A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

This was a book that I literally could not put down. I had to force myself to close the book three times, and then I just gave up and finished it completely. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses is the story of Feyre, a survivor with an icy heart and a will of steel. Her world changes when she kills a wolf in the forest. A wolf that was not a wolf at all, but a Faerie. As punishment, she is taken to live in the Faerie Realm, a place that she has been taught to dread. With a wall of hatred and blame between the faeries and humans, it is difficult for her to understand why the Faerie that punished her has not killed her. But time passes, and she begins to learn about the history that the faeries and humans have had. 

Feyre learns that heroic deeds come with a price, and not all is what it seems in this strange world of glamours, rumours and danger. 

Sarah J. Maas has written a book that combines Beauty and the Beast and East of the Sun, West of the Moon with the deadly politics of the Faerie Courts of Celtic lore. 

Not only is the story layered by mystery, but the world has been thoroughly created, and the complex characters are well written. 

Maas takes her time introducing each character, dropping clues here and there for the reader to pick up on. 

The story itself is a thrilling ride with unexpected twists and turns. As Feyre decides what is true and what is false, she learns more about the mysterious Fae. Despite the stories she was told, and the cruelty tied to her knowledge, Feyre discovers that the Fae are not so different from humans. 

As she learns more about the Faerie Tamlin, and his clever friend Lucien, Feyre finds a hope that she never knew she had, and maybe her heart wasn't as icy as she trained it to be. 

This book has joined the ranks of my favorite Beauty and the Beast tales, along with Beasty by Alex Flinn and Beauty by Robin McKinley. The mysteries of the fae were intriguing, the history fascinating and Feyre's character was a powerful representation of what it means to be human. 

I will both curse and praise the cliffhanger ending of every chapter, and I will honestly say that I can't wait for the next book. 

I give this book five out of five venetian masks. A wonderful fairytale retelling and epic story rolled into one! 

The Isle of the Lost by Melissa De La Cruz and Descendants

I'll admit, I was curious about what the next generation of Disney fairy tale characters would be like. And we have seen a few over the years. Melody is Ariel's daughter. Kiara is Simba's daughter. Neither of these characters are mentioned in Descendants. But Descendants has an intereresting world of its own. 

King Beast and Queen Belle run Auradon, a state system of fellow kingdoms of other Disney royalty. They take care of matters of state between kingdoms run by Aurora, Prince Phillip, Snow White, Prince Charming, Rapunzel, Eugene, annd many other iconic Disney characters. 

The book begins when Beast and Belle's son Ben is preparing to be crowned King himself, and he has a different perspective compared to their generation. Ben is a kind, understanding prince who has Belle's intellect and Beast's determination. He must prove to the council that he is ready to become king. He has done lots of research of Auradon's history to deliver his first official proclamation, and he has discovered the truth behind the Isle of the Lost. 

The Disney Villians live on this island with their descendants, and they have become bored and resentful. They are given very little and their next generation makes due with what they have. 

While all of the villians are unhappy with their situation, Maleficent is the most vengeful, and she trains her daughter Mal to be the same. 

Mal is smart, opinionated and rebellious, but Malificent constantly belittles her efforts to make her proud. As the daughter of a human, Malificent views Mal as weak, insignificant and a failure. 

Mal is used to this, but she doesn't give up, she teams up with Jay (son of Jafar), Carlos (son of Cruella DeVil) and Evie ( daughter of the Evil Queen) to win the approval of their parents. 

The book switches back and forth from Mal and Ben's point of view. Both feel trapped, forced to follow the path of the previous generation.

It's an interesting take on what happens after Happily Ever After, and what kind of generation would follow the Kings and Queens of fairy tales. 

It's also the prequel to the upcoming Disney Channel movie Descendants. 

Descendants focuses much more on Mal, and we follow her plot to turn the tables on good and evil. Mal is a very well thought out character, and her struggle from what she wants to do and what is expected of her is very interesting. Evie, Carlos and Jay are also very well written, and they adapt to the world around them a lot faster than Mal does. 

At times the novel goes overboard with teen lingo, but this is their target audience. 

The story was very interesting, and Mal and Ben were my favorite characters. 

I don't want to spoil the story for the upcoming movie and the book, but I liked it, and I'm going to watch the film. 

Now, there is a similar franchise that has been successful with a similar but very different plot: Ever After High. 

Ever After High follows the life of Raven Queen, the Evil Queen's daughter. She also has pressure to follow in her mother's foot steps, but she is not the same character as Mal. She is much more open minded and trusting. Dexter is also the son of Prince Charming and Cinderella, and he isn't as confident as Ben is, or as social. 

I like both of these stories on their own, because they do different things with fairytale archetypes, and they focus on telling deeper stories. With that said, I'm looking forward to the Descendants and I hope that the movie is similar to the books I read. 

The Beast Within by Serena Valentino

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Beauty and the Beast. It's my favorite fairytale, Disney movie and love story. I can't even count how many times I have watched the Disney movie, and yes I will admit that the movie has plot holes. This book tries to fill those plot holes, and it makes an interesting tale that explains how the Prince became the Beast. 

This book stays true to the Disney film and it answers the questions we all ask when we watch the film: How old was the Prince when he was turned to the Beast? Why don't the villagers know about a castle so close to their town? Who cursed the Beast? Were they good or evil?

All these questions are answered in interesting ways. 

My only complaint is that I wished the story was actually told in Beast's point of view. Due to the title and the obvious focus on the Beast, it would have been interesting to hear his own voice as the events conspire to lead up to the Disney film. 

The story itself echoed Greek mythology and Shakespeare plays. It was unexpected how much Gaston was involved in the story, and we're introduced to Belle pretty early in the Beast's timeline. 

I liked this take on the story and how it echoed a little more of the orginal fairytale in terms of the curse and the rose garden. The story stayed true to the characters, and added depth to background characters as well. 

All in all, I'd give it four out of five rose petals. 

La Belle et la Bete: A movie review

Because this blog is inspired by Belle from Beauty and the Beast, I thought it would be approriate to share my La Belle et la Bete movie review here: 

http://crystallizedheart.blogspot.kr/2014/06/la-belle-et-la-bete-movie-review.html

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

This book is both a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and its own story of myth and magic. 

The land of Arcadia is haunted by demons and the Gentle Lord is the only one who can control them. All of Arcadia fears the demon lord and his bargains. In a desperate attempt to save his own kingdom, Nyx's father promises her to the demon lord in return for safety and protection. But the promise is a trap. Raised to destroy the demon lord, Nyx is trained in the magic arts and promises her sister that she will kill the monster that controls their realm. But when she arrives, the demon lord is not surprised by her attempt to kill him, and gives her a chance to guess his name before retreating into the shadows. As Nyx searches for the fabled hearts of water, earth, fire and air, she must learn the truth behind the curse that not only threatens her life, but the life of all Arcadia. 

As she explores the castle, with the mysterious servant of the demon lord, she must face trials that none have survived and make sense of the truths and lies within the castle. 

I must admit that I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. The story echoes greek myth and also creates a world of its own. I would compare this retelling to Beauty by Robin McKinley. The story is darker version of the original fairy tale, but the events read like a greek epic. 

I recommend this book to anyone who loves Beauty and the Beast, Cupid and Psyche, Persephone and Hades and Howl's Moving Castle. 

I give this book four out of five riddles. A must read for Beauty and the Beast fans! 

I also made a fan mix for it here: http://crystallizedheart.blogspot.com/2014/02/souls-of-light-and-dark-cruel-beauty.html

More than a provincial day: A Disney Designer experience

Because this blog is called ModernDayBelle, I thought I'd share my Belle and Beast Designer Doll experience. 

More details here: http://crystallizedheart.blogspot.com/2013/10/more-than-provincial-day.html