Book Review: Archetype by M. D. Waters

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Book Review: Archetype by M. D. Waters

Archetype Say you wake up in a hospital room with no memories. You’re told you’ve been in a terrible accident. There’s an incredibly handsome man sitting by your bedside, pledging his love and saying he’ll see you through your recovery. He’s your husband, after all. And he’s going to get you the very best of care, because he loves you with all his heart.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Well, that’s my take-away, in any case, after reading this scary, suspenseful, and altogther un-put-downable first novel by the very talented M. D. Waters. In this science fiction thriller, main character Emma wakes up in a high-tech hospital with no memories, surrounded by an elite medical team and with a very sexy man by her side, who only wants her to get better so they can continue their perfect lives together.

Problems? Well, there are the nightmares, for a start. Emma wakes in horrible trauma each night after dreaming of being trapped in a tank of water, unable to communicate, and watching a strange man who seems to be consumed by anger and grief. And that’s not all. On the nights without nightmares, there are other dreams: dreams of a beautiful beach, the arms of an unseen lover, and words of undying passion and commitment. And still more: dreams of battle, explosions, weapons, and danger. Are these delusions? Simple nightmares? Products of a damaged brain? Or is Emma starting to remember something — something that her husband wants to keep hidden?

Far be it from me to give anything away — but suffice it to say that all is not as it seems. Archetype takes place a couple of hundred years in the future, in a world quite similar to ours… but with much more pervasive technology, a United States that has divided into two separate countries following a civil war, a fertility crisis resulting in some very paternalistic laws around reproduction, and young women kept in restrictive Women’s Training Centers until age 18, when they are either bought and paid for by wealthy men who want families or assigned to a more menial role of support and subservience.

And yet, Emma’s husband Declan seems to really love her, and lavishes her with affection, patience, gifts, a lovely mountain home, and an art studio in which to pursue her newly awakened compulsion to paint landscapes. Declan is one hot guy, and just happens to be incredibly rich and powerful as well. Emma can’t help but be drawn to him, and there’s a connection between the two that just steams up the pages.

There’s more, lots more, but I absolutely want you all to experience Archetype for yourselves! I gobbled this book up within the space of 24 hours, because I just could not look away. And when I stopped for little things like eating or sleeping, I swear I kept turning over all the puzzles of the plot in my brain. There are so many clues, and so much to tease apart. What really happened to Emma? What do those dreams represent? Can Declan be trusted? Who is the mystery lover that Emma may or may not remember? There’s danger, there’s mystery, there’s passion, and there’s enough new and bizarre medical technology to make a sci-fi geek purr with contentment.

I loved the scientific and medical twists and turns, the strange new world of this alternate America, and of course, I loved Emma herself. She may be confused, but she’s not weak or a pushover, and it’s just thrilling to see her take control and try to outsmart everyone, stay ten steps ahead, and figure out how to survive — all without knowing whether anything she believes about herself or her life is actually true.

Normally, this is where you’d hear me complain about a book with a “to-be-continued” ending. Well, not this time. Yes, Archetype ends with a shocker of a cliffhanger, and yes, I’m dying to know more. But — thank you, thank you, thank you — the sequel, Prototype, will be out in July 2014! Now that’s some smart publishing! Anyone who reads Archetype will be practically salivating over the prospect of a speedy sequel.

Archetype is one crazy roller coaster ride of a thrill, and plenty smart too. Read this book! But be prepared to lose sleep until you get to the very end.

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The details:

Title: Archetype
Author: M. D. Waters
Publisher: Dutton
Publication date: February 6, 2014
Length: 384 pages
Genre: Science fiction (adult)
Source: Review copy courtesy of Dutton

4Feb2014

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday: She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

There’s nothing like a Wednesday for thinking about the books we want to read! My Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday post is linking up with two fabulous book memes, Wishlist Wednesday (hosted by Pen to Paper) and Waiting on Wednesday (hosted by Breaking the Spine).

This week, I’m excited about:

She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick
(to be released April 22, 2014)

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Laureth Peak’s father has taught her to look for recurring events, patterns, and numbers–a skill at which she’s remarkably talented. Her secret: She is blind. But when her father goes missing, Laureth and her 7-year-old brother Benjamin are thrust into a mystery that takes them to New York City where surviving will take all her skill at spotting the amazing, shocking, and sometimes dangerous connections in a world full of darkness. She Is Not Invisible is an intricate puzzle of a novel that sheds a light on the delicate ties that bind people to each other.

I just read Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick this past week, which was beautiful and altogether unusual (my review is here if you want to know more), and at this point I’d be willing to read anything by this author! She Is Not Invisible sounds completely different, but there’s something about the synopsis that really appeals to me, and I’m eager to give it a try.

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

Looking for some bookish fun on Thursdays and Fridays? Come join me for my regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday! You can find out more here — come share the book love!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

28Jan2014

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

This week, I’m ready for something upbeat and romantic, so I’m picking…

The Opposite of Maybe by Maddie Dawson
(to be released March 11, 2014)

Synopsis via Goodreads:

A heartfelt, funny, and all-together human novel about the best mistakes a person can make

Jonathan and Rosie have been together so long they finish each other’s sentences—so when he (finally) proposes and asks her to move across the country with him, everyone is happily surprised. But when things suddenly unravel, Rosie sends Jonathan packing and moves back home with Soapie, the irascible, opinionated grandmother who raised her. Only now she has to figure out how to fire Soapie’s very unsuitable caregiver, a gardener named Tony who lets her drink martinis, smoke, and cheat at Scrabble.

It’s a temporary break, of course—until Rosie realizes she’s accidentally pregnant at 44, completely unequipped for motherhood, and worse, may be falling in love with the sentimental, troubled Tony, whose life is even more muddled than hers.

It’s not until Rosie learns the truth about her mother’s tragic story that she wonders if sometimes you have to let go of your fears, trusting that the big-hearted, messy life that awaits you may just be the one you were meant to live.

I like the sound of this: multiple generations, a family secret, unsuitable suitors, and grown-ups dealing with love!

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

Looking for some bookish fun on Thursdays and Fridays? Come join me for my regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday! You can find out more here — come share the book love!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

26Jan2014

Book Review: Alienated by Melissa Landers

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Book Review: Alienated by Melissa Landers

Alienated (Alienated, #1)

High school senior Cara Sweeney thought fighting to claim the title of class valedictorian would be her biggest challenge this year in school — until out of the blue, she’s selected to be one of three students ON THE ENTIRE PLANET who will be hosting an exchange student from the planet L’eihr. As added incentive, she’ll get a full scholarship to college, plus the opportunity to go spend a semester studying on L’eihr as well.

The catch? Even though it’s been two years since the L’eihrs made contact — and not coincidentally, provided the cure for cancer as a good-will gesture, thereby saving Cara’s mother’s life — the level of mistrust among humans is quite high. The L’eihr government seeks an alliance with Earth, for the mutual benefit of both peoples, and the exchange students will serve as a test case to see if cooperation and partnership is possible. In other words, quite a lot is resting on the success of Cara and her family in making their guest feel welcomed and helping him see the value of an alliance with humans.

What Cara doesn’t count on is the fact that their student, Aelyx, is smokin’ hot. Also, brilliant, curious, and respectful, but definitely quite a babe as well. The L’eihrs have “nearly identical” DNA as humans, so co-mingling of the species is a distinct possibility… and the longer Cara spends around Aelyx, the more strongly the idea of mingling appeals to her.

It’s not all teen lust and hormones, however: The anti-L’eihr contingent, once a fringe element of human-only protestors, is becoming more and more vocal — and when Cara is shunned at school and her parents suffer repercussions at work, the pressure to send Aelyx home and call the whole experiment off gets harder and harder to ignore. When events finally threaten to erupt into violence, both Cara and Aelyx have to make decisions about their relationship, their futures, and the fate of their entire worlds.

Kind of heavy, huh?

What to say about Alienated? From the cover and the brief blurbs I’d read, I expected a mostly light and frothy teen romance, with a pinch of sci-fi on the side just to spice things up. And that’s the case, at least to an extent. The science fiction elements are given more weight than I might have thought, so that we get a fuller picture of the evolution of L’eihr’s culture and traditions, their approach toward mating, child-rearing, conflict, and communication, and more. Midway through the book, as the anti-L’eihr protest get harsher and scarier, Alienated takes on a more serious tone, and it’s clear that there’s more on the line than the will-they-or-won’t-they sexual tension between Cara and Aelyx.

On the one hand, Alienated is certainly a compelling read, and I tore through it in one day. The author does a great job of introducing interesting individuals as characters, letting us understand their unique quirks and traits, and presenting both sides of the story by shifting points of view between Cara and Aelyx. On the other hand, the tone is somewhat inconsistent, as it yo-yos from teen snappiness and silliness to the dire tones of a — literally — star-crossed love story, practically an intergalactic Romeo and Juliet.

The science fiction elements are culturally interesting, if not particularly deep scientifically. Why is it that the one alien race to contact Earth is genetically similar to humans and looks “normal” to humans as well? It’s a bit much to swallow, but I suppose it’s the only way to set up a situation in which a semi-realistic love can develop. It’s interesting to see Aelyx struggle to adapt to life on Earth, dealing with the overabundance of bright colors, sharp tastes, and other factors that contribute to sensory overload — and at the same time, learn to open himself to human experiences and emotions as he finds himself drawn to bright, lovely Cara. Cara herself is a terrific lead character, confident of herself academically, but vulnerable to the scorn and derision of her friends and ex-friends.

I did enjoy Alienated, and despite having to suspend my disbelief a lot, found the plot to be original, entertaining, and even moving.

I will add one small caveat, which is that Alienated is apparently first in a series, with a second book due in 2015. I started this book expecting to read a stand-alone novel, and didn’t realize that a sequel would be coming until logging into Goodreads to look up some stats about the book. I was not looking to start a “to-be-continued” story, and Alienated has a completely open-ended conclusion. That’s not a reason not to read Alienated, but just be aware — in case you’re sequel-averse — that the story doesn’t end when you reach the last page.

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The details:

Title: Alienated
Author: Melissa Landers
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication date: February 4, 2014
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Young adult/science fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of Disney Hyperion via NetGalley

26Jan2014

Book Review: Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Book Review: Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy

In this magical story for young independent readers, Ophelia and her sister Alice have accompanied their father to a strange, wintry city where he’s been hired last-minute to curate a sword exhibition at a museum. The girls’ mother has died just months before, and it’s clear that the girls and their father have all been somewhat lost since then.

When Ophelia wanders off to explore the museum, she finds a boy locked in a hidden room, who tells her a tale of a magical mission involving a lost sword, the Winter Queen, herald trees, and a protectorate of wizards. Ophelia is a scientific and logical girl, and can’t bring herself to believe the boy’s story. But her innate compassion, bolstered by her imaginings of her mother’s voice in her ear, bring her to dedicate herself to helping the boy.

Ophelia isn’t a typical heroine. She wears glasses that are always smudgy, and has to stop for quick puffs from her asthma inhaler whenever things get too exciting. Still, she has a big heart and avid curiosity, and so she keeps pushing herself to explore, to collect the clues hidden throughout the museum, and to find a way around the beautiful but menacing museum director.

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy is a fantasy adventure set in the modern world, with magic embedded in a city full of people going about their business and not prone toward belief in evil queens or sinister spells. There are some wonderful touches: a portrait gallery of glum-looking girls sets an ominous tone, galleries of everything you could imagine which seem to change every time Ophelia passes by, museum guards who sit and knit all day until falling asleep, and an older sister who gives up her jeans and t-shirts for a mysterious beauty treatment.

I’m not sure that the climax and resolution of the book necessarily make sense, but it doesn’t really matter. Ophelia is a lovely main character, showing unexpected strength as she pushes herself beyond her normal limits. As Ophelia and her family finally face the danger in the museum, they also finally come to terms with the loss that they’ve suffered and take the first tentative steps toward healing and finding a way forward without their mother.

There are some wonderful magical scenes, as well as moments of danger and excitement. This book should please middle grade readers who like action mixed with fantasy. The reading level seems appropriate for older elementary school grades, easily accessible for children confident in their independent reading abilities.

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The details:

Title: Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy
Author: Karen Foxlee
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication date: January 28, 2014
Length: 240 pages
Genre: Children’s/middle grade fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of Knopf via NetGalley

26Jan2014

Book Review: The Swiss Affair by Emylia Hall

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Book Review: The Swiss Affair by Emylia Hall

The Swiss Affair Hadley Dunn has lived a mostly ordinary life in her small English town, and has been mostly happy. But when she stumbles into an opportunity to spend her second year of university in Lausanne, Switzerland, she envisions a whole new chapter opening up for her. From her first moments in Lausanne, Hadley is enchanted and inspired. The beautiful scenery, the sophisticated people, the sense of wonder and elegance every where she looks — Hadley is ready for magic and for love, and for a time, it seems that she’s found both.

Living in the university residence hall, Hadley meets the beautiful and vivacious Kristina and the two become instant best friends. Together, they ramble the hills and lakefront, explore bars and nightclubs, soak in the beauty and all that Lausanne has to offer. The only dark cloud is a secret Kristina keeps about an illicit love affair, one that she can’t quite explain to Hadley. Still, the year is beautiful and perfect — until a terrible accident destroys it all.

Devastated, Hadley turns for comfort to her enigmatic, handsome American Literature professor, who has seemed smitten with Hadley since day one, and to a kind, old-world elderly gentleman who sees something in Hadley that she doesn’t quite understand. Between these two men, Hadley uncovers secrets and truths, gains insight into her own wants and needs, and bit by bit pieces together both the events of the past and the keys to her present.

In The Swiss Affair, the city of Lausanne is practically a character in its own right. The author lovingly describes its nooks and crannies, the feel of the air, the view of the mountains across the lake, the way the light changes over the course of a year. The people, the cafes and bars, the hilly streets — all are described in vivid detail, so alive that you can just about feel the city as you read.

Hadley herself is an engaging and intelligent young woman, experiencing her first moments of independence and adulthood outside the confines of her home town and her family’s house. Her experiences as she enters the world of a chic Swiss town and a foreign university are so recognizable — anyone who has ventured far from home as a college student will remember the sensations so aptly described here, the wonder and freedom of it all.

In finding Kristina, Hadley finds a kindred spirit and an inspiration as well, the perfect college best friend who both “gets” you and pushes you into unknown territory. In too many novels, the shy or plain main character lives in the orbit of a more exotic, shimmering best friend. I initially thought that’s what we’d get in The Swiss Affair — but I was glad to realize that I was mistaken. Kristina is original and enchanting — but so is Hadley. Hadley is smart, eager, ready for the world, and open to adventures. Her loyalty to her friend, even after tragedy strikes, is what propels her forward and ultimately, what gives her strength for everything that she must face later on.

The love story also seems, at first, to be following in the well-trod footsteps of dozens of other stories — young college girl falling under the spell of the handsome, aloof, charismatic professor, entering into a world of scandal. Well, in The Swiss Affair, this is true, but it’s not the whole picture. Joel Wilson is handsome and charismatic, but his relationship with Hadley takes unexpected turns, and it’s often hard to know what to make of him, yet easy to see how Hadley has become so infatuated so quickly.

The plot twists and turns, and deftly throws some major curves our way. Just when I was patting myself on the back for figuring everything out, the author abruptly pulled the rug out from under me — more than once! I was kept guessing throughout the story, and that kept me reading obsessively way past my bedtime.

My only quibble, and it’s minor, is that it was hard at first to place this novel in time. I started out unsure whether this was a contemporary novel or perhaps set at some point several decades earlier. There are very few clues in the story. For a story set among college students, there were only a few references to mobile phones or the internet, and it wasn’t until these technologies were mentioned that I figured out the “when” of The Swiss Affair. To be honest, while a minor point, this did take a small bit of reality away from the story, as it was a bit hard to believe that these characters wouldn’t be constantly carrying phones, doing research online, etc. In fact, without the rare mentions of mobiles and the internet, this story could just as easily have been set in the 1950s without further alteration.

That issue aside, I found The Swiss Affair to be interesting, moving, and hard to put down. I cared about the characters, and loved the descriptions of Lausanne. The author makes us feel as though we’re walking through the pure air of this Swiss city while reading the book, and I felt it to be an immersive and engaging read. Highly recommended as a coming-of-age story, a glimpse of life in a lovely setting, a love story, and a mystery — The Swiss Affair has something for everyone.

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The details:

Title: The Swiss Affair
Author: Emylia Hall
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Publication date: January 28, 2014
Length: 384 pages
Genre: Adult contemporary
Source: Review copy courtesy of Harlequin MIRA via NetGalley

21Jan2014

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I’m really looking forward to:

The Possibilities by Kaui Hart Hemmings
(to be released May 13, 2014)

Synopsis via Goodreads:

In this highly anticipated novel from the bestselling author of The Descendants, a grieving mother struggles to overcome her son’s death, when a strange girl enters her life with a secret that changes them both forever.

Sarah St. John, a single mother, is reeling from grief: Three months ago, her twenty-one-year-old son, Cully, died in an avalanche near their home in the ski resort town of Breckenridge, Colorado.

As Sarah tries her best to go through the stages—the anger, the sadness, the letting go—she has trouble keeping her grief at bay and moving on with life. Her father, a retiree who has become addicted to QVC, urges Sarah to go back to work at Breckenridge’s local morning show. Her best friend, a recent divorcee who always manages to say the wrong things, convinces Sarah to sort through Cully’s belongings. Slowly, she comes to terms with a world without the swish of her son’s ski pants or the rolling of his skateboard outside her window. Then a girl named Kit appears on Sarah’s doorstep—and she’s carrying Cully’s child.

The Possibilities is a tender and darkly funny story about the fracturing and healing that takes place within a family after tragedy. Told in Kaui Hart Hemmings’s unsentimental and refreshingly wry style—praised as “audaciously comic” by The New Yorker—this uplifting novel asks difficult questions about what we risk to keep our loved ones close.

I’m so excited to have received an ARC for this book! I really enjoyed The Descendants, and look forward to reading The Possibilities as well — even without the added benefit of the Hawaiian setting of The Descendants.

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

Looking for some bookish fun on Thursdays and Fridays? Come join me for my regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday! You can find out more here — come share the book love!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

20Jan2014

New release + giveaway: Board Stiff by Piers Anthony

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I’m delighted to share the cover and synopsis of the newest fantasy novel from Piers Anthony:

The 38th installment of the Xanth fantasy series will delight fans of the witty and comical style that only Piers Anthony can deliver. Best known for his Xanth series, Anthony is the author of over 100 books and has had more than twenty-one novels hit the best-seller list.

Be careful what you wish for…

“I’m actually a smart girl who would make any man an excellent wife. But no man sees that. No man is interested in my mind or personality, just my whatevers. So here is my wish: I’m board stiff. I want Adventure, Excitement, and Romance.”

So begins Piers Anthony’s 38th Xanth novel, in which Irrelevant Candy, looks at her reflection in the water of the shallow well and sees luxuriant midnight black hair to her breathtakingly slender waist, matching dark eyes in a lovely face. A torso coming yea-close to absolute perfection. She was man’s desire. That was part of the problem.

And in the shallow magic of a wishing well, she asks her wish to be granted. Something happens. A sudden whirlwind surrounds her, lifting her up and ripping off her clothing. She is changing, somehow. Then she falls flat on the ground.

Literally. She has been transformed into a flat, stiff board with two knotholes for eyes.

What fun! If you’re a fan of fantasy, be sure to enter to win a print copy of Board Stiff! (Giveaway available to US residents only… sorry!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

20Jan2014

Book Review: Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Book Review: Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Heartbeat

Grief and anger explode off the page in Heartbeat, a young adult novel that fairly sizzles with its main character’s rage. 17-year-old Emma is consumed by pain over the loss of her mother, who is brain-dead but being kept alive by machines for the sake of her unborn baby. Emma’s stepfather Dan brings Emma to the hospital each day to visit her mother, but Emma can barely control her hatred and resentment toward Dan and toward the baby. Once completely devoted to her studies and determined to be top of the class, Emma now goes through the motions and can’t be botheredwith schoolwork. Once happy and in a loving relationship with her kind stepfather, Emma now blames him for her mother’s death, and literally locks him out of her room and her life.

The sole link to her former happy life is Emma’s best friend Olivia, who provides her with daily chitchat and distraction. And then Emma meets Caleb, the only person at her school who’s anywhere near as messed up as she is, and Emma gradually learns that pain and grief come in all different forms — but so does love.

Heartbeat is painfully sad to read, and yet it’s also quite beautiful in many ways. In learning the depths of Emma’s loss, we see her memories of the time before, and just how happy a family full of love can be. By peeling back layer after layer of family memories and experiences, the author shows us how devastating all of this is for Emma — not just the loss of her mother, but the loss of the love and safety she she once felt in her home and with her family.

Emma’s rage is the flip side of that love and is the way that she channels the grief that overwhelms her. Emma’s memories of her relationship with her mother are lovely and wistful, and the suddenness and senselessness of her loss come across with a visceral impact. Emma will never get her mother back, but by the end of Heartbeat, she’s beginning to find glimmers of hope for a future that might still have meaning and even love in it.

Heartbeat shows us the anger of a someone who’s lost the person at the center of her life. I read Heartbeat with tears in my eyes — but despite the pain and loss, there’s an honesty and fierceness in the writing that makes this an important and emotionally compelling book. I recommend Heartbeat for anyone who appreciates young adult fiction that doesn’t shy away from difficult subjects. It is not an easy book to read, but it is strong and memorable, moving and definitely thought-provoking.

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The details:

Title: Heartbeat
Author: Elizabeth Scott
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication date: January 28, 2014
Length: 304 pages
Genre: Young adult contemporary
Source: Review copy courtesy of Harlequin Teen via NetGalley

19Jan2014

Book Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Book Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty What do you get when you put Beauty and the Beast, Bluebeard, and Greek mythology in a blender?

Probably something that looks a lot like Cruel Beauty!

In this new YA fantasy novel, 17-year-old Nyx is doomed to marry the demon who rules her land, as the price due for a bargain her father made before her birth. Nyx has spent her whole life dreading and preparing for her fate, filled with anger at her father for sacrificing her so easily and filled with dismay, knowing that she has no chance of surviving. Nyx’s purpose is not just to wed the ruler, but to bring about his destruction, in order to free her people and avenge her mother’s death.

Easier said than done. When Nyx finally arrives at the ruined castle, she meets her new husband — incredibly handsome, of course — as well as the shadow servant, Shade, who is forced to obey but seems to be on her side. Secrets abound, and Nyx realizes that her task will be even harder than she imagined… especially when her hatred for her husband and captor starts turning into something else.

In Cruel Beauty, there’s a whole mish-mosh of fairy tale and mythology stirred together. The land of Arcadia worships the Greek gods, and their stories and curses inform the actions of Nyx and the rest of the characters. The main tale of the girl promised to the hideous creature and then falling in love is straight out of Beauty and the Beast, although twisted and turned quite a bit along the way. There’s a magical system as well, as Hermetic works (related to the god Hermes) are what allow people to harness the elements of air, earth, fire, and water.

So does it all work? For the most part, I’d say yes. The plot gets overly complicated with so many different fantastical and mythological sources contributing to the mix. The Hermetic concepts take up space and seem to be very important early on — but don’t really matter much by the end of the story. There’s magic and dark spirits and curses and bargains… and the plot ends up practically tying itself into knots to make it all connect and work out in the end.

But, despite the convoluted story line, I enjoyed Cruel Beauty quite a bit. I think it helps that I read it straight through, all in one day. Yes, it’s that compelling — one of those books where you vow to stop after one more chapter… and suddenly an hour or two have slipped by. If I’d read it in smaller chunks or over the course of a week, maybe I would have taken more time to think about the plot developments and poke holes at certain pieces. But gobbling it up all at once, nothing bothered me too much…

Because wow. That’s some love story! Nyx and her captor do a slow burn, gradually moving from mistrust and outright dislike to grudging respect and amusement, and finally, kindness and affection — despite Nyx’s horrible sense that she betrays her family and her people by feeling anything for this strange and seemingly cruel man. Their passion is palpable, and feels like the kind of epic love that can make someone risk eternal suffering for the sake of the other.

Oh, and can we just take a minute to gaze at that cover? Gorgeous.

Overall, Cruel Beauty is probably over-plotted, but it’s a thrilling and oddly moving narrative none the less. If you enjoy fairy tale retellings, magical worlds, and dark secrets, this is one new release that you shouldn’t miss.

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The details:

Title: Cruel Beauty
Author: Rosamund Hodge
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication date: January 28, 2014
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Young adult fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of Balzer + Bray via Edelweiss