(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Fairfold may look like an ordinary town, but it has something other villages don't—the Folk.  Here, faeries and other fantastical creatures co-exist with humans, sometimes peacefully, other times not.  Locals know to be wary of the Folk, whose "generosity ... was as great as their cruelty" (19).  Tourists, however, can't stay away from the living, breathing fairy tale that is Fairfold.  No amount of warning can convince them to stay away or to, at least, watch their backs.  For, as everyone in town knows, the Folk can be tricksy.  Very, very tricksy.  After all, "that was why Fairfold was special, because it was so close to magic.  Dangerous magic, yes, but magic all the same" (19). 

Hazel Evans and her older brother, Ben, are especially enamored with the mysterious boy in the woods.  For as long as anyone can remember, he's slept inside a glass coffin in the woods.  With horns on his head and sharp, pointy ears, the boy is mesmerizing in his otherworldly beauty.  For years, Hazel and Ben have visited him, made up stories about his origin, and pretended to be knights, protecting him with their valor and might.  Now 16, Hazel's ready to put aside the silly, childish playacting.  The boy in the woods will likely sleep on for centuries.

Except he doesn't.  He awakens, unleashing an ancient evil on unsuspecting Fairfold.  Drawn into the dangerous conflict between the Alderking's son and the monster who hunts him, Hazel must finally become the knight she's been pretending to be for years.  But, can she understand the clues she's being given?  Can she, a mere human, stop a murderous, bloodthirsty beast?  And how does she know she can trust the horned boy, never mind that she's been in love with him since she was a child?  As Hazel puzzles out the mystery playing out in her town, she must be as brave and daring as any knight—for her life and those of everyone she loves hang in the balance.

Well-known for penning dark, fantastical tales, Holly Black returns to her faerie roots with her newest YA novel, The Darkest Part of the Forest.  The novel is not a Sleeping Beauty retelling, not really, it's more of a twisted fairy tale.  By flipping gender roles around, Black keeps the story fresh.  With intriguing characters, an exciting plot, and moody, atmospheric prose, she makes it memorable.  I loved some aspects of this original novel, others not so much.  Overall, though, The Darkest Part of the Forest is both compelling and enjoyable.  Creepy, but what else would you expect from the likes of Holly Black?

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't really think of anything.  You?)

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(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Capturing the essence of a book in a brief, but suitably intriguing plot summary is a very difficult thing to do.  Why I even attempt it, especially when a professional has already done such a beautiful job, is beyond me.  In an attempt to hang on to what little sanity I still possess, I'm going to quit trying to describe While Beauty Slept, Elizabeth Blackwell's mesmerizing new novel, and just give you the back cover blurb already:

I am not the sort of person about whom stories are told.  Those of humble birth suffer their heartbreaks and celebrate their triumphs unnoticed by the bards, leaving no trace in the fables of their time ... 

And so begins Elise Dalriss's story.  When she hears her great-grand-daughter recount a minstrel's tale about a beautiful princess asleep in a tower, it pushes open a door to the past, one Elise has long kept locked.  For Elise was the companion to the real princess who slumbered—and she is the only one left who knows what actually happened so many years ago.

As the memories start to unfold, Elise is plunged back into the magnificent world behind the palace walls she left behind more than a half century ago, a labyrinth where the secrets of her real father and the mysterious fate of her mother connect to an inconceivable evil. Elise has guarded these secrets for a lifetime. As she understands all too well, the truth is no fairy tale.

It may seem odd to tell the "real story" behind a well-known fairy tale from the perspective of one who, as Elise herself admits, left "no trace in the fables of [her] time."  And yet, she's pretty much the perfect narrator.  Our brave, self-deprecating heroine spins a yarn that builds slowly, intensifies quickly, and culminates in a shocking, heart-shattering climax.  While the moderate pace of the novel may sound tedious, it's not at all.  It gives us time to get to know the characters—their flaws, their virtues, their complex back stories—along with the ins and outs of castle life, especially the "malevolent intrigues that hide behind courtly manners" (17).  Just in case that's not enough to keep the reader intrigued, Blackwell drops frequent bits of tantalizing, what's-yet-to-come foreshadowing, always hinting that there's more danger, more intrigue, more heartbreak just a few pages ahead.  Guess what?  She never disappoints.  Since I love the way this kind of slow, intense build-up plays with my emotions, I found While Beauty Slept enthralling from its first page to its last.  Sleeping Beauty has never been my favorite fairy tale, but this retelling isn't really about the princess, anyway.  It's about someone way, way more interesting.  No surprisingly, I adored it.    

(Readalikes:  Reminded me of To Die For by Sandra Byrd)

Grade:

(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for Cress, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from the novel's predecessors.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

There's nothing I adore more than a YA series that's not just clean, but also original, well-written and compelling.  Surprisingly, these are very rare creatures.  Which is why I'm so enthusiastic about The Lunar Chronicles books by Marissa Meyer.  With each new installment, I love the story more; plus, I can hand the novels to my 12-year-old daughter with no reservations at all.  I mean, c'mon, what's not to love?

In Cress, the third book in the series, our cyborg heroine, Cinder, and her dashing sidekick, Captain Thorne, are on the run.  The duo, along with Wolf and Scarlet, are bent on not just stopping the upcoming marriage of Prince Kai and evil Queen Levana, but also saving their world from Levana's oppressive rule.  A bit of a tall order, even for the most famous cyborg outlaw in the land.

Cinder's best chance of success lies with Cress, a teenage girl who's been exiled on a remote satellite for most of her life.  She spends her time monitoring feeds from Earth, keeping the queen informed of any subversive action.  Cress's newest mission?  Find Cinder and Thorne.  Secretly, she hopes for the pair's success (and a future for herself and the gorgeous captain), but failing to follow the queen's orders is tantamount to suicide.  What choice does Cress really have?

As a hesitant Cress crosses paths with the quartet of fugitives, she finally gets the one thing she's been craving all along:  her freedom (meeting Thorne in the flesh is just icing on the cake).  But escaping from her satellite has bigger repercussions than Cress ever could have imagined.  And, as the day of the royal wedding creeps closer and closer, she's beginning to wonder why she pinned all her hopes on Cinder & Co., who never stood a chance against Levana in the first place.  With the fate of the world on the line, the young resistance workers have an impossible task ahead of them.  Can they pull off one of the biggest coups in history?  Or will they, too, become subjects of the domination-obsessed alien queen?

Like Cinder and Scarlet, Cress tells an exciting, fast-paced tale of adventure, romance and suspense.  Cress joins a cast of likable characters (some of whom, I admit, don't develop much in this installment), adding some freshness to the group's dynamic.  As with the other main characters, Cress shows both strength and vulnerability, making her as sympathetic as the rest.  At 560 pages, Cress isn't a quick read, but it's a fun one.  If you dig "re-booted" fairy tales, you don't want to miss this series.  I promise you won't be disappointed.

(Readalikes:  Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer)

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(Image from Nazarea Andrews' official website)

It's been more than 100 years since the Cataclysm, a nuclear apocalypse that leveled the world's greatest cities and annihilated all but 5% of Earth's population.  Two centuries later, most of the survivors' descendants live in protected Cities.  In Mlena, their lives are ruled by the Commission.  Under the direction of the Prince, the regime determines which couples will be bonded together, how many children—and of which sex—each union may produce, and the fates of anyone who dares to speak out against them.  Despite the restrictions, few Citizens complain.  The alternative is living Outside, where acid storms rage, dragons roar, and other genetically-altered monsters roam wild, threatening any human who steps through the Shield that keeps the City safe.  

As an Exile, Sabah is forbidden to live in Mlena.  She's an orphan, a child who was born after her mother reached Quota and thus turned out of the City—the Commission's version of population control.  Saved by the Mistress, Sabah now lives in the Manor with other Gutterlings.  The large home sits within sight of Mlena, but is shrouded in the mists that pour off the nearby waterfalls.  Once the mighty falls lured millions of visitors to its edges; now, it hides the starrbriar, a powerful flower which the Mistress collects with desperate fervor.  Braving the treacherous falls to gather the plants can only be done by the smallest children, a task the Mistress is not afraid to assign them.  If they perish in the pursuit, there are always more being left outside Mlena's Shield.  

Sabah, the oldest of the Manor children and the caretaker of the others, can't stand the savage ritual, especially when the Mistress refuses to explain why the starrbriars must be gathered.  She's tired of the secrets.  Tired of her futile existence.  When a ban-wolf begins stalking her, Sabah doesn't feel fear, but curiosity.  The beasts are supposed to be ferocious and yet, this one seems almost human.  The more she gets to know Arjun, the more she wonders:  What is the Mistress hiding?  What does Sabah really know about the dangerous world in which she lives?  Who are the true monsters?  And where does she belong—with a woman who sacrifices kids to get what she wants, to the man who helps her, or to the beast that could kill them all?  

I don't accept many self-published novels for review because, in general, I find them to be poorly written, full of editing issues and just really not worth my time.  Occasionally, though, an intriguing premise catches my attention.  Even more rarely, the quality of the writing convinces me to give the book a try.  Such is the case with Edge of the Falls, a dark, dystopian re-telling of Beauty and the Beast by Nazarea Andrews.  Although I didn't love, love, love the book, I can say one thing for sure and certain—this girl can write.  She knows how to create a vivid, atmospheric world that comes alive in the reader's imagination.  Did everything about the place make sense? No.  Still, I found it interesting enough to keep reading.  My enthusiasm started to wane a little with the insta-love between Arjun and Sabah, the bizarre love triangle (square?), not to mention all the dystopian clichés that started cropping up toward the middle of the book.  The story starts out with some original ideas, but it quickly becomes more of the same ole, same ole.  Usually, I care more about characters than plot anyway—this cast, though, really didn't do much for me.  They were all pretty flat and I didn't get why all the males fell so head-over-heels for Sabah, who's moody, fickle and doesn't actually do much to solve her own problems.  

So, in the end, Andrews' way with words impressed me as well as her ability to keep me engaged in Edge of the Falls, even though I wanted a lot more from the story.  Overall, I have to say I'm glad I took a chance on this self-published diamond-in-the-rough—I just would have liked more diamond, less rough.  

(Readalikes:  Reminded me a lot of Under the Never Sky and Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi)

Grade:  C+

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), violence and mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC of Edge of the Falls from Nazarea Andrews.  Thank you!

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

You know how it is when you're sorta reluctant to read a book, then someone whose opinion you trust totally raves about it, so you read it and fall head over heels in love and then you feel dumb for your initial hesitation?  Yeah?  Well, that's exactly what happened with Cinder by Marissa Meyer.  The ARC sat on my shelf for over a year before I wised up and (with a gentle nudge from Sarah over at Sarah's YA Blog ) gave it a try.  Turns out, it offers everything I've ever wanted in a novel—an inventive plot, compelling characters, solid writing, and strong voice.  Not surprisingly, I adored it.  

The story takes place in the not-too-distant future in the crowded city of New Beijing.  Here, as in other parts of the world, humans and androids live and work side-by-side.  Sixteen-year-old Linh Cinder is neither human nor robot, but a cyborg.  Her mixed composition makes her an outcast, a second-class citizen.  Even at home with her step family, Cinder's treated like a servant.  The only place she feels comfortable is in the marketplace, where she spends her days fixing broken 'bots.  Her stepmother keeps 100% of the profits from Cinder's popular market stall, but at least Cinder's allowed to spend most of her time away from home. That small freedom makes the long hours of work worth it. 

A vicious plague is sweeping through the land and a cunning lunar queen watches with interest from the moon, waiting for just the right moment to attack.  Despite the tumult, Cinder's life goes on as always—until a handsome prince stops by her booth.  Cinder's shocked to her core to meet the gorgeous king-to-be.  She's even more surprised when he treats her like an actual human and not just any human, but one he wants to know better.  There's only one problem—Prince Kai doesn't know Cinder's a cyborg.  If he did, he wouldn't be talking to her, let alone inviting her to the royal ball.  

Cinder knows better than to trust this fairy tale turn in her life.  She vows to put all thoughts of Kai out of her cyborg brain, a feat which turns out to be much more difficult than she ever imagined.  Especially when she's recruited to be a guinea pig for the king's royal scientists, who are desperately searching for a cure to the plague that's decimating what remains of the human race.  As the citizens of New Beijing prepare themselves for annihilation—either by pestilence or war—one of them makes the startling realization that she's their secret weapon.  Will Cinder sacrifice her meaningless cyborg life to save the people who have always scorned her?  Can she come clean about who she really is if it means losing the man she loves?  And, most importantly, what will happen when she discovers the alarming truth about her mysterious past?  

I know, right?  Not only does the premise sound intriguing, it is intriguing.  Meyer does everything right in her debut novel, the first in a quartet of "rebooted" fairy tales that tell the story of Cinder's struggle to find her place in a panicked, dying world.  Our heroine is entirely sympathetic, mostly because she doesn't whine about her situation, but endures it with grace and fortitude.  Still, she's no simpering Disney Cinderella—she's strong and funny, a kick-A heroine if I ever saw one.  Although Cinder's story mirrors the classic fairy tale, it's got so much more to offer than the original.  An exciting blend of dystopian, sci-fi, romance and adventure, Cinder should not be missed.  Just see if you don't agree—Happily Ever After has never been this exciting.      

(Readalikes:  I'm sure there are other clever Cinderella retellings, but I can't think of any.  Besides Scarlet, Cinder's sequel, I'm drawing a blank here.  Help?)

Grade:  A

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG for mild language, violence and scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of Cinder from the generous folks at Feiwel and Friends (an imprint of Macmillan).  Thank you!