn ap Nudd kind of place. I like fae mythology if you couldn't tell). At first Feyre hates Tamlin and his friend Lucien, but overtime she becomes attracted to Tamlin. Tamlin on the other hand is cursed, as is his entire court (The Spring Court). They have mascarade-esque masks permanently magicked to their faces and they talk of a "blight"in the land destroying everything, and Feyre is the key to saving everything, if only she could be honest about her feelings to herself and to Tamlin.


This book was an incredible read, I was hooked from the very beginning and to the end. I absolutely adored how the trials Feyre had to overcome took a long time and were physically awful for her. However if the second book yields a love triangle between Tamlin/Feyre/Rhysand I am going to be angry as it took true love to break the spell on Tamlin. All in all I am excited to see where this series goes in the next two books. It also makes me want to read Sarah J. Maas' other series A Throne of Glass.

Hidden Huntress by Danielle L. Jensen

This is the second book in the Malediction Trilogy and follows the events of Stolen Songbird. Cécile escapes from Trollus and finds herself in the city with her mother preforming on stage as she has always dreamed. Except that it isn't what she wants anymore. She longs to be with her husband Tristan and her friends in Trollus, but she has a mission. She must find the witch Anushka who cursed the trolls to remain under the mountain. Cècile, bless her heart, tries her best to free the people of Trollus and find Anushka, but she doesn't really have a plan of attack. Which is fine and totally within her character. She does however seek the aid of a fellow witch who can help her find Anushka and teach her more about magic. With this knowledge she desperately tries to free the trolls as the Troll King (Tristan's father) is slowly driving her mad with magic to complete the task ASAP. She fails, but manages to free Tristan from the curse by using a blood sacrifice and calling his true name. With the two of them together they attempt to solve the mystery of the witch, while trying to decide if freeing the trolls is a good idea or not.

I loved this book, it was a great sequel, but it does have a tough of middle book syndrome. It's kind of boring in the beginning and picks up midway. I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series and I would highly recommend it.