curses! foiled again

curses! foiled again
jane yolen & mike cavallaro
graphics/fantasy
first second
published 2013

Aliera Carstairs is back.  This time she's got her cousin - and best friend - Caroline in tow, and the stakes are higher than ever.  The realm of Seelie, the fairy kingdom of which Aliera is the hereditary defender, is under attack, and only Aliera and Caroline can set things right.  Caroline, fragile and wheelchair-bound may seem like more of a liability than an asset, but Aliera knows there's more to her quiet cousin than meets the eye.

Just like the first book I felt this was a little rushed at the end.  It seemed to take it very slow for most of the book and from the description I thought Caroline would play a bigger role.  I was looking forward to seeing what her contribution would be, but instead three quarters of the book is Aliera yelling at Avery.

Not as good as the first book, but I loved the art and the use of color.  I'm sure there will be another one, or at least I hope there will since so far, nothing has happened!

the iron daughter

the iron daughter
the iron fey #2
julie kagawa
ya/fantasy/romance
harlequin teen
published 2010

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere.  Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen.  As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey - ironbound faeries tat only she and her absent prince have seen.  But no one believes her.  Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off.  She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help.  Trusting anyone would be foolish.  Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly.  But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-to-human heart.

So here's the thing.  For the first third, maybe half, of the book I wanted to punch Meghan in the face.  On the way to Tir Na Nog Ash kept telling Meghan that they could not be together.  That Mab could possibly kill him if he were to declare his love for the half-Summer faery/human.  At this point, she has spent some time with the fae and she knows how things work.  So when they arrive at Mab's castle Meghan just doesn't seem to get it.  She spends nearly the entire time there whining about why Ash isn't talking to her.  And when she finally does get to hear from the prince he's cold and uncaring (BECAUSE HE HAS TO BE TO PROTECT BOTH OF THEM) she goes into some horrible despairing coma and doesn't want to live anymore.

Case in point:

I stepped toward him, smiling, only to be stopped dead by his cold glare.  Confused, I stumbled to a halt.  Maybe he didn't recognize me.  I met his gaze, waiting for his expression to thaw, for him to give me the tiny smile I adored so much.  It didn't happen.  His frosty eyes swept over me in a brief, dismissive glance, before he stepped around me and continued toward the queen.  I felt a stab of shock and hurt; maybe he was playing it cool in front of the queen, but he could've at least said hi.  I made the mental note to scold him later when we were alone.

See?!  She's an idiot!  Playing it cool?  Could have at least said hi?  And later she would scold him?!  It's so weird and ridiculous.  It's like she's a clueless idiot who is also a grandmother because no one says 'scold' anymore.

I get it.  She loves him SO MUCH that she just can't function.  She's a teenager and that's the way things are at that age.  Everything is the end of the world.  But for god's sake please stop whining!

The other thing I'm over is the whole love triangle thing.  Every YA book has got to have some love triangle nonsense in it.  And it's not even just that there are two guys who are crushing on the same girl.  She loves them both.  Every time.

No me gusta.

But I'm torn because despite her whining the story is interesting.  I don't understand why no one in the story (except, I suspect, Ironhorse knew) knows what Meghan is.  I'm not sure if I'll finish the series.  There are some good points, but there's irritating things too.  Maybe those things will be resolved earlier on in the next book so that I don't have to spend half the book hating Meghan.

winter's passage

winter's passage
the iron fey #1.5
julie kagawa
ya/fantasy/fae/romance
harlequin teen
published 2010

Meghan Chase used to be an ordinary girl....until she discovered that she is really a faery princess.  After escaping from the clutches of the deadly Iron Fey, Meghan must follow through on her promise to return to the equally dangerous Winter Court with her forbidden love, Prince Ash.  But first, Meghan has one request: that they visit Puck - Meghan's best friend and servant of her father, King Oberon - who was gravely injured defending Meghan from the Iron Fey.  

Yet Meghan and Ash's detour does not go unnoticed.  They have caught the attention of an ancient, powerful hunter - a foe that even Ash may not be able to defeat.

This was one of those short 'novellas' that I usually love because they give me a little more insight into certain characters.  This one was a little drab.  Good for someone who LOVES this series, but other than that it was all mostly rehashed (in some parts a complete copy & paste) in The Iron Daughter.  Not fun to read something and then read the exact same text in the next book.

Booo.

tiger lily

tiger lily
jodi lynn anderson
ya/fantasy
harper teen
published 2012

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair.... Tiger Lily.  When fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan deep in the forbidden woods of Neverland, the two form a bond that's impossible to break, but also impossible to hold on to.  As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants.  Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily.  However, when Wendy Darling, a girl who is everything Tiger Lily is not, arrives on the island, Tiger Lily discovers how far she is willing to go to keep Peter with her, and in Neverland.

The minute I saw this book I knew that I would love it.  Usually, when I see I cover I love I expect it will probably not stand up to my expectations, but this time I knew because it was Peter Pan.

Peter Pan has always secretly been my favorite of Disney movies.  And not because of Peter or Wendy, but Tinker Bell & Tiger Lily.  I thought Tiger Lily was beautiful in the cartoon movie.  I wanted to know her story and I wanted Peter to love only her.  I thought Wendy was bossy and silly and didn't deserve Peter.  Tinker Bell has just always been my favorite.  Feisty and animated.  She couldn't talk, but boy did you know how she felt.  Since then Tink has had her own series of movies and it's been so fun to see that world from her eyes, but still, the silent Tink holds a place in my heart.

Jodi Lynn Anderson has done an amazing job at making the story of Peter Pan the story of Tiger Lily and Tinker Bell.  She's weaved in bits of J.M. Barrie's tale into hers and reminded us of Disney's classic, but there is no humor and this is not a children's tale.

It is dark and dangerous.  And it feels real.  She took each and every character and made them as real as they could be living on an island almost impossible to reach by ship where hardly anyone grows old.  Captain Hook is desperate to catch Peter and in Disney's story I always wondered what would really happen if he did catch him.  In Anderson's tale I knew that when he did catch him Peter would die.  He isn't a bumbling captain to a ragtag group of pirates, but a madman looking not so much for treasure as much as he just wants to kill.  Smee isn't the sweet, reluctant pirate, but a dark and dangerous serial killer.

The tale is told from Tinker Bell's perspective as she has abandoned her own people to live with Tiger Lily whom she loves and admires but doesn't think knows she exists.  Able to read human's minds through their feelings she is the perfect storyteller.  The story is dark and beautiful and heartbreaking and I loved every word of it.

darkest mercy

darkest mercy
wicked lovely #5
melissa marr
ya/fantasy/horror
harpercollins
published 2011

The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey. 

Aislinn tends to the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life. 

Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the Faery Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win . . . and some will lose everything.

It seems impossible that so much happened in such a short book.  This felt like it should have been epic, like Game of Thrones size epic, but it wasn't.  And yet, still, I'm reeling still from everything that happened.

I've never been a fan of Keenan.  Well, not with Keenan being with Aislinn, but after the first book I didn't really like Keenan at all.  Here I found him to be more true.  He wasn't what he thought he should be he was what he was meant to be, maybe?

Except for the fae in Faerie we get closure from just about everyone.  We lose a few I wish didn't have to go, but it is war.  It did feel a little too tidy at the end and I thought with a laugh that Marr really did get things just this side of convenient, but it's ok.

This was a great ending to a brilliant series.  Finally finishing this I can say that while I did like Carnival of Souls it hasn't grabbed me the way Wicked Lovely did.  Nonetheless, these are books I can see myself picking up again in a year or so.  Definitely worth it!

radiant shadows

radiant shadows
wicked lovely series #4
melissa marr
ya/fantasy/horror
harpercollins
published 2010

Half-human and half-faery, Ani is driven by her hungers. 

Those same appetites also attract powerful enemies and uncertain allies, including Devlin. He was created as an assassin and is brother to the faeries' coolly logical High Queen and to her chaotic twin, the embodiment of War. Devlin wants to keep Ani safe from his sisters, knowing that if he fails, he will be the instrument of Ani's death. 

Ani isn't one to be guarded while others fight battles for her, though. She has the courage to protect herself and the ability to alter Devlin's plans—and his life. The two are drawn together, each with reason to fear the other and to fear for one another. But as they grow closer, a larger threat imperils the whole of Faerie. Will saving the faery realm mean losing each other? 

Big things are happening in Faerie and in the mortal world.  It's so amazing to see this world that Marr has created.  When you think you've learned all of it and now it's just a matter of building on the existing story she adds more.  Layers and layers of rich, alluring faerie goodness.

The story is complicated.  It's not a he loves her, she loves him kind of plot.  It's just so great.  It pulls you in and I love how dark and violent everything gets without being overboard.  The threat is there, blood is drawn, gore is but a mere whisper and it doesn't feel forced or showy.  She's not trying to shock the reader, she's just trying to show that these aren't Tinkerbell faeries.  Each book has ended in a way that gives you a bit of satisfaction with some resolution, but the bigger picture is still hanging there so you want to just jump right into the next book.

There's something to be said for waiting so long to start the series!  At least I don't have to wait for the next book to come out....

fragile eternity

fragile eternity
wicked lovely #3
melissa marr
ya/fantasy/horror
harpercollins
published 2009

Seth never expected he would want to settle down with anyone—but that was before Aislinn. She is everything he'd ever dreamed of, and he wants to be with her forever. Forever takes on new meaning, though, when your girlfriend is an immortal faery queen. 

Aislinn never expected to rule the very creatures who'd always terrified her—but that was before Keenan. He stole her mortality to make her a monarch, and now she faces challenges and enticements beyond any she'd ever imagined. 

In Melissa Marr's third mesmerizing tale of Faerie, Seth and Aislinn struggle to stay true to themselves and each other in a milieu of shadowy rules and shifting allegiances, where old friends become new enemies and one wrong move could plunge the Earth into chaos.

I read a review that was complaining about why Aislinn is still with Seth and how she should just be with Keenan.  I wanted to gag.  Are there really people out there who actually like Keenan?  I'm certainly not one of them.  I liked him all right in the first book, but I liked him with Donia.  After Ink Exchange I really didn't care for him much either way, but now I don't want him with Aislinn or Donia.  He's a whiny bitch.  There's really no other way to describe him.  And compared to Seth, he's pathetic.

I enjoyed Wicked Lovely and it took me a bit of time, but I loved Ink Exchange as well.  Fragile Eternity brought the focus back onto the four-way love .... square?  We had the added bonus of keeping Niall.  But the shining star in this installment is Sorcha.  She was not important at first, but she became so full and bright you couldn't ignore her - and you didn't want to.

Seth is still my favorite character.  I've lost a little affection for Aislinn and I do wish we could stay with Donia more.  These books just keep getting better.  I'm at the sweet spot in the series where I still have two books to go.  As long as Marr keeps writing the way she has in the last three books I'm in!

dead ever after

dead ever after
sookie stackhouse #13
charlaine harris
supernatural/horror/romance
ace hardcover
published 2013

There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie—and could destroy her heart....

Sookie Stackhouse  finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte’s. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.

Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.

But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she’ll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough…

The last Sookie Stackhouse book.  *sigh*

Let me tell you first off that this review will have spoilers because I can't talk about this without talking about it.  We do start off with a rant here, not necessarily about the book, but about the whiny naysayers out there.

After I finished the book I looked at some reviews on GoodReads and Shelfari and I was surprised to see so many one star reviews.  I mean, it wasn't the best book in the series, but shit got tied up and that's good enough for me.  Charlaine Harris isn't writing the Great American Novel.  She's written a tacky romance series with bad sex scenes and for some reason it's incredibly appealing.  So shut up already.  One of the most common complaints was that Sookie didn't end up with Eric and wasn't turned.  I'm sorry, but if you want to read a book where the 'heroine' ends up a vampire and married to a vampire go read Twilight.  This is a different story.

It's completely ridiculous the entitlement that readers have.  You did not write this series.  You did not create this world or give birth onto pages these characters.  Sure, you invested money into the books and fell in love with characters, but come on.  You don't get to say what happens to anyone and you shouldn't whine when it doesn't go the way you wanted it to.  I get being disappointed, truly I do, but seriously, get over it.  If you don't like it there's this thing called 'fan fiction' - go write some.  But I suppose like most, if you can't write, critique.

Oh, and to those people who said that the whole Sam thing was way out of left field?  You're idiots.  Plain and simple.  Since the first book I knew that someday Sookie would end up with Sam.  Good god people, Harris has been building that one up for YEARS.  If you didn't see that coming I don't know what to tell you.

And all that above is the reason why so many gave the book one star reviews.  Because they were being children who didn't get what they wanted.

That being said, the book was different.  We were taken out of Sookie's head for the first time ever as she touched upon different characters.  It was disconcerting and I truly didn't feel like I was reading a Sookie book until I was back with her.  It wasn't bad, it was just different.

There was too much going on.  I understand that she wanted to bring back as many characters as she could to tie up loose ends and to cement Sookie's life in place, but the whole devil/Copley thing was completely unnecessary.  Didn't need it, didn't add anything to the story as a whole and ended up being pretty anticlimactic.  And instead of having that business in there maybe she could've given more attention to the Eric/Sookie debacle.  I mean, it has been this huge thing that's driven the entire series so maybe spend a little more than a couple chapters on the demise of the relationship.  It was all so rushed.  We're introduced to a major new character (Karin) and then just kind of, 'well, see ya, bye.'

Everything did work out in the end and maybe that's what pissed people off?  But like I said, this stuff is fluff.  It was entertaining, but I don't need to sit and ponder about it.  It did what it should have done and entertained me for a couple of hours.

I can't say I'm sad it's over.  After probably the 5th book I was just kind of, 'meh'.  I was reading just because it was something to read.  But I'm glad there's an ending and I don't have to read about Bill anymore.

stopping time & old habits

stopping time
old habits
wicked lovely series between #2 & #3
melissa marr
harper collins
published 2010 & 2011

Leslie walked away from the Dark Court, determined to reclaim her life and live it on her own terms—even if it meant leaving behind the two faeries who love her. She knows Niall and Irial watch over her, and she would give almost anything to keep them from hurting. But she resists the pull to be with either one of them. Someone knows about Leslie's past, however, and is intent on using her to reach the fey. And he doesn't care who gets hurt.

Recently anointed king of the Dark Court, Niall struggles to forge a new relationship with his subjects—and with the former Dark King, Irial, his once-friend, once-enemy, and now possible-advisor. 

Of the fae, when a mortal touches Gancanagh they become obsessed and begin to wither away from want.  That's pretty much how I feel about the Wicked Lovely series.

In retrospect, these books were ridiculously unnecessary, but I loved them.  When I finished Ink Exchange I wasn't ready to be done with Leslie, Irial and Niall's story.  I thought more could be told and this was perfect.  I can see how both of these set up the next stories and it only makes me want to read them more!

ink exchange

ink exchange
wicked lovely #2
melissa marr
ya/fantasy/horror
hapercollins
published 2009

Unbeknownst to mortals, a power struggle is unfolding in a world of shadows and danger. After centuries of stability, the balance among the Faery Courts has altered, and Irial, ruler of the Dark Court, is battling to hold his rebellious and newly vulnerable fey together. If he fails, bloodshed and brutality will follow.

Seventeen-year-old Leslie knows nothing of faeries or their intrigues. When she is attracted to an eerily beautiful tattoo of eyes and wings, all she knows is that she has to have it, convinced it is a tangible symbol of changes she desperately craves for her own life.

The tattoo does bring changes—not the kind Leslie has dreamed of, but sinister, compelling changes that are more than symbolic. Those changes will bind Leslie and Irial together, drawing Leslie deeper and deeper into the faery world, unable to resist its allures, and helpless to withstand its perils. . . .

Melissa Marr writes dark.  Drugs, suicide, murder, sex, lies, rape, nothing is hidden in the Wicked Lovely books.

At first I was disappointed to find that Aislinn, Seth, Keenan & Donia weren't the main characters.  In fact, we never even see Donia here.  She's just mentioned off-page!  But as I got to know Leslie it was okay.  Just like Aislinn, Leslie is a rich and powerful character.  She's strong without denying her fears & weaknesses.  She's no idiot, she's proud and determined to make things better for herself by herself.

She continuously surprised me with her actions.  She's not some namby-pamby female lead.  She was great.

Melissa Marr writes the dark fae well.  It's madness and addiction and fear, but she writes it drenched in reality.  It reminds me a little of Holly Blacks fae except where Marr is trying to portray a darker side to teenage life, Black just writes the dark to shock the reader, to be faux-edgy.

Marr ends Ink Exchange with a bit of a cliff hanger.  Kind of like what she did with Wicked Lovely.  Things were resolved, in a sense, but we were looking forward to the aftermath.  I wonder if she'll deliver that in the next book.

impossible

impossible
nancy werlin
ya/fantasy
dial books
published 2008

Lucy has nine months to break an ancient curse in order to save both herself and her unborn daughter.

Lucy is seventeen when she discovers that the women of her family have been cursed through the generations, forced to attempt three seemingly impossible tasks or to fall into madness upon their child’s birth. But Lucy is the first girl who won’t be alone as she tackles the list. She has her fiercely protective foster parents and her childhood friend Zach beside her. Do they have love and strength enough to overcome an age-old evil?

My second Nancy Werlin book and like the first, I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I alternated between loving it and hating it I suppose.  Lucy is interesting.  She's sweet, loving and .... logical.  Somehow that makes her quite unbelievable as a teenage character. 

I was intrigued right away and since I was reading this at the same time as Extraordinary, I found myself enjoying these characters more than Phobe and Mallory.  But there are similarities in the things I didn't like about both although still I just can't put my finger on it.  At times the writing irked me, situations seemed completely implausible which is unfair because it's a fairy tale!

The riddles were intriguing.  I loved Lucy's relationship with Soledad & Leo, even her relationship with Miranda pulled at my heartstrings.  It's a nice turn from the usual YA novels where the teen turns her back on her parents (especially foster parents) and depends only on a best friend and a boy.  Lucy most definitely has a strong relationship with her best friend Sarah and comes to depend on Zach for his strength and love, but she loves and respects her foster parents fiercely and it was refreshing.

So I just can't understand why I didn't absolutely love this book, but I didn't.  That being said, I can say if someone asked me if they should read it I'd say give it a try.

extraordinary

extraordinary
nancy werlin
ya/supernatural
dial books
published 2010

Phoebe finds herself drawn to Mallory, the strange and secretive new girl at school. Soon the two become as close as sisters . . . until Mallory’s magnetic older brother, Ryland, appears. Ryland has an immediate, exciting hold on Phoebe — but a dangerous hold, for she begins to question her feelings about her best friend and, worse, about herself. Soon she’ll discover the shocking, fantastical truth about Ryland and Mallory, and about an age-old debt they expect Phoebe to pay. Will she be strong enough to resist? Will she be special enough to save herself? 

This was a strange read for me.  On one hand I felt like it was amazingly magical yet steeped quite heavily in real life, but on the other I couldn't quite love the characters enough to care for their fate.

Phoebe is born into a family of exceptional people, or at least to a mother who is exceptional and despite her extraordinary ancestors, she feels that at any moment she will be revealed to be less than.  And ultimately, this is what dooms her.

Of course, we don't really believe in faeries.  We might, a little, but we don't truly expect to find them walking among us.  But somehow, Nancy Werlin's tale of faerie treachery is scarily real.  Mallory and Ryland's job is to systematically break Phoebe down until she admits to herself and to anyone else that she is ordinary.  That she is nothing.  Mallory tries to accomplish this by betraying a friendship years in the making.  Ryland's methods are much more effective and scarily familiar.  He uses love, or at least the desire to be loved.

The perfect example of a mentally abusive boyfriend Ryland demeans her, affectionately calls her 'stupid' and ridicules her while keeping his voice smooth and alluring.  Of course, Phoebe falls for it as so many other women have.  And I think this is why I couldn't fully love the book.  Yes, Werlin does a wonderful job at telling the story.  The scenes were vivid, the characters seemingly well thought out, but the ease at which Ryland breaks Phoebe down left a bitter taste in my mouth.  That she so quickly falls for it, for everything, was disappointing.

But then there is this moment when the book changes and I found myself unwilling to put it down.  Isn't that what we want in a book?  Still, even in the end I found myself wanting for something so I can't say I fully enjoyed the book, but it did whet my appetite enough that I will look forward to coming across more of Werlin's novels.

deadlocked

deadlocked
sookie stackhouse series #12
charlaine harris
supernatural/romance
ace
published 2012

With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard — especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

Every time I read a Sookie Stackhouse book I'm entertained a bit, but then I start thinking that I should stop reading these books.  They're really not all that great.

But then Harris just knocks me out of the water.  Took my breath away for a few seconds there.  Even after I knew what was happening I still couldn't breathe, afraid that if I did something would go terribly wrong.  In a story I had no control over.  I know, it doesn't make sense, but I wasn't thinking sense at the time!  So good.

Deadlocked was a little depressing.  My favorite people were a little absent.  We were much more involved in the fae & were-world than vamps despite all the stuff that was going on.  However, my favorite bit came from the vampires:  '"We came to wish you a happy day," Eric said.  "And I suppose, as usual, Bill will want to express his undying love that surpasses my love, as he'll tell you - and Pam will want to say something sarcastic and nearly painful, while reminding you that she loves you, too."'

Pam is the only one who is my favorite on both the tv show and in the books.  I really think she needs her own series.  And with events the way they were left here I worry about what will happen in the future.  I have until May to wait it out.

wicked lovely

wicked lovely
wicked lovely series #1
melissa marr
ya/fantasy/romance
harperteen
published 2007

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.

Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty—especially if they learn of her Sight—and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.

Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.

But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost—regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Wow.

When I think about all the fae books I've read I can't believe that it took me this long to get to this one.  When I got my first eReader this was the the first book I picked up because I got a short by Melissa Marr that was part of the series for free.  I just never got around to reading it.

I thought it was fantastic.  Aislinn was the perfect heroine and despite this weird love square thing I actually couldn't decide who to root for.  I loved Seth, Keenan and Donia just as equally!  

The story starts off quickly with Donia's quick test so you feel as if maybe you missed something.  You're off balance.  But then things start getting really good and I found myself engrossed.  I was afraid that, being a series, I would be left on some kind of cliffhanger, but she ends the story nicely with the promise of more to come.  One could be satisfied with that ending and never read another book in the series, but I now have to read them all!

ash

ash
malinda lo
fiction/ya/romance/fantasy
little, brown books for young readers
published 2009

In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.

A sweet and beautiful spin on the class Cinderella story.  I first saw this book at the San Diego Comic Con and I was captivated with the cover.  You know how I feel about book covers.  It wasn't until a couple of years later that I got the eBook and then now, finally am reading it.

Ash is a sweet, but somber story of a girl who loses everything she holds dear.  Actually, when she loses her mother she seems to have lost everything.  Her father, though there is no doubt that he loves her and she him, doesn't really know what to do with her.  When he marries Lady Isobel things only go from bad to worse.

The writing is magical.  Malinda Lo has set the story on the edge of the Wood, no matter where they are.  With hints and nods towards the Cinderella we've grown up knowing, we are brought into a different and despite the setting, a modern retelling.  Ash is bright and courageous, but she's not the blonde sunny princess from Disney.  She's darker and more determined.  She doesn't expect everything to come from wishes and pleas, but she does dream.

This is the first book by Malinda Lo I've read and I'm sure it won't be my last.