Today's book review is a retelling, a pretty old one in fact as Beauty was originally published in 1978. I like a good retelling, unfortunately this book didn't hit he mark for me. Find out why.

Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: June 30, 1993 (first published October 25, 1978)
Format: ebook (Kindle)
Pages: 256
Source: Amazon 
Genre: Fairy Tales, YA Retellings
Review Date: June 27, 2016
Rating: 2 bookmarks

Synopsis: A strange imprisonment...

Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage.

When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, "Cannot a Beast be tamed?"

Robin McKinley's beloved telling illuminates the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple, Beauty and the Beast.

Beauty is a pretty basic retelling. It's everything you'd expect of Beauty and the Beast, but not much more.  Don't get me wrong, it's not bad book by any means, but there just wasn't anything special about it.  There were some magical elements that could have been really cool if they were developed more. In general, I liked Beauty's character, and I liked her sisters as well.  The Beast was a pretty flat character, but that was't entirely unexpected as the story was mostly about Beauty and her growth throughout the story.

There was a lot of traditional 1978-ish things going on, not very progressive at all. Beauty really thought she was plain and unattractive all the way up until the end. Meet the Beast, fall in love, break the spell, and ta-da, you are now gorgeous! I wish the message wasn't so old school, but it is what it is.

I have a Shelf Addiction book club read for you today. We met online and chatted about this last week. Read on to see what I thought about this fairy-tale retelling with lots of buzz around it.

Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: February 16, 2016
Format: ebook
Pages: 387
Source: Library
Genre: Fairy-tale Retelling, YA Fantasy
Review Date: April 18, 2016
Rating: 2 bookmarks

Synopsis: Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

I've included a quick YouTube video featuring the author discussing The Shadow Queen. The video really had me excited for the title so it saddens me to say that this book came in at a 2.5.  Since I don't do half ratings, I seriously had to weigh if I should round up or round down.  I hate to say it, but I went with rounding down and let me tell you why. First, I hate to report this rating as this book was made my highly anticipated book likes of 2016.  So of course naturally had high hopes. Second, not only is this book inspired by Snow White, it IS Snow White with dragons and witches.  Sadly I didn't find that the world building was strong enough to support the fantasy aspects.

Hey friends,

The Collector was the December book club selection.  Read on and find out what I thought of this title.

Publisher: Putnam Adult
Release Date: April 15, 2014
Format: ebook
Pages: 483 (Hardcover)
Source: Library Borrow
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Review Date: January 19, 2015
Rating: 2 bookmarks

Synopsis: When professional house-sitter Lila Emerson witnesses a murder/suicide from her current apartment-sitting job, life as she knows it takes a dramatic turn. Suddenly, the woman with no permanent ties finds herself almost wishing for one. . . .

Artist Ashton Archer knows his brother isn’t capable of violence—against himself or others. He recruits Lila, the only eyewitness, to help him uncover what happened. Ash longs to paint her as intensely as he hungers to touch her. But their investigation draws them into a rarified circle where priceless antiques are bought, sold, gambled away, and stolen, where what you possess is who you are, and where what you desire becomes a deadly obsession. . . . 

Publisher: Riverhead Books 
Release Date: September 11, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 213
Source: Library Borrow
Genre: Literary Fiction, Short Stories
Review Date: Recorded October, 2014
Rating: 2 bookmarks

Synopsis: On a beach in the Dominican Republic, a doomed relationship flounders. In the heat of a hospital laundry room in New Jersey, a woman does her lover’s washing and thinks about his wife. In Boston, a man buys his love child, his only son, a first baseball bat and glove. At the heart of these stories is the irrepressible, irresistible Yunior, a young hardhead whose longing for love is equaled only by his recklessness--and by the extraordinary women he loves and loses: artistic Alma; the aging Miss Lora; Magdalena, who thinks all Dominican men are cheaters; and the love of his life, whose heartbreak ultimately becomes his own. 

In prose that is endlessly energetic, inventive, tender, and funny, the stories in This Is How You Lose Her lay bare the infinite longing and inevitable weakness of the human heart. They remind us that passion always triumphs over experience, and that “the half-life of love is forever.”

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Release Date: September 17, 2013
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
Source: Publisher via Goodreads First Reads
Genre: YA Fantasy, YA Dystopia
Review Date: Recorded October, 2014
Rating: 2 bookmarks

Synopsis: Welcome to New Vegas, a city once covered in bling, now blanketed in ice. Like much of the destroyed planet, the place knows only one temperature—freezing. But some things never change. The diamond in the ice desert is still a 24-hour hedonistic playground and nothing keeps the crowds away from the casino floors, never mind the rumors about sinister sorcery in its shadows.

At the heart of this city is Natasha Kestal, a young blackjack dealer looking for a way out. Like many, she's heard of a mythical land simply called “the Blue.” They say it’s a paradise, where the sun still shines and the waters are turquoise. More importantly, it’s a place where Nat won’t be persecuted, even if her darkest secret comes to light.

But passage to the Blue is treacherous, if not impossible, and her only shot is to bet on a ragtag crew of mercenaries led by a cocky runner named Ryan Wesson to take her there. Danger and deceit await on every corner, even as Nat and Wes find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. But can true love survive the lies? Fiery hearts collide in this fantastic tale of the evil men do and the awesome power within us all.

Publisher: Viking Adult
Release Date: July 31, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 364 
Source: Viking Adult
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Review Date: Recorded September, 2014
Rating: 2 bookmarks

Synopsis: As soon as they processed my release Noah and I hit the ground running. A change of clothes. A wig. An inconspicuous sedan. We doubled back once, twice, then drove south when we were really headed east. In San Francisco we had a girl who looked like me board a plane to Hawaii.

Oh, I thought I was so clever.

But you probably already know that I'm not.

LA IT girl Janie Jenkins has it all. The looks, the brains, the connections. The criminal record.

Ten years ago, in a trial that transfixed America, Janie was convicted of murdering her mother. Now she's been released on a technicality she's determined to unravel the mystery of her mother's last words, words that send her to a tiny town in the very back of beyond. But with the whole of America's media on her tail, convinced she's literally got away with murder, she has to do everything she can to throw her pursuers off the scent.

She knows she really didn't like her mother. Could she have killed her?

Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date:January 28, 2014/Audio unabridged edition released by Harper Audio 
Format: MP3 Audio
Pages: 342 (Hardcover) / Audio Length: Approx 10 hours
Narrator: Elizabeth Knowelden
Source: Audiobook SYNC
Genre: YA Fantasy
Review Date: June 18, 2014
Rating: 2 bookmarks

Synopsis: Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

I don’t read many retellings so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I was intrigued by the idea of a Beauty and the Beast retelling, so I was excited and tried to keep an open mind.  I picked this up for free during week two of Audiobook SYNC’s summer promotion.

There were hints of the original Beauty and the Beast story here and there, but there was also one main part pulled from the Rumpelstiltskin tale.  Remember the queen had to guess his name within 3 days? Well, the essence of that is in reflected in this book, not in the same way, but it was clear that's where that came from.  Cruel Beauty is a fairy tale retelling with a mix of Hermetics (which is basically religious and occult teachings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus), Greek mythology, magical transforming houses and for extra measure - mixed  up with a steam punk-ish vibe, magic and time travel, make for a somewhat over complicated story.

Getting back to the Beauty and the Beast tale, instead of the beast turning to a prince, we have a demon (a very good looking demon) that holds a prince prisoner. Is it that simple? Nope, it never is.  Nyx was sent to the Gentle Lord as his wife as part of a bargain her father made. Her mission is to kill said demon with her Hermetics training while she'd distracting him with her wifely duties, if you know what I mean.  While that plan seems simple enough and a bit crazy, I don't know how I feel about Nyx. This girl is a walking contradiction. She can't figure out what she wants to do. She starts out with a clear goal and it transforms into something else.  Her constant feelings of inferiority and jealousy toward her sister are a constant downer.  One moment she feels empowered to save the town from Ignifex, in the next moment she isn't worthy and she's a wicked sister.