Bargain Ebook: The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey for $1.99

The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey is on sale in ebook format for $1.99. This is the first time the book has been bargain priced to my knowledge. The book uses Russian Firebird folklore as part of its plot. The sale is probably short term, so don't hesitate if you are interested.

Book description:

For fans of Cassandra Clare's City of Bones and Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone, The Girl at Midnight is the story of a modern girl caught in an ancient war.

Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.

Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act.

Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, though if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.

But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.

New Release: The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey

(US/UK Links)

The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey is released this week in both the US and UK (see The Girl at Midnight: UK Link). This one is more unusual, drawing inspiration from tales of the Firebird. I really like the US cover this time.

Book description:

Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.

Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act.

Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, but if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.

But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.

Jesa Marshall's Firebird Jewelry Line

Vaslav

SurLaLune reader Christina shared in her entry for the SurLaLune Fairy Tales Giveaway that her holiday fairy tale wishlist item is Jesa Marshall's "Vaslav" necklace. What is that, I wondered. So I went looking and discovered a line of Firebird inspired jewelry by artist Jesa Marshall. Do follow the link to see more--I just picked some of my favorites to share with you here, including Christina's Vaslav.

Koshchei

About Jesa Marshall:

Inspired by dark fairytales, nature and storytelling Jesa combines precious metals and gemstones with tiny sculptures of Crows, hares, moths and other creatures to create her internationally popular ‘Enchanted’ Collection. Twisted rose vines, gnarly trees and a touch of darkness come together to create a captivatingly original collection of jewellery.

At International Jewellery London, 2012 Jesa launched 'Firebird'. Inspired by a picture book celebrating 100 years of Stravinsky's 'Firebird' and re-telling a version of the original Russian Fairytale, 'Firebird' is a dark but beautiful world of wolves, wild woodlands, and of course, the fantastically elegant firebird.

Yelena

Lucy Palmer Fairy Tale Jewelry

Here are some jewelry pieces designed by Lucy Palmer with fairy tales as inspiration. My favorites are the East of the Sun and West of the Moon pendants above and below, but the Firebird, Hansel and Gretel, Mermaid, wolf and Little House in the Woods are all lovely. More items for the wishlist! I'd love to wear one of these when I am presenting fairy tales...

The Firebird Ballet at Tales of Faerie

   

Kristin at Tales of Faerie had a wonderful entry on the Firebird Ballet last week and I wanted to make sure no one missed it. It even had a little extra for me in it--Kristin doesn't know this--because she mentions Maria Morevna as a reverse Bluebeard tale, which it is of sorts, meaning flipped genders--and thus was included in Bluebeard Tales From Around the World because it is often mentioned as such in Bluebeard discussions. But this really isn't a Bluebeard entry, it is a Firebird Ballet entry.

  

You have to go over to her blog to read it all, but here's the start to tantalize you into doing so. I have never seen this ballet performed and would love to do so. Over time I have gotten several of the other romantic fairy tales ballets off my list from Swan Lake to Sleeping Beauty to Coppelia to Cinderella but Firebird has proved elusive in the areas I've lived. Of course, I was enough of a balletomane as child to forever think of Maria Tallchief in the role.

I had mentioned, a while ago, that the plot for the Firebird ballet was a combination of Russian fairy tales, but what are the fairy tales the ballet drew from?

The ballet basically took two common characters found in Russian folklore, Koshchey the Deathless and the Firebird.

The villain of the ballet is Koshchey, who holds ten young princesses captive. The Russian tale "Koshchey the Deathless" tells of the hero, Ivan, who goes in search of the Princess he knew of from the lullabies his nurses sang to him. The compassion he has on a man being flogged (Bulat the Brave) results in Bulat accompanying him on a series of quests, basically doing everything for him, including freeing the Princess Vasilisa from Koshchey and finding his death, to kill it. The death itself is in an egg in a duck in a hare in a coffer under an oak on an island in the sea. In the ballet they simplified it to just being an egg he has to smash.

Kristin links to one of the tales on SurLaLune, but there are three Russian Fairy Tale collections hidden away on SurLaLune if you want to read more Russian tales.

  

 

Poster of a Costume Design

Carola Dunn's Fairy Tale Romances

So earlier this week I was sleepless thanks to a lingering cough and resorted to some lite reading late at night. I ended up choosing The Frog Earl by Carola Dunn as my light reading of choice and had a fun time with it. Yes, this is a romance novel. Yes, it is almost twenty years old and has been rereleased to ebook format along with several of Dunn's other novels. This also means it is not a bodice ripper but more in line with Georgette Heyer lite. If that is your taste, Dunn's books may be for you. I was interested since I have read some of Dunn's Daisy Dalrymple mystery series and enjoyed them. I own this one somewhere as a tattered copy found at a used bookstore years and years ago but I've never read it. My allergies often hinder reading old paperbacks and they have to go in sealed boxes to prevent my sneezing. Not an issue with an ebook...


Here's the book description:

Escaping into the countryside to nurse his wounded pride and heart, Simon Hurst encounters the lovely but eccentric Mimi (half English, half Indian and all mischief) who promises him three favors—then only grudgingly doles them out. If he can capture that last one—that kiss—before she learns the truth about his identity, he should transform into an earl once again.

I had fun with just how many ways Dunn incorporated the Frog Prince into the story. It's fun and clever with several little "wink-winks" at the reader. In truth, I was impressed with just how well the tale is incorporated into the plot. There is no magic but the fairy tale elements appear in several places. I think I also enjoyed it because it is rare to read a novel-length interpretation of the tale. We have Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast everywhere, but the Frog Prince is pretty rare and Dunn shows how it can be successfully used.

The leads are interesting, too.  Few Regencies I've dabbled with include half Indian, half English heroines so that was a change of pace. I definitely got my $4 worth of entertainment on a sleepless night. Now I will be adding her other fairy tale romances to my TBR pile for when I need some lite reading. I will share those below although I haven't read them myself yet.

Lady in the Briars by Carola Dunn is a take on Sleeping Beauty, a much less literal adaptation of the fairy tale it appears.

Book description:

Rebecca Nuthall, downtrodden unpaid companion to a relative, is saved from drowning by Lord John Danville. Lord John has been ordered abroad by his father after indulging in a frivolous but near fatal duel. About to leave for Russia with his cousin Teresa Graylin and her diplomat husband, he persuades Teresa to take Rebecca along as governess for their little girl. In St Petersburg, Rebecca blossoms…until she is arrested for espionage. Once again, John must risk his life to rescue her.

This review from Library Journal is more descriptive and better explains how the Sleeping Beauty theme is used.

After nine years of terror and abuse by her uncle, Rebecca Nuthall flees to London. There she enjoys a dull but safe and insulated life as a companion until she meets the Graylin family and becomes involved in their adventures of intrigue. Lord John Danville, a gentleman of the ton with profligate habits, has been banished to the family estate. Old friends with the Graylin's, he too becomes involved in their schemes--and with Rebecca. Initially John feels sorry for Rebecca; she is so timid and fearful of men. His feelings change as he and Rebecca travel with the Graylins to Russia and Rebecca learns to overcome her fears and assert herself. A light, diverting romance, this is the author's ninth Regency.

 
Finally we have The Magic of Love by Carola Dunn which is actually a collection of three Regency romance novellas. I own this one but had quite literally forgotten about it.

Book description from the publisher:

Three Regency Fairytales and a Halloween ghost story:

RUMPLESTILTSKIN—with an unexpected hero

ALADDIN’S LAMP—turns up in Regency Oxford, jinnee and all

THE FIREBIRD—with a wer-fox as heroine

with Superstition—a Halloween short story, in which a Gypsy’s fortune-telling proves doubly accurate

All of these books are also available in other ebook formats, not just Kindle mobis, at Belgrave House where several of Dunn's Daisy Dalrymple short stories are free for downloading.