Review 262. Cat Hellisen – Beastkeeper.

Title: Beastkeeper.
Author: Cat Hellisen.
Pages: 208.
Published: February 3rd 2015 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Sort: Stand-alone.

Sarah has always been on the move. Her mother hates the cold, so every few months her parents pack their bags and drag her off after the sun. She’s grown up lonely and longing for magic. She doesn’t know that it’s magic her parents are running from. When Sarah’s mother walks out on their family, all the strange old magic they have tried to hide from comes rising into their mundane world. Her father begins to change into something wild and beastly, but before his transformation is complete, he takes Sarah to her grandparents—people she has never met, didn’t even know were still alive. Deep in the forest, in a crumbling ruin of a castle, Sarah begins to untangle the layers of curses affecting her family bloodlines, until she discovers that the curse has carried over to her, too. The day she falls in love for the first time, Sarah will transform into a beast . . . unless she can figure out a way to break the curse forever.

Rating:

This book suffers from an unique problem: it is too short. This story would have benefited from more pages, to give it more development and depth. It was a good book now, but it could have been better. It is a shame that it didn’t live up to it’s full potential now, especially because it has such a fantastic writing-style.

Sarah lives a normal, happy life until her mother decides to leave them. Her father descends into a dark place and he’s not ready to take care of Sarah alone. Sarah meets Alan in the not-so-Forest near her house and he is one of her few friends. That’s until her father dumps Sarah with her grandmother and grandfather in the middle of nowhere.That’s the moment Sarah learns about the curse that runs in her family and how it can pass onto her. Alan is there for her, but he is not exactly what he seems.

I liked the overall story and how the author twisted the original tale into something new. It is hard to identify it as a beauty and the beast retelling, which was good and a little disappointing at the same time. It is more the story after BATB. There is more magic involved and different characters then the original tale, like her grandparents. It is also way darker, something I appreciated (and it surprised me a little, seeing that this is a Middle Grade).

The shortness of this book makes the story feel too fast-paced. There is hardly any time for a set-up, so I didn’t feel any connection with Sarah. She wasn’t a bad character, but I never felt I got to know her and it prevented me from getting sucked in the story. The moment I was starting to get hooked to what was going on, was the moment I reached the last pages. It’s definitely enjoyable, but I wish there was more. It is still worth a read!

TTT | Books I wish I could buy right now.

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

This week we have the 'rewind' where you can go back and revisit a topic you've missed. Last week we had: Ten Books You'd Buy Right This Second If Someone Handed You A Fully Loaded Gift Card. I am already buying books like a maniac, so I'm putting a spin on it.

Markus Zusak – Bridge of Clay. 

It's about a boy.
His name is Clay.
He's building a bridge.
And he wants that bridge to be something truly great and miraculous.
In case you don't know, The Book Thief is one of my favorite books ever. It's one of the few stories that made me cry on the outside. I've re-read it so many times that I lost count and it never fails to touch me. This book was supposed to be out in 2011, but was postponed and no one knows when it will be published.

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A.C Gaughen – Terra.

A new YA fantasy in which elemental powers are reawakened after a genocide, and a girl realizes she has the power to control the earth on the same day she marries the king who hunted the Elementae to extinction.
Publication somewhere in 2017. I loved Scarlet, Lady Thief and Lion Heart. This was such a strong series about a Robin Hood retelling and I can't wait to read more from this author. The romance from Terra also sounds like a potential love-to-hate relationship, which I love.

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Sarah J. Maas – A Court of Thorns and Roses #3.

No title, no further information about the blurb. It will be published May 4th 2017 and the wait is going to be hard. And let's be real, I will read anything she writes:

Twilight of the Gods. WIP.
Crescent city. WIP.
Catwoman.
Novella about Chaol.

That is a lot of new books to look forward to! And of course we got the news that there will be more books published in ACOTAR. Exciting stuff is happening.

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Samantha Shannon – The Song Rising.

On the eve of a new decade, after two hundred years of Scion rule, a revolution is beginning. Its unlikely cradle is the clairvoyant underworld in London, and even an old ally’s betrayal cannot stop it. But an enemy from Paige Mahoney’s past is about to return – an enemy that could quench the flame of hope for good..

Publication was pushed back to March 7th 2017. I'm not a fan of the new covers, but I am a fan of the story inside The Bone Season and The Mime Order, so I need this in my hands!

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Marissa Meyer – The Gatlon School for Vigilantes.

There are two rival schools in Gatlon City: the respected and exclusive Morris Academy that has turned many an evolved youth into celebrity superheroes, and the Gatlon School for the Gifted, which has a slightly less impressive reputation. Students of Gatlon tend to be relegated to minions, placeholders, or—at best—sidekicks. Clara has no interest in being a hero, but she does need answers. Her invisible, mischievous pet Thunderbird, Tondra, is dying, and she refuses to let him go without a fight. Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot more happening in Gatlon than just a sickly mythical bird. Crime is on the rise, the police have gone complacent, and a new team of vigilantes are causing more problems than they’re fixing. When Clara and her peers find themselves swept up in the chaos and no longer able to tell the good guys from the bad, no one is sure which side of hero vs. villain they’ll fall on.

As far as I know there is no exact publication date, but I believe it will be published somewhere in 2017. My love for her books Cinder, Scarlet (my favorite), Cress, Winter, Fairest and Stars Above is big. We also have Heartless to look forward to, publication in November this year, and Wires and Nerves January 2017.

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Victoria Schwab – The returned , A conjuring of light and Vengeful.

Schwab has stated that the third book in The Archived trilogy has been outlined/plotted, and although she isn't yet sure when the book will be released.
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Londons fall and kingdoms rise while darkness sweeps the Maresh Empire—and the fraught balance of magic blossoms into dangerous territory while heroes and foes struggle alike. The direct sequel to A Gathering of Shadows, and the final book in the Shades of Magic epic fantasy series, A Conjuring of Light sees Schwab reach a thrilling culmination concerning the fate of beloved protagonists—and old enemies. Publication 2017.
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Vengeful has no information.

My love for her books can't be expressed in words and I am so excited this is going to be a thing. I don't know how long we have to wait, but it will be worth it. It all started with The Near Witch, then The Archived - The Unbound and Vicious. But, A Darker Shade of Magic and A gathering of shadows are beyond perfection and this is one of my all time favorite series. I can't wait to find out how it is all going to end.

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Meagan Spooner – Hunted.

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?

Publication March 14th 2017. PLEASE LET THIS BE GOOD. Beauty and the beast retellings are my life. I have never read anything by this author before, but this blurb almost sounds too good to be true. The fact that the trend of (fairytale) retellings is still going strong in 2017 makes me extremely happy.

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Maggie Stiefvater – Darknovel & Girlnovel. Nothing known about Foolishnovel. 

Untitled as of yet, but going by the code name 'darknovel' on Stiefvater's blog, will be her next YA novel, a paranormal standalone, about "creepy Colorado magic" and "dust" and is loosely based on a story she wrote in 2008 as a riff on a fear that dogged her in her early teen years.

You can follow anything Stiefvater wants to share about it on her Tumblr blog in the #darknovel tag. She started writing it four months after finishing The Raven Kingand it is supposed to be the next novel she publishes. According to a tweet from 03/25 she is in the process of finishing it up now.

Untitled as of yet, but going by the code name 'girlnovel' on Stiefvater's blog, will be her first adult novel, paranormal, standalone, and will involve "a pack of girl street-racers" and "bad decisions". The narrator of the novel will be named Hennessy. You can follow anything Stiefvater wants to share about it on her blog in the #girlnovel tag.
I loved everything about The Raven Cycle (with The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily Lily Blue and The Raven King) and count is also one of my all time favorite series, so I'm highly anticipating everything Stiefvater will write in the future. I have yet to read The Scorpion Races and her Shiver series, so at least I have some things to look forward to.

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Leigh Bardugo – Wonder Woman. 

August 2017. Another author that makes me want to read anything she writes. I loved Shadow and Bones + Siege and storm and I am the biggest fan of Six of Crows, so I have high hopes for Wonder Woman.

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Laini Taylor – Strange the dreamer.

Strange the Dreamer is the story of: 

the aftermath of a war between gods and men 

a mysterious city stripped of its name 

a mythic hero with blood on his hands 

a young librarian with a singular dream 

a girl every bit as perilous as she is imperiled 

alchemy and blood candy, nightmares and godspawn, moths and monsters, friendship and treachery, love and carnage. 

Welcome to Weep.

March 28th 2017. I fell in love with her stunning writing in her Daughter of Smoke and Bone series (with Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight and Dreams of Gods and Monsters). It has been too long. I can't wait.

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Robin LaFevers – His fair assassin #4.

Sybella and Beast to the treacherous French Court with the Duchess Anne, where a mysterious mole from the convent may or may not have gone rogue

2018. You have NO IDEA how happy this makes me. I may have cried some happy tears. If you ask me for my favorite series, I think I will name this one after Harry Potter. It is glorious and the fact that the sequel is about my two favorite characters in the series, makes me even happier.

So, what books are you waiting for?

Retelling August '16 | The Importance of LGBTQIA+ Retellings - Chiara.

Don't forget to tweet and Instagram with the hash-tag #fairytaleRC.

UPDATE  @ your name/blog name. This is your master post, like your challenge page.
REVIEW – book title @ your name/blog name.

Hello my dear retelling participants. Today I want to show you a really exciting post. I decided to team up with a few other bloggers and let them write guest posts about retellings. One of the first names I had to think of was Chiara from Books for a Delicate Eternity. She is THE blogger when it comes to LGBTQIA+ books, so I was excited when she accepted my offer to write a guest post about it! Here is her brilliant post:

The Importance of LGBTQIA+ Retellings – Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity

There is, as always, a great need for LGBTQIA+ books. Everyone deserves and needs to see themselves in the media they are consuming. Seeing yourself in literature is incredibly important – it can assure you that you are not the only person who feels a certain way, can assure you that you are not ~other~, and can validate your existence and your feelings (and these are just three quick, tiny things that seeing yourself in books can do for someone).

But there is a need beyond just having LGBTQIA+ books in general. There is a need beyond seeing yourself in new stories. There is a need to see yourself in the stories that everyone knows. That you grew up with, but never saw yourself in. There’s a need for LGBTQIA+ retellings.

There are a few that already exist, but compared to cishet (cisgender and heterosexual) retellings, they are sadly few and far between. We need more of these stories that everyone knows and loves to see reimagined time and time again with LGBTQIA+ characters at their heart. So the transgirl can be the one that everyone falls head over heels in love with, so the bisexual prince can find his one true love, so the asexual princess can kick butt and take names. We need these fantastical and traditional and world-known stories to exist for everyone, not just cishet readers.

This year, there are three upcoming LGBTQIA+ retellings, and I infinitely excited for all of them:

First up there is As I Descended by Robin Talley, which is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, with an f/f (female/female) couple at its heart. Macbeth is an incredibly intense and macabre story, and I cannot wait to see how the author brings it to life with a modern twist as well as LGBTQIA+ characters.

Secondly, there is Beast by Brie Spangler, which is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I cannot even express how incredibly excited I am for this story. For a retelling of one of the most popular fairytales ever to have a transgirl in the role of Beauty is just amazing. I really hope that she gets her happily ever after in this book.

Lastly, there is Marian by Ella Lyons, which is a retelling of Robin Hood. However, in this version of the tale Robin Hood is a badass girl, and the romance still exists between her and Marian. As soon as I found out about this book I had a MIGHT NEED for it, because badass lady knights are everything, and we totally need more of them.

I really hope that these upcoming LGBTQIA+ retellings get the love and attention they deserve, so that even more are written and published and devoured. If you’re looking for backlist LGBTQIA+ titles to read and support, here they are:


And I Darken by Kiersten White (retelling of Vlad the Impaler’s life, with a gay MC with POV chapters)

Ash by Malinda Lo (retelling of Cinderella – most say this is a lesbian retelling, but personally I read it as bisexual)

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (all girl retelling of Lord of the Flies, with lesbian, bisexual, trans, and queer characters with POV chapters)

Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block (retelling of Homer’s Odyssey with a bisexual girl protagonist – and also the rest of the cast are LGBTQIA+, as well, which is A+)
Lyra by Erica Crouch (retelling of the story of Orpheus, but with two boys)

Mad About the Hatter by Dakota Chase (retelling of Alice in Wonderland where Alice is a guy and falls in love with the Mad Hatter)

If you have always seen yourself in almost any of the books you decide to pick up, it might be hard to understand why this representation is so important. LGBTQIA+ characters are most often found in contemporary stories. And while these stories have great importance (because they can be reflective of the experiences and lives that LGBTQIA+ teens and young adults are living), there is a need for LGBTQIA+ novels in any genre. Including retellings. Retellings are often magical, and fantastical, and you are transported to a different time and place, and it provides a kind of escape in a way that contemporary novels can fail to do. Retellings are often super romantic, with high stakes attached and battles to be fought for this love to happen. Retellings are a reinvention of tales that we grew up watching and hearing, and make them something new to discover, but that still retain the essence that we have always loved.

Cishet readers see themselves in the original fairytales and myths and legends, and also their retellings. What LGBTQIA+ retellings do is take that beloved story that did not represent anyone except cishet characters, and bring them to life for LGBTQIA+ readers. I cannot stress how important it is to see yourself in the books you are reading. And LGBTQIA+ retellings do that, but also do it in a way that makes age old stories new and relatable and representative of the world we live in now. It says to the reader: yes, you can be the princess. You can be the knight. You can be the apple’s eye of the kingdom. Because you are real and worthy and important. You exist.

Do you have any recommendations when it comes to LGBTQIA+ (retelling) books? And how do you feel about this topic?

Let it go | Okay, good and the best.

Sophie Jordan – Reign of shadows. 2.5 out of 5. I won a review copy from Stories & Sweets. You know me and my love for fairytale retellings, so when I first spotted this book on Goodreads I knew I had to read it. I was excited when I started it. The beginning was interesting and set the world-building: Luna's parents, King and Queen of Relhok, were murdered by the evil chancellor the day of the eclipse. The world has been cloaked in darkness for 17 hours now. Only one hour, midlight, is save from the creatures that roam the world: Dwellers. Fowler is on the run from his family and is saved by Luna. He is ordered to take her with him to a place that is rumored to be free of Dwellers.

Luna had her moments. She is blind, but gifted with these some kind of superpowers that gave her unbelievable abilities. The author took it a little too far for my taste and I would have liked it more if she had toned it down. Luna is rash and she went back and forth between clever and downright stupid. Fowler gave me mixed feelings. He was too emotionless and harsh for my taste, I would have liked to see his softer sight earlier in the story. His 'unpredictable' twist was quite obvious from the beginning and might me sigh at how cliche it was. I was disappointed, but I think I'm willing to give the sequel a second chance.

Danielle L. Jensen – Warrior witch. 3 out of 5. Review copy from Netgalley.
The first book was really strong and I love how Stolen songbird changed the way I viewed trolls. Tristan and Cécile impressed me and I liked their chemistry. Hidden Huntress was a good sequel, especially because it was written from both of their point of views. While warrior witch was a solid conclusion to the overall series, it did not blow me away.

There was a change in Tristan/Cécile's dynamic that made me annoyed by both of them. Their chemistry suffered from their constant need to keep things a secret to keep each other safe and I just wish they talked more. The plot was a bit slow, with Cécile trying to make up for her mistake in the previous book, but the ending made up for it. I did not see that coming and I thought it was fitting.

Amy Tintera – Ruined. 4.5 out of 5. Review copy from Edelweiss.
I had a good experience with Tintera's previous Dystopian duology Reboot, so I had high expectations for this series despite some negative reviews on my Goodreads feed. Let me tell you this: I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. The 0.5 was taken off because the romance developed a little too fast for my taste, but Em and Cas were fantastic together. They start with a bit of a hate relationship and that's my favorite thing.

Em is the princess of Ruina. The Ruined are being hunted and killed, because people are afraid for their powers. At the same time, the Ruined are not innocent. She is looking for her capture sister, who is being held by the king who killed her parents. He happens to be the father from Prince Cas of Lera, engaged to princess Mary - and Em is portraying to be that girl. Cas doesn't want to get married, but he is surprised by Mary/Em.

The plot is quite basic, but the characters and how Tintera filled it with details made the story for me. Em was simply fabulous. This girl is ruthless, clever and strong. She made me laugh a couple of times, when she daydreams about ways to kill everyone in a room. Very resourceful. Cas was the typical good guy. He is open-minded and kind, nothing like his father. Tintera has a fantastic writing-style that easily sucks you into the story and I LOVED that horrible ending. It makes me want to pick up the sequel right away.

Monthly recap July '16 | Theme park, all the books & return to the hairdresser.

This post recaps my month: my personal life, all the books I’ve read & bought, movies and TV shows I’ve seen and links to posts that interest me.

This was a good eventful month!

The first thing that happened was going back to the hairdresser. Last time it did not turn out how I wanted it, so I got a refund and the opportunity to have it fixed at one of their other locations. It is PERFECT now. I will definitely return to that location in the future to get it touched up again, because I'm digging the purple :) 

The second fun thing is that I went to a theme park with my boyfriend, his brother + girlfriend and sister. I'm not into rollercoasters (I don't mind the height of the speed, but I dislike the feeling), but I had a great time nonetheless! It is a fairytale themed park, so there is enough to do and see for me. We also hunted down Pokemons together, which was fun. (Shout out to other members of Team blue :D)

I had two book club meetings, where we ate Indian food the first time and an amazing brownie, chocolate mousse and vanilla ice cream dessert the second time. I also had a sleep-over. My boyfriend was on a school trip for ten days, so my sister stayed over for two days and it was great! Quality time and a swoony movie. Tonight I'm going out for dinner with my parents, so this month is also filled with lots of good food.

I went shopping with my mother and sister, bought tons of clothes and then ordered some more (buying lots of dresses for vacation is a nice excuse, right?) I also received my order from RedBubble and I'm so enthusiastic about their stickers! Such good quality and I love their fast shipping.

I'm still in a blog slump and I am just taking my time. I might need to reconsider what I want for this blog. I'm slowing getting back into commenting though, so that is good news and writing about bullet journaling has helped a lot, so I'm definitely going to continue that. 

And my vacation started! Three weeks of freedom.

Review 261. Brittany Cavallaro – A Study in Charlotte.

Title: A study in Charlotte.
Author:  Brittany Cavallaro.
Pages:  321.
Published: March 1st 2016 by Katherine Tegen Books
Sort: First book in Charlotte Holmes.
Source: Edelweiss and publisher, thanks!

The last thing Jamie Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, who has inherited not only Sherlock’s genius but also his volatile temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it seems safer to admire her from afar. From the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.

It was quite obvious in the beginning that I would not get along with this book. It's definitely a case of "it's me, not you" because this book has a lot to offer. For some reason though, I did not connect with the story, the characters or the writing.

Jamie Watson got a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, where Charlotte Holmes goes to school as well. The two of them meet and he is immediately impressed by her; Charlotte less. She likes to be by herself in her laboratory, but Jamie feels an attraction to her and the two of have to work together when they are being set up. A student dies under strange circumstances and they are both seen as suspects – and only Charlotte's intelligence can clear their names.

I liked the fact that Holmes is a girl now. She is smart, impulsive and confident, three trades I normally really like in a character. With Charlotte it was the opposite; I disliked her, could not connect with her and most of all, I had a hard time accepting her drugs abuse. She got on my nerves more often than I wished and even her hard times did not make me like her more.. The way she looks at life and treats certain situations just did not work for me.

I had the same with Jamie. He felt blank to me and I never had the feeling I was connected to him. There was no sparkle for me and the two lacked the chemistry I see in the TV show and movies. I guess it is because they only work together, because someone is trying to frame Charlotte and Jamie is pulled under as well. 

The way they put the clues together was kind of fun, but the overall mystery was not that exciting to me and the lack of emotions made this a failure for me.