Fantastic Fairy-tales - The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Published: January 13th, 2015

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 336

Copy: Edelweiss

Summary: Goodreads

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?

No-one does faerie stories quite like Holly Black!

Faeries are real in Fairfold and Hazel and her brother Ben are up to their ears in Faerie troubles, even if they don't know it.  Ms Black pulls on several well known fairy tales - Sleeping Beauty being the most obvious - in this modern tale of fae and human interactions.  I could just picture Hazel and Ben as kids, with their pretend costumes and swords, trying to save the sleeping faerie prince.

There are some intriguing twists and false leads in the story, so that the reader is almost at as much of a loss as the characters to know what is going on, and there is enough mystery and adventure to keep most people happy, and just enough romance too, although some of it might surprise you - not quite the usual 'happily ever after'.

This was fun and quick to read and if you like your faerie (fairy - what is the difference?) tales with a modern slant I'm sure you'll enjoy this one.

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves allows us to share the books we have added to our collections - physical, virtual, borrowed, bought or received

This week I got: 

So I watched The Maze Runner over the weekend and had forgotten what a GREAT series this was.  I felt that they actually did a pretty good job of bring the book to life (your thoughts?).  The creatures in the maze were not quite how I had imagined them to be but it was still a great interpretation.   I had previously read Book #2 but now watching the movie has re-newed my interest in the series so I snagged #3 from the library this weekend. What's on your shelf?

- Christinbean

Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard

Published: December 30th, 2014 

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 368

Copy: Won from Luanne at A Bookworms World

Summary: Goodreads

A prince with a quest. A commoner with mysterious powers. And dragons that demand to be freed—at any cost.

Prince Corin has been chosen to free the dragons from their bondage to the Empire, but dragons aren’t big on directions. They have given him some of their power, but none of their knowledge. No one, not the dragons nor their riders, is even sure what keeps the dragons in the Empire’s control.

Tam, sensible daughter of a well-respected doctor, had no idea before she arrived in the capital that she is a Seer, gifted with visions. When the two run into each other (quite literally) in the library, sparks fly and Corin impulsively asks Tam to dinner. But it’s not all happily ever after. Never mind that the prince isn’t allowed to marry a commoner: war is coming to Caithen.

Torn between Corin’s quest to free the dragons and his duty to his country, the lovers must both figure out how to master their powers in order to save Caithen. With a little help from a village of secret wizards and a rogue dragonrider, they just might pull it off. 

Thanks first to Luanne at A Bookworms World and to Penguin for this fantastic book.  I hadn't heard anything about it when I entered Luanne's giveaway, but I'm a sucker for anything with dragons, so I had to enter.  So glad I won.

'Moth and Spark' was a pleasure to read, from beginning to end.  Ms Leonard's writing is lyrical and engrossing and captured me at once.  One of the things I loved was the language that she used and it was very interesting to read in the acknowledgements that  'Finally I am indebted to Jane Austen whose language I liberally borrowed from'.  As a huge Jane Austen fan I understood immediately why I had fallen in love with her 'voice'

I also was very enamored with her characters - every last one of them, even the not so nice ones.   I felt as if I could relate to all  of them, and though the situations are certainly nothing I have ever had to cope with, I could understand why the characters reacted the way they did.  There is a huge case of almost insta-love, which I am not in general too fond of, but somehow  this time around it felt real, not forced, and Tam and Corin just seemed made for each other. Would you be willing to sacrifice all for the 'greater good'? I'm not sure I could be as selfless as these two were. 

Oh, and did I mention there are dragons in this book - lots of fire breathing dragons, and an unscrupulous tyrant, and an evil emperor and hidden wizards and assassins and handsome captains and lots of other fun things that escape me right now. SO much fun. It's also a stand-alone, which is refreshing these days.  No waiting for a sequel.

Moth and Spark is sold as an adult book, but it's more of a New Adult to my way of thinking and I'm sure that older teen fantasy fans will just adore this book as much as I did. I'm immediately recommending it for purchase at the library.  

Friday Follow

Friday Follow is a blog hop that was started by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.  Each week a different question is posted by our hosts and we will answer!  This is a great opportunity for bloggers to network and interact. 

This week’s question –

Question of the Week: Do you have any fun collections (other than books)? - Suggested byPeace Love Books
I do have some other fun collections but I don't have pictures (maybe I can find them (they are packed away) and take some pictures later.  I had started a thimble collection a few years ago.  Sometimes I pick up interesting thimbles from yard sales off Ebay. I like them because the thimble is such a useful tool and they don't take up too much room. You can keep them in a little box.  Plus there are so many beautiful designs to thimbles.  That's just one of my collections. I also have a button collection that I inherited from my Mom. She used to have drawers and bags of buttons so one day I set up some mason jars and my daughter and I sorted them by color. Now they line a shelf and look very pretty.  I use some of them for making leather wrapped bracelets with beads....yet another post I need to do.  I'd better get hopping with these pictures eh?- Christinabean

Welcome to the Paperback Princesses! Make yourself at home, take a look around our blog and let us know what you think in the comments section. We would love to hear what you have to say about our posts. We often try to comment on your comments as well so feel free to start a conversation! Since there are two of us running the show, we always have a variety of titles and event postings. Be sure to check out our own personal meme page. Check out Fantastic Fairytales, Let's Hear it for the Boys, In Case you Missed it and a few others. We try to not only focus on new YA books but also great titles from the past.

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas

 

Published: September 2014

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's

Pages: 562

Copy Provided by: Borrowed from the Library

Summary: Goodreads

 

 

Summary:

Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

 

Review:

 

First of all, Heir of Fire is book #3 in the Throne of Glass series and I don't recommend jumping in and reading from here.  Read books 1 and 2 first before you tackle this one or you will be completely lost.

 

At first I found it very difficult to jump back into the plot of this novel and recount what had happened in previous books.  However, once I got into the thick of things, it was such a hard novel to put down. I found myself reading whenever I had a chance...waiting in line at the bank....going up in the elevator....sitting as a passenger in the car...thank god for e-books!!

 

There is a new set of characters that are introduced into this book - the witches.    They seem incredibly fierce and hell bent on taking over the world and righting long-held grudges.  I wonder what kind of role they will take on in this final battle?

 

As I was reading Heir of Fire, I found myself comparing the story to a YA version of Game of Thrones.  You've got lost heritage lines, people coming back from the grave, a magical mystery element, mythical creatures, lots to keep a reader interested!

 

The relationship between Nehemiah and Celena plays a big role in how she copes with her abilities in this book.  She is barely hanging on emotionally and the guilt she has in Nehemiah's death drags her to the utter depths of despair.  Their friendship was more of a sisterhood.  I'm not sure that men have the same kind of bonds that layer emotionally.

 

About halfway through my heart broke for Celena.  Sarah J Maas set this up perfectly for her main character to crash and burn all the very long way down only to be built back up again.  I was so sad for Celena but I felt like I was cheering on the sidelines for her recovery.

 

A couple things to note.  There is language in this book and the subject matter is quite involved.  The story is intricate and I would highly recommend it to a reader who likes to read back stories as well. The accompanying novellas to this series make it quite interesting.

 

This is such an intricate and intriguing tale that I have enjoyed immensely over the past couple years that I believe I would add it to one of my top favorite series.  I though this was a trilogy and wasn't sure whether to jump up and down cheering or crying when I discovered when there was a Book 4.  Cheer because the story will continue or cry because I have to wait until SEPTEMBER 2015!!! According to Goodreads, there will be 6 titles in the series.  Yay for Sarah J Maas!!  Sad for me and my patience.....



Waiting on Wednesday - The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine,  that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating or books that are in our TBR pile.  This week’s “can’t-wait-to-read” selection is

Summary (by Goodreads)

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?

I love Holly Black. I need to read this.
- Christinabean

Polaris by Mindee Arnett

Published: January 20th, 2015

Publisher: Balzer and Bray

Pages: 432

Copy: Edelweiss

Summary: Goodreads

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of mercenaries are pulled into one last high-stakes mission in this breathtaking sequel to Mindee Arnett's Avalon, which SLJ called "an exciting piece of science fiction that keeps up its energy from beginning to end" in a starred review.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew are on the run. The ITA, still holding Jeth's mother in a remote research lab, is now intent on acquiring the metatech secrets Jeth's sister Cora carries inside her DNA, and Jeth is desperate to find the resources he needs to rescue his mother and start a new life outside the Confederation. But the ITA is just as desperate, and Jeth soon finds himself pursued by a mysterious figure hell-bent on capturing him and his crew—dead or alive.

With nowhere to run and only one play left, Jeth enters into a bargain with the last person he ever thought he'd see again: Daxton Price, the galaxy's newest and most fearsome crime lord. Dax promises to help Jeth, but his help will only come at a price—a price that could mean sacrificing everything Jeth has fought for until now. 

'Polaris' was a wonderful follow-up to 'Avalon' which I read last year, but for some reason don't appear to have reviewed, although I'm not sure why.  I absolutely loved 'Avalon' and am happy to report that 'Polaris did not disappoint.  In fact, it may even have been better.

 Ms Arnett manages to give her characters great depth and emotion and although there is romance in the book, it takes a back seat to the story, which is both complex and engrossing.  The various characters that make up the crew are a family, by circumstance if not by blood, and they display all the characteristics of a true family.  They care for each other even while they are arguing and despite everything that happens are there for each other when needed. The technology is new and frightening in its possibilities and never seems too far-fetched or unreal.

The story takes off almost immediately and continues at breakneck speed right to the very end. Just when the kids appear to get a break, something happens and they are knocked right back down again.  The reader is never quite sure what is going to happen next. This book is one of a rare kind in YA - a good science fiction book and is a completely thrilling read that sucks you in and spits you out at the end.  I highly recommend it - even if you think you don't like SF.