Summary

In a land where being the fairest maiden is a curse . . .

A young queen trying to stay alive until she comes of age to rule, and a prince turned into a pauper.

Queen Aurora of Mercia has spent her entire life deep in Inglewood Forest, hiding from Warwick’s Queen Margery, who seeks her demise. As the time draws near for Aurora to take the throne, she happens upon a handsome woodcutter. Although friendship with outsiders is forbidden and dangerous, she cannot stay away from the charming stranger.

Only two months away from completing his royal testing, Prince Kresten of Scania is ready to be finished with the poverty and hardships of being a woodcutter. When he meets a beautiful peasant woman, he doesn’t plan to fall in love, especially when he must soon leave and return to his homeland.

As Queen Margery’s forces close in, Aurora finds herself in mortal danger. Kresten knows a future with Aurora is impossible, but he is desperate to save her and bring an end to the queen’s threat. To do so, he joins the ultimate battle against the evil queen, risking everything, including his chance at true love.

Positives

Both Aurora and Kresten are much more outgoing and open to people than I am. The skeptical side of me of course was thinking, “You just met each other and you’re telling each other all this? Especially after Aurora was almost killed by her aunt?” But it quickly quieted. The author did a fantastic job of taking character’s with very different personalities than mine and making me understand and like them despite that.

I also love that Aurora and Kresten think about each other. Yes, they’re cute and in love and everything. But they actually think about how their actions will affect each other—a rarity in romance.

I was warned before I started reading that the ending wasn’t as out-of-nowhere-awesome-plot-twist as Beholden. But this is still my favorite book in the series. While the ending wasn’t exactly unheard of for a Sleeping Beauty retelling, it was still a beautiful ending. If anyone ever tells you that tropes don’t work . . . Plus, it was just so satisfying to see all the threads from across the trilogy come to a close.

Negatives

None.

Conclusion

Besotted finishes out the trilogy with a sweet familiarity for fans of fairy tale retellings.

Summary

In a land where being the fairest maiden is a curse . . .

A princess rejected and hunted by her mother, and a prince who lives as a shunned outcast.

Princess Pearl flees for her life after her mother, Queen Margery, tries to have her killed during a hunting expedition. Pearl finds refuge on the Isle of Outcasts among criminals and misfits, disguising her face with a veil so no one recognizes her. She lives for the day when she can return to Warwick and rescue her sister, Ruby, from the queen’s clutches.

Amidst his royal testing on the Isle of Outcasts, Prince Mikkel of Scania has kept his identity a secret. Captured by a warring band of outcasts and condemned to die, he finds himself making friends with an intriguing but feisty young veiled woman. Intending to win her trust and gain her help to escape, he soon finds himself coerced to wed her.

Mikkel reluctantly agrees to the union to save his life, and Pearl hopes the marriage will provide protection for her and Ruby. But the queen is more determined to kill her daughter than either Pearl or Mikkel realizes and has a sinister reason neither expects—one that could rip their new love apart forever.

Positives

Pearl’s love for her sister really touched me. She was willing to risk everything to get Ruby back. As an older sister, I related a lot.

The misfits were a very interesting reimagining of the dwarves. I loved how they all hung together and worked together. It wouldn’t have been good for the rest of the book, but I’m almost sorry I didn’t get to see a little bit more of the Isle of Misfits. The worldbuilding of the tensions between the two groups was very interesting.

Negatives

I have come to the conclusion that there is no perfect ratio of arguing in an enemies-to-lovers romance. I personally got a little tired of Pearl and Mikkel arguing in this one. It could have maybe been cut back by a couple scenes and not seemed as repetitive. As it was, it continued up to the climax and I wasn’t quite sure if they were ever going to get started on the climax mission.

They also seemed to fall in love very fast. Considering Mikkel was in jail, and Pearl was trying to use him for her devices, when things got lovey-dovey, I got a bit skeptical. Maybe I was supposed to. The book did awesome, though, in making them test those feelings of attraction later on in the book.

I also personally am not a huge fan of the “they are forced into marriage to save themselves” trope. Not to say it wasn't pulled off brilliantly here, just tends not to be my jam.

Conclusion

Out of the three Fairest Maidens, Beguiled wasn’t my top favorite. But don’t let it fool you—it’s still an amazing book and more than worthy of being read. After all, don’t judge a book by its cover. Or its review. Or . . . I think you get the idea.

Summary

In a land where being the fairest maiden is a curse . . .

A beautiful noblewoman with a terrible secret, and a prince subjected to slavery.

Upon the death of her wealthy father, Lady Gabriella is condemned to work in Warwick’s gem mine. As she struggles to survive the dangerous conditions, her kindness and beauty shine as brightly as the jewels the slaves excavate. While laboring, Gabriella plots how to avenge her father’s death and stop Queen Margery’s cruelty.

Prince Vilmar of Scania enslaves himself in Warwick’s gem mine as part of a royal test to prove himself the most worthy of three brothers to become the king’s successor. Amidst the hardships, he doesn’t anticipate his growing compassion for the other slaves, especially tenderhearted Gabriella.

As the annual summer ball looms nearer, Gabriella sets into motion her plan to end Queen Margery’s evil. When Vilmar learns of Gabriella’s intentions, he resolves to come to her aid and fight against Warwick’s queen. But doing so may require him to give up his chance of becoming Scania’s next king, perhaps even cost him his life.

Positives

This is a very different and unique Cinderella retelling. I had an extremely vague idea of the twist from my sister reading it, but when it came around, I was still surprised. It became kind of a game to pick out the Cinderella elements in this story. And I was definitely turning pages to figure out if it would end like a Cinderella story . . . or not. (Or have some twist that I could have never seen coming.)

Another thing I really loved about it was how Gabriella and Vilmar sacrificed for each other. In a lot of romance plots, especially in young adult fiction, the couple don’t do anything for each other. They simply kiss a few times, flirt ALL the time, and declare it a love story. It was nice to see two leads who, while they had their own struggles, were kind to the people around them and to each other.

On the topic of those struggles—those were strong and relatable as well. Gabriella’s need for revenge was an interesting quality to hand to a Cinderella character. Vilmar’s struggle to best his brother as well also packed the emotional punch needed. The author did a good job making me feel the emotions, even if their emotional responses weren’t quite the same as mine would be.

Negatives

None.

Conclusion

But who will truly become king? And how much is this like a Cinderella story? You’ll have to read to find out.

Alright. It is finally time for me to ramble about one of my most anticipated reads of 2021!

Summary

Peter Pan has crash-landed back on Neverland. But this is not the island he remembers.
Desperate to rescue Claire and the fractured Lost Boys, Peter must unravel what truly tore his dreamland apart. But with each step, he is haunted by more of his own broken memories. Not even Pan himself is what he seems.

Claire Kenton is chained to a pirate ship, watching the wreckage of Neverland rocked by tempests. When she finally finds her brother, Connor is every bit as shattered as the island. Claire may have pixie dust flowing in her veins—but the light of Neverland is flickering dangerously close to going out forever.

To rescue Neverland from the inescapable shadow, the boy who never grew up and the girl who grew up too fast will have to sacrifice the only thing they have left: each other.

Positives

Where. Do. I. Begin?

I’ll try to do this as spoiler-free as possible.

If you had any inkling of disliking the characters in the first installment, worry no more! The characters face the darkness each one of them has lurking in their past . . . sometimes darkness that they caused. I loved seeing how it emphasized responsibility for our own actions. The character arcs close out beautifully (and sometimes brutally) leaving us with a whole host of heroes. (Or villains who are even worse than before . . . )

The new characters that were added shone and each lent their unique presence to the story.
I could not put this book down. Truly. I read it all the first day I got it and then went back and read it again.

The world of Neverland is so unique and beautifully developed. I could see it all in my mind and loved all the different elements that made it so.

It’s no secret that Claire does find her brother Connor. And that he’s nothing like she remembered. His story was one of my favorite bits of the entire book. The development of his struggle with his shadow, his fall to villainy, and his battle against his hurt—oh my goodness.

The message in this book was exactly what I needed to hear. It illustrates crystal clear the light in darkness, that we are more than our shadows. The characters do struggle, and their struggles don’t necessarily end when all seems to be going right. But that’s life. And there is light—both in this novel and in real life.

Negatives

Occasionally, the descriptions contained a lot of adjectives. Maybe they could have been improved by showing a bit more instead of the multiple descriptors, maybe not. It wasn’t enough to jerk me out of the plot, however, and did nothing to slow the story down.

Conclusion

Shadow did not disappoint. It was all I was hoping for and more. Definitely one of my favorite reads from this year, and an especially timely encouragement to me. I highly recommend it. Like I said above—there’s light, and this novel carries it from Neverland to the real world and back again.

Imagine watching every one of your seven brothers—from the oldest down to the youngest ten year old—being marched away from your castle by the king’s guards. On charges of treason, reports the captain.

You know better than anyone that none of them so much as dared of treason. That it’s all a ploy by your paranoid stepmother to get that out from under foot so she can seize the inheritance.

But the guards won’t listen.

Welcome to the world of Lady Delia. And she’s going to do something about it. She’s going to go to London under the guise of a maid, team up with the very captain that arrested her brothers, and break them out.

She’s going to prove her brothers innocent.

But who can she trust?

Melanie Dickerson’s books are the perfect thing when I want a simple story to just enjoy. The fairy tale she based this one off of—the Seven Swans—was unfamiliar to me, so more of the plot twists came as a surprise.

She did a fantastic job with the seven brothers—even though she was juggling so many side characters, each one had a distinct personality and I kept track of them easily. (Speaking of those distinct personalities, I hope we’re to see some more of those pop up in later books . . . Edwin, anyone?)

Delia seemed to be just a bit too trusting to me. Maybe that was supposed to be her character flaw. On one hand, she’d make a fantastic internal speech about how she was going to be strong and save her brothers and be careful who she trusted. Then she’d go and tell details of the plot to someone who was obviously untrustworthy. It just didn’t seem to quite match up. She also made some pretty harsh accusations towards people who weren’t as trusting . . . and as someone who isn’t as trusting in real life, I had a hard time relating to her.

That being said, the plot had good tension. I kept turning the page, waiting to see if their plans would work, if Delia had trusted the wrong person, if they would get caught, what they would do if they did.

The story does an amazing job of illustrating the conflict of being in suffering. And had it left there, it would have stuck with me. But the final chapter contains a weird monologue about why God does what He does by a character who had only a passing mention in the second chapter. I think the point would have gotten across if she had simply let the story tell it, instead of Mistress Wattlebrook.

All that being said, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Court of Swans for a relaxing evening read.

Lines are funny things.

Evalina would follow Taichi to the ends of the earth. Lines mean nothing there. But she might have to, because anyone and everyone of Japanese descent is being rounded up and sent to internment camps without the barest of provisions. As Taichi faces the battle lines of radical Japanese gangs and death lists, Evalina faces the battle lines indifference of her school mates and neighbors. And their relationship finds itself trapped within its own lines as well.

But will it ever find its way out?

This was a very carefully written book. I never knew much about the Japanese internment camps, and learned so much from reading this book. The conditions they were forced in were heartbreaking, especially when portrayed through the main characters’ eyes.

I loved how Evalina spoke out. I related a lot with her struggle to be heard and feeling like her world had a hand over her mouth keeping her silent. I related to her frustration and anger when no one would listen. That struggle and emotions are one of the biggest takeaways I had from the book. But most of all I love that she didn't let it beat her. She crossed those lines and spoke about what had been placed on her heart.

That being said, Evalina and Taichi don't always make the best decisions. (I.e. keeping their relationship a  secret from their parents) But they learn from those mistakes and become better people from it.

Another one to be recommended to cross the lines from a store shelf to your bookshelf.

I'm excited to join in the cover reveal for Shadow by Kara Swanson releasing July 2021 from Enclave Publishing in limited-edition hardcover! Shadow is the second book in the Heirs of Neverland duology which is a Peter Pan retelling/sequel.

I adored Dust, and have been waiting for news of the sequel! Spoilers for Book 1 abound below, so if you haven't read Book 1, check out the review here! https://racheljleitch.weebly.com/rachels-reads/dust-by-kara-swanson

Peter Pan has crash-landed back on Neverland. But this is not the island he remembers.

Desperate to rescue Claire and the fractured Lost Boys, Peter must unravel what truly tore his dreamland apart. But with each step, he is haunted by more of his own broken memories. Not even Pan himself is what he seems.

Claire Kenton is chained to a pirate ship, watching the wreckage of Neverland rocked by tempests. When she finally finds her brother, Connor is every bit as shattered as the island. Claire may have pixie dust flowing in her veins—but the light of Neverland is flickering dangerously close to going out forever.

To rescue Neverland from the inescapable shadow, the boy who never grew up and the girl who grew up too fast will have to sacrifice the only thing they have left: each other.

So without further ado . . . here's the cover! It's so cool!

Isn't it amazing?! You can preorder Shadow here! http://bit.ly/ShadowHeirsofNeverland

Lydia has disappeared.

She was just at Piper’s house, explaining how she didn’t want to go to the Mayo Clinic for months, for the seizures that she knows nothing about. She was just waving goodbye.

And within minutes, she disappeared.

Worse yet, everyone on Astor Street seems to have given her up.

Not Piper Sail. She’ll do anything to get her best friend back. And that includes starting an amateur investigation, talking an intriguing detective into the case, and venturing into some of Chicago’s high-crime neighborhoods in search of her.

But this is 1924 Chicago. And what she may find about everyone she trusts . . . and herself . . . well, that could make her lose it all.

Wow. I could not put this book down. The mystery drew me in from page one. I had no idea what anyone was up to and the actual culprit took me completely by surprise, while also having enough clues that I couldn’t believe I didn’t see it (along with a few other well-placed twists and turns)! The author did a fantastic job planting just enough false clues to distract me from the obvious ones pointing to the culprit.

Second, this is a beautiful book about grief and change. It may sound weird to say this, but it actually hit me a little like the portrayal of grief in Big Hero 6. It’s so realistically done, just showing how it really feels, how it really looks like to a teen to lose someone important to you. We need more books like this.

As it does all this, it taps on strong Christian themes--but never did I feel like it was overdone or preachy. Just a brief mention here or there that beautifully proved its point.

I’m not a huge romance person, and the romance was just sweet enough to keep me interested. Plus, Piper actually had options. There for a while, I wasn’t sure who was going to be the romantic interest!

Also, Piper is actually SMART. This is becoming less and less prevalent in female characters—they’re all becoming overwrought and emotional character. I appreciate Piper’s strong but feminine character, and the fact that she thinks about things. (I’m going into one of Chicago’s most dangerous gang territories? Hmm, I might want to bring a detective with me.)

There’s no mystery about whether this book should wind up on your shelf or not. It would be a resounding yes.

“They say every child has an imaginary friend. Mine never left.”

And so goes the inspiration for the novella The Girl Who Could See by Kara Swanson. Fern Johnson has an imaginary friend who has been with her since she was eight years old, when a trauma that even Fern can’t remember or face left her terrified and alone. Now nineteen and taking care of her young niece, Fern doesn’t have time for Tristan and his fantasy worlds and messages of doom.

Or does she? After all, skyscrapers don’t just sink into the ground by themselves, as FBI agent Barstow reminds her. But that’s just what’s happening in Los Angeles.

And Tristan warned Fern about it.

Could Tristan—and all his stories—possibly be more than imaginary? Could Fern really see into a world that no one else can? And just what would the wrong person give to be able to see the way she does?

This is one of a few books I’ve read that I can say is truly whimsical. There’s something beautiful about the imagination presented in the story. The book is eerily vivid, full of strong characters and beautiful prose—the first time Fern had a “hallucination” and saw the beam slicing through the floor, I actually looked around my living room just to check and felt my heart jump a little. I saw just what Fern saw. 

I could not put this book down and my heart pounded through it all. The ending was so very sad . . . leading to a soaring resolution that I would love to detail more, but SPOILERS.

I also loved how the author portrayed different aspects of mental health—anxiety, depression, trauma, etc., things that everyone struggles with to different degrees—without making the characters seem broken, in need of fixing. It was a very encouraging perspective on the topic.

I cannot think of anything negative about this story. Seriously.

This is truly one of the best reads I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying this year. This little book is certainly worth your while—truth be told, we all need an encouragement to jump into the impossible and see what the world has forgotten to see.

Prince Ethelrex has been sent to find the lost princess Emmaline, the last of the lost princess of Mercia at all costs. He has been sent to use her to find the legendary treasure of King Solomon at all costs. In doing so, he finally hopes to appease his father and prove his worthiness to ascend the throne. A stolen throne, but a throne none the less.

Only one little hiccup. He has also been instructed to marry Princess Emmaline at all costs.

And he might have, maybe, accidentally, kind of sort of fallen in love with her.

Hereafter has a creative premise. The prince is a villain, for heavens' sake! I can't remember the last book I read that had that as a plot point. Rex's internal struggle and surprising choices as he has to choose between his father and Emmaline was tense and gave so much to the plot.

We also get to see all the threads from the previous Lost Princesses novellas come to a climax. And this is one treasure hunt that has quite the unexpected ending.

As many of Jody Hedlund's young adult books do, Emmaline explores what it means to be truly strong and truly courageous . . . and how she can do that as she faces her nation's enemy frightened and alone.

All in all, Hereafter delivered all the series had me hoping for by the end without taking pat answers or endings.