Bibliophile Support Group

Cruel Beauty is a YA retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Rosamund Hodge. Nyx’s birth was the result of a bargain between her father and the evil ruler of their kingdom, the Gentle Lord Ignifex. In order to provide Nyx’s mother with children, the Gentle Lord secured the promise that one of the daughter’s would become his bride. Her father never thought to confirm that his wife would be able to survive the birthing. No one ever does think through their bargain entirely… Since her childhood, Nyx has been being prepared to marry the Gentle Lord – this demon king who caused the death of her own mother. Her family preps her to kill him, to enact the ultimate revenge and save their people from his ongoing bargains and tyranny of curses. So it is that on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx weds the immortal Gentle Lord via a stone proxy in the town church and proceeds to the mysterious castle that no one but the desperate – looking for a deal – ever comes near. Yet Igni...

Cinder is a YA futuristic sci-fi fantasy retelling of Cinderella, and the first book in The Lunar Chronicles , by Marissa Meyer. Being a cyborg is almost as shameful as being an android – despite the fact that Cinder knows she is human, there are many in New Beijing who would argue that fact. So, as she spends her days utilizing her gifts as a mechanic to provide income for her derisive adoptive mother and sisters, Cinder doesn’t advertise her cyborg parts. Not good for business. Yet, she’s never felt the weight of being a cyborg as strongly as when her path crosses with Prince Kai – an admittedly attractive and charming young man. Not to mention royal. Soon, Cinder is pulled deeper into the most concerning struggles of Earth – a ravaging, deadly plague that they’ve been trying to find a cure for without success in twenty-five years and a possibility of war hinging on nothing more than the whims of a mad queen from the country Lunar, on the moon. There are secrets to Cinder...

Longbourn is a historical fiction novel by Jo Baker that takes the below stairs perspective of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice . As one of the housemaids at Longbourn , Sarah spends her days doing all the things the genteel Bennett’s do not want to even think about – scrubbing laundry, emptying chamber pots, assisting in serving dinner, cleaning, etc. Yet, as upstairs there is furor over the influx of marriageable, wealthy men in town, Sarah finds herself also pulled into romance. And as an enigmatic new footman arrives – apparently a “fine young man” but without references that can be named – the servants’ hall becomes more mysterious and intriguing than ever… This tie-in to Pride & Prejudice has been lauded and mentioned so often that I was quite excited to read it! Sadly, it did not work for me. At all. I hate to be negative – clearly there are many, many people out there that have enjoyed Longbourn – and you could be one of them!! So, remember to take my revie...

Violet Eyes is a YA retelling of The Princess and the Pea , one of the Once Upon a Time books, by Debbie Viguie. Contented, simple farm girl Violet’s life is made more complicated when she and her family take in a wounded stranger – who turns out to Prince Richard of the realm. Once he is returned to full health, he’ll have to head to the kingdom after a year abroad locating princesses for his parents, the king and queen, to enter into a competition for his hand in marriage. Reluctant to do such a thing, Richard instead finds himself intrigued by Violet’s straightforward, strong personality and they quickly fall in love. Yet in order to have a chance to be together, Violet will need to compete against the many princesses in odd, enigmatic tests that range from the ridiculous to the dangerous… Violet Eyes moves swiftly, as it sort of has to since it’s just shy of 200 pages. I’m never a fan of love at first sight – finding it superficial, improbable and irritating – but fo...

Princess of Thorns is a YA fantasy Sleeping Beauty retelling by Stacey Jay. Sleeping Beauty’s story did not end with Happily Ever After. Instead, she sacrificed her life in the arms of her seven year old daughter Aurora in order to give Aurora her fairy magic – and a chance to survive the coup of the murderous ogres. Now, ten years later, Aurora has learned that magic always has an unexpected, bitter result – and though it has given her excellent fighting skills and a merciful heart, it also has barred her from ever having true romantic love. When her younger brother, Jor, is captured by the Ogre Queen, she sets off to raise an army to rescue him while dressed as a boy and hunted by the Ogre Queen’s followers. Meanwhile, Prince Niklaas is searching for Aurora – his life depends on it. A curse laid down by his own father leaves him with only days before his fateful eighteenth birthday – a birthday that will claim his humanity, as it did his ten older brothers. His only hope...

Of Beast and Beauty is a YA fantasy reimagining of Beauty and the Beast by Stacey Jay. Inside the domed city of Yuan live the Smooth Skins – of which blind Isra is the princess. Despite being blind, she knows she is a hideous blemish on her people and has been held in a tower, unseen by the Smooth Skins, since her mother’s death. But does it matter? She’s been raised to be a human sacrifice anyway – a girl whose death will mean the prosperity of the Smooth Skins for years to come. Outside Yuan is the vast, barren desert where those they call the Monstrous live. As they fight starvation, Gem is one of many that cross the border into Yuan to search for food for their loved ones. When caught, Gem becomes a prisoner of Isra and the question of who is the monstrous becomes more pressing than ever before. Isra’s way of life is called into question by her association with Gem – who she begins to consider intelligent, compassionate and wholly human – not monstrous at all despite ...

The Mirk and Midnight Hour is a YA historical retelling of The Ballad of Tam Lin by Jane Nickerson. Though this novel takes place in the same universe as Nickerson’s previous novel Strands of Bronze and Gold , my review of which you can read here , it is not necessary to read in order. Violet Dancey, seventeen, does her best to assist in the efforts of the fight against the North as she lives out her daily life in Mississippi. She tries to help wounded soldiers – though she hardly knows what she’s doing. When her father announces that he is going to marry and Violet will have not just a new stepmother but also a stepsister – a girl her own age that she knows and does not particularly care for – she is not pleased. To have her comfortable little home invaded by strangers – while she’s still grieving her beloved soldier twin brother and relies on the support of her best friend, a slave her own age that is more like family – sounds devastating. Then her home of Scuppernong Farm al...

For Darkness Shows the Stars is a YA post-apocalyptic romance by Diana Peterfreund. Elliot North is of Luddite nobility. Since she was a child she was taught that the Luddites, who outlawed most technology, were the reason the human race survived after a genetic experiment went wrong many generations ago. That experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction. As one of the Luddite nobility, she has always been aware that her purpose is to protect the Reduced and enforce the Luddite principles to shun technological advances. Yet, as a young adult, Elliot knows things aren’t as simple as that. She was childhood best friends with Kai – a servant that was born to her family. He is not Reduced, but does not have the rights of a Luddite – he is one of the many Post-Reductionists that are changing the way the world looks at the future. Her friendship, her love, with Kai was fractured four years ago when Elliot refused to run away with him. When she chose to stay and look after the es...

Cold Spell is a YA contemporary retelling of The Snow Queen by Jackson Pearce. Since Kai and Ginny were children they’ve been best friends, growing up together, playing in their building’s rooftop rose garden. Now they are seventeen and their close ties have developed into something more. Something sweet and strong, something with kisses and plans for the future. With the arrival of a beautiful, enigmatic girl named Mora, however, Ginny sees an abrupt, dramatic change in Kai. And, almost overnight, he and Mora disappear. Though struggling with the perception by others that Kai may have simply broken up with her in a cruel manner and taken up with a girl he just met, Ginny knows him. She knows Kai would not do this to her. Despite the small, painful doubts in her heart, Ginny goes after them – after Kai. She’s armed with a book that Kai’s superstitious grandmother filled with articles and clippings about dangerous, non-human creatures and one being she fear above all other...

Strands of Bronze and Gold is a YA retelling of the Bluebeard fairy tale by Jane Nickerson. As seventeen year old Sophie enters Wyndriven Abbey in 1855 Mississippi, she is awestruck. Throughout her life she has always received expensive, special trinkets from her godfather Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, but for the first time she has now become his ward – now that her father has died. It’s an opportunity for her to hopefully help provide for her brothers and sisters, who are at home struggling to look for work and livelihood. Adjusting to the new lavish lifestyle at Wyndriven Abbey is not so much difficult as hard to believe. Her enigmatic, handsome godfather is generous with his affection and his wealth – when it comes to her. She cannot deny she is charmed by his charismatic personality and admiration for her. Yet as time passes… she begins to feel as though the mysteries of the past, the whispers of stories of her godfather and his numerous former wives – all with red ha...

Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales is a YA fantasy/speculative fiction anthology edited by Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt. In this novel we have a collection of retold fairy tales, science fiction, dystopia, etc. written by a mass of modern day, award winning, best-selling authors such as Kelley Armstrong, Neil Gaiman, Kami Garcia, Holly Black, Carrie Ryan and more! As always in an anthology there are the stories you find stronger than others, but overall I found Rags & Bones to be a solid, impressive collection. By taking familiar (sometimes not so familiar) tales and boiling them down to their rags and bones (an apt description from the inside jacket cover) we are presented with something new. It’s an eccentric, varied group. Below I’ll go over some highlights. Carrie Ryan’s story, given first, That the Machine May Progress Eternally was creepy and thought-provoking. A dystopian world made more real by man’s own weakness. I have yet to encounter a short story...

Awaken is the third novel in the contemporary myth-retelling Abandon trilogy by Meg Cabot. It’s the end of a trilogy. So, you know what I’m going to say. Have you read Abandon ? Have you read Underworld ? Well, those are books one and two – so, if you haven’t, DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW !!! Instead, click on their titles and be whisked away to my reviews of those prior novels – and then go read the books!!! Don’t go spoiling yourself here, okay? Last chance to avert your eyes before the synopsis begins… Seventeen year old Pierce Oliviera is not a normal teen girl. For multiple reasons. One, she’s died when she was fifteen. Or, actually, we should say she was murdered when she was fifteen. But only temporarily. She was revived. While she was dead she met John – John Hayden, lord of the Underworld. Extremely good looking, brooding, and wearer of tight pants. After being revived she fought his affection – if that’s what you can call it when it was always rather angr...

Ironskin is a fantasy novel by Tina Connolly. Five years after The Great Fey War many victims remain – the ironskin. Jane Eliot is one of them. Wearing an iron mask over half her face helps to contain the fey curse that mars her – that tries to give off unearthly feelings of rage to herself and those around her. The beauty she once had is no more. But she finds a semblance of peace in helping others deal with their own fey curses. So, when she answers a listing for a governess to assist with a little girl born during the Great War, Jane reads between the lines. Dorie, though, is a stubborn child with a curse completely unique to anything Jane has seen before. The child has no wish to suppress her curse – and trying to teach her how is met with frustration and misery. While persisting, Jane can’t help but be intrigued by Dorie’s artist father Edward Rochart whose secretive work seems to involve many beautiful women… Beneath all the enigma and hard work there is a dangerou...

A Curse Dark as Gold is a YA historical fairy-tale retelling of Rumpelstiltskin by Elizabeth C. Bunce. I know, I know. This book has been out there for a while. Well, if you’re like me and you haven’t had the chance to read it yet – here’s a great opportunity to learn more about it! And this blog has NEVER been about reviewing only new books – and this blog is getting back to its roots, remember? Charlotte Miller and her sister Rosie grieve their father’s death deeply – but Charlotte knows it is her duty, her place, to step up and take the reins of their family’s long-established woolen mill. Many employees depend on their wages at the mill, families in their small village have histories there – she would not give that up for anything. Despite her young age and gender. When more dire circumstances for the mill are introduced, however, Charlotte finds that she must get them out of debt. A deep debt that comes as a surprise, as their father took a loan they never told them abo...

Dr. Frankenstein’s Daughters is a historical horror YA novel by Suzanne Weyn. In 1815 twin sisters Ingrid and Giselle are notified of their father Victor Frankenstein’s death. They have never known him, as he disappeared shortly after their birth and mother’s death, but he has left them a large inheritance and a castle on a remote isle. Though close, the seventeen-year-old twins are very different. Giselle has thoughts of glamorous parties to bring life to the dark, sprawling castle, whereas Ingrid’s more intellectually interested mind becomes fascinated with the journals penned by their father and his fascinating experiments. In fact, upon meeting a cantankerous, lonely, wounded naval officer next door, Ingrid begins to wonder if she could perfect some of her father’s brilliant ideas to help her neighbor… whom she is becoming more and more fond of. Rumors of Victor Frankenstein’s madness, of his obsession with an idea that a thing was hunting him to his dying day, haunts the...

Catherine is a YA romantic suspense novel, and a modern retelling of Wuthering Heights , by April Lindner. Chelsea has spent most of her life believing that her Mom, Catherine, had died when she was young. When she found a letter her Dad kept from her for years, though, all of that changes. Her Mom didn’t die, she left. With full intentions of returning… until she disappeared into thin air. So, armed with this letter, Chelsea begins to follow the clues of where her Mom went, hoping that perhaps she can find her. First stop is the return address for the letter, The Underground, a famous Manhattan club featuring up-and-coming musicians. Currently being ran by the enigmatic, sullen Hence. Twenty years before, Catherine focuses on schoolwork and the future – never giving all that much attention to boys, since most of them just want the attention of her wealthy Dad anyway, hoping for a gig at The Underground. But when Hence arrives, desperately in need of a roof over his head and a ...