Beast by Donna Jo Napoli

Beast by Donna Jo Napoli

I really liked this story as a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Per Ms. Napoli this story has roots from an earlier version told by a Mr. Lamb in the 1800's where the Beast was a Persian Prince.

The culture and faith of the Beast make for a nice change. In the story the Prince wasn't necessarily bad, just proud and thoughtless.

Prince Orasmyn is the son of the Shah and knows the Quran well. He takes joy from the simple things in life like the gardens he helps to design and flourish. When the Prince prepares a camel for sacrifice and knows that the animal has been defiled (already has known suffering) and then knowing that continues to prepare the animal to die an djinn or pari (a fairy) curses him to take the form of a beast stating that his own father (the Shah) will kill him tomorrow during a hunt where lions from India have been brought in for a special event.

The Prince manages to avoid death and decides to follow the caravan back to India. Orasmyn learns much about being a lion but almost looses himself as a man. The djinn had said only the love of a woman would break his spell. The Prince, remembering a tale from a visiting Frenchman, decides to go to France to try his luck there. Life as a lion is difficult and terribly lonely. Orasmyn stumbles upon an abandoned chateau and sets up shop. Everything must be stolen, something that goes against his very upbringing

It's really a well-written story about faith and perserverance and overcoming despair. The romantic aspect of Belle falling for the Beast almost seems incidental to the obstacles that Orasmyn is able to rise above.

The Smart One and The Pretty One by Claire LeZebnik

The Smart One and The Pretty One by Claire LeZebnik

Ava and Lauren are two modern sisters who look pretty much alike but see the world in completely different ways.

Ava, the older sister, is a lawyer and the responsible daughter. She dresses professionally but plainly with as little fuss and bother as possible. Lauren on the other hand, makes her living buying clothing for retail stores and is a little bit of a clotheshorse. When Lauren really racks in the debt and can't continue to pay her bills AND her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer she decides to pack it in and come home.

Ava helps Lauren sort out her bills and Lauren helps Ava sort out her love life but neither sister is particularly gracious about the help she is receiving. Ava makes Lauren sign a contract stating how Lauren won't buy anything unnecessary for the next six months. Lauren decides to get even when she finds a betrothal contract their parents jokingly made several years ago and sets Ava up with a man the she is unknowingly engaged to.

This sounds like a fairly stereotypical plotline but the author's ability to describe the situations and the easy, witty dialogue between not just the sisters, but all the characters makes this novel stand out from all the others. I really enjoyed this book.

Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn

Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn

I just wasn't as impressed by this as the summaries had led me to believe I'd be... The plot seemed trite and overdone. The characters seemed very static and stereotypical. Two characters that I would have liked to see more of were Morio, a Japanese kitsune (read demon fox) and 'Smoky' a white dragon. One can hope they make a larger appearance in the second and third installments.

The plotline is fairly standard. Three sisters are living on Earth on assignment from their CIA-like agency from Faerie. Since the sisters are half Fae, half human they each have their weird powers. Camille is a witch, Delilah is a werecat and Menolly used to be great at acrobatics before a mission gone wrong saw her turn into a vampire.

The sisters manage well enough Earthside and they all have their own jobs. Menolly helps tend bar (at night of course), Delilah is a detective and Camille runs a bookstore. By the title, Camille is the obvious focus of this story and things were going fine until a friend that worked at the bar with Menolly died of very suspicious causes. That sets off a whole slew of otherworldly problems including the rising of a demon named Shadow Wing. I couldn't help it; I thought of Darkwing Duck every time I saw the name in print...

It took me a good four or five days to get through this slim little paperback, a size that would normally take one or two max. I just couldn't get into it. I'll (of course) read the next ones to see if they turn out better. I hope they do.

Hands of Flame (The Negotiator, 3) by C.E. Murphy

Hands of Flame (The Negotiator, Book 3) by C. E. Murphy

C. E. Murphy stuns again in her third book of the Negotiator series.

Hands of Flame begins a few weeks after the end of the last book House of Cards. At this point we are well-entrenched in the series and it's not recommended to read this book as a standalone novel.

Margrit Knight has only known of the Old Races (Dragons & Djinn, Gargoyles & Selkies and Vampires) for a scant three months but her life has been immeasurably affected by her knowledge. Having quit her old job as a lawyer at Legal Aid, Margrit is poised to begin a new job as Eliseo Daisani's secretary which would give her considerable freedom to pursue "jobs" for the Old Races.

In the last book Margrit found herself sitting on a quorum as the representative of her race. In this book Margrit takes her role as token human to a higher level of respect within the Old Races. In this novel she continues to push the Old Races to change their centuries-old traditions in favor of new governances that will help them survive the ever-shifting world of humans. Margrit negotiates a peace agreement on the docks between the Selkies and Djinn and faces Alban's detractor Biali in a gargoyle trial in an effort to win Alban back into the Gargoyle's gestalt.

As usual it's a complicated plot fraught with financial politics and pitfalls. Trading "favors" (destroying an empire, removing a dragon, stopping a war) seems to take up much of Margrit's time and her quick mind seems to catch on to the intricacies of the problems much faster than I would have had I been in her shoes.

My only real complaint is that Alban kept to shadows, showing up to protect Margrit or push the plot along with little jabs. Margrit handles almost all of the action - including a few fights scenes. It's really quite impressive when comparing her character through the duration of the series, but I miss some of Alban's quirks.

Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner

Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner

This is the story about Helen of Troy and how the author imagined her to be more than just a pretty face that got kidnapped and started the Trojan War. This is about Helen as a woman-child, meeting mythological heroes and making her own decisions in a time when women were supposed to be passive.

Helen had always been the pretty twin and the heir to be Queen of Sparta. Even as a young girl though she knows her beauty will not always be enough. She sets about making herself formidable as well by obtaining some secret training like her brothers (Castor and Polydeuces) receive.

When her sister is betrothed and finally ready to go and live in her new husband's house, Helen goes with Castor and Polydeuces to deliver her and meets up with some mythological heroes. The political winds are changing and so the three siblings change up their traveling plans to avoid some unwelcome company and so stop at Delphi. From there the adventures just continue to grow.

It is very interesting for me to read about a well-known character and to imagine an more in-depth existence for them. Realistically Helen must have had feelings about the man she was married to, her brothers and sister, the country she lived in etc. The author imagines them so vividly you almost think that there must be some basis in fact. This was a very enjoyable read.

Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega, 1) by Patricia Briggs

Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega, 1) by Patricia Briggs

This story starts right off where Ms. Briggs started in her short story in the book "On the Prowl" (featuring various authors). I suggest reading that first so that you have a good background of what Anna went through and how short a time she has really known Charles.

Anna is a werewolf and has been for three years but it wasn't her choice to make the change. In most things she is basically ignorant about what it means to be a werewolf and she knows even less about herself as an Omega wolf. Charles is still recovering from the silver bullets he took in the fight in Chicago and is trying to learn enough for both of them. He's trying not to scare off Anna since they are not "mated" even though their wolves are. The situation is unheard of in the werewolf community.

To compound matters the Marrok must send Charles off to deal with a rogue wolf that has attacked one human too many in the wilds of Montana. Anna, unwilling to let Charles face an enemy alone, goes with him and plays an integral part in taming the rogue as well as the Marrok when he nearly goes berserk after being held captive by a 200 year old witch that can utilize pack bonds and has a guardian werewolf.

As with any good heroine, Anna is what holds the story together. She's shy but stubborn, strong yet delicate, unsure of herself but definitely a force to be reckoned with...

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Dear Stephenie Meyer,

When I was first considering reading The Host I was reluctant. I was a pessimist thinking about how it wasn't emotionally possible to be as good as your Twilight series. That the writing that made me love the impossible romance where vampires and werewolves exist (and Edward!) was surely a fluke.

I was wrong. I'm sorry I doubted you. I didn't think it was possible but I may just love this novel more than Twilight (etc.) although I am quiet about it. I don't want my fellow Twilighters to string me up for my heresy. Also the summary on the jacket flap does not do justice to the complicated love and morality inherent to the story.

When I first got the book I let it sit in my room for several days - a week at least. I would eye it warily, not really certain that I wanted to get emotionally bound to another book but reassuring myself with my pessimism. I started slow (or so I thought). The first day I started the book I only took in the first nine chapters; just enough to lay the groundwork. The second day I read a little more but not much. I think I knew (somewhere underneath the surface) that if I got too much farther in I would be lost. The third day I could not put the book down. I still had to go to work and about my normal routines but I was a shell of a human - most of my consciousness with the book and the characters. I worried with Wanderer about whether Jamie was okay and if he was getting enough to eat. I agonized over whether the Seeker would drag Mel and Wanda back to "civilization." The fourth night I stayed up until four a.m. finishing the story: crying when things seemed hopeless, smiling when Wanda really got the hang of sarcasm.

The story was truly beautifully written. With such a complicated plot it would have been all too easy to stray from the main point and go off on a tangent or develop the characters too fast. I was constantly impressed with the depth of emotion the writing wrought within me. When I cried it was not for me or any related memories I might identify with but for the characters themselves: their hurts, their sorrows, their hopelessness.

The long and the short of it is that I can't remember ever being so moved by one single book (or movie or song) and I am a voracious reader (watcher, listener). So thank you. I look forward to whatever else you may write (Twilight related or otherwise, although I do wish you'd continue on with Midnight Sun - I still haven't read it out of respect for the process. I don't think I'll read it until you actually publish it. Please don't let me down!).

Thank you for bringing to life Melanie and Wanda and all the rest. It has been an experience I won't soon forget.

Maria