Blog Tour Review: The Treachery of Beautiful Things

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The Treachery of Beautiful Things

Author: Ruth Frances Long

Summary:

A darkly compelling mix of romance, fairy tale, and suspense from a new voice in teen fiction

The trees swallowed her brother whole, and Jenny was there to see it. Now seventeen, she revisits the woods where Tom was taken, resolving to say good-bye at last. Instead, she's lured into the trees, where she finds strange and dangerous creatures who seem to consider her the threat. Among them is Jack, mercurial and magnetic, with secrets of his own. Determined to find her brother, with or without Jack's help, Jenny struggles to navigate a faerie world where stunning beauty masks some of the most treacherous evils, and she's faced with a choice between salvation or sacrifice--and not just her own.

Published 16 August 2012

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This book is spellbinding!

So much that I added an exclamation mark up there ^

And trust me, it really is utterly enchanting. 

From the title, we know that in the dangerous realm of forest and fae, there is bound to be beauty and treachery... And Ruth Frances Long handles these two elements masterfully. 

Beauty. The first moment when Jenny unwittingly stumbles into the woods of the faerie realm like a Lucy Pevensie, the world that greets her is full of bright perfection. With lush writing, Ruth Frances Long charmingly crafts a world of tiny blue impish Folettis, lazy tree nymphs, darkly dangerous trees and the beautiful yet alien boy-- Jack. 

Although unwilling to trust the beauty around her, Jenny is forced to trust Jack as he offers to help her in this mysterious and ever-changing world. So off she goes, on an awfully tumultuous journey to find her brother who has been reinvented as the Piper in Queen Titania's royal court. In her adventures, Jenny encounters beauty at every corner. There is the beauty of the Leczi's voice that kills the snarling dragon, the beauty of the Nix that locks Jenny's soul in a golden cage, the beauty of King Oberon who wants to trap Jenny in his court, and of course, the beauty of the eyes of Jack o' Forest, the boy who is both like a lost boy in Peter Pan as well as a king in his own right. 

Yet, behind every beauty, treachery lurks with dark agendas. Ruth Frances Long unveils the shocking treacheries at unexpected corners and stuns us again and again. The treachery that springs out within the pages of this book is what that makes the tale as alluring as it is. 

Jenny faces tiny betrayals from the first instance when she steps into this new world. There's the kindly Goodwife who harbours selfish motives, there's the Piper who looks like the brother Jenny has lost yet he stands with the faery Queen and there's Jack, the guardian of the Edge who has sworn oaths to more than one master and longs for something that Jenny tries hard to grasp.

In this stunning and astonishing world of the ugliest beauties and most glorious treacheries, shockingly, we rediscover love as it comes about and hope in these most hopeless times.

For me, it was Jack who made it all possible. He is one of many, yet, so special and different. Who he is and what he is will surprise us again and again. Yet, one thing for sure, whatever he may be, Jack defines this novel and makes this tale beautiful against all odds. 

Read this novel because of Ruth Frances Long's fantastic writing. Read this novel because of the gorgeous juxtaposition of beauty and treachery. Most importantly, read this novel because of Jack! 

Source: ARC from Dial Books for review purposes as part of the blog tour

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A lifelong fan of fantasy, romance, and ancient mysteries, Ruth Frances Long studied English Literature, History of Religions, and Celtic Civilization in college and now works in a specialized library of rare and unusual books. She lives in County Wicklow, Ireland. The Treachery of Beautiful Things is her first novel for teens.

Visit Ruth at www.rflong.com | @RFLong

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THE GIVEAWAY (Aw, yeah!)  

a Rafflecopter giveaway



xoxo,
Sel

Blog Tour Review: Something Strange and Deadly

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Something Strange and Deadly

Author: Susan Dennard

Summary:

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor… from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Published 24 July 2012.

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IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.


So begins Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. And hereby, unfolds a tale of glitzy tea parties, handsome eligible bachelors and misunderstood love. 


Add some steampunk and the Dead to this classic and "voilà!", you get the novel-- Something Strange and Deadly. And the result is something deadly to the heart.


Deadly because you will fall head over heels in love with it, in love with its setting, its characters and its plot.


Eleanor of the Philadelphia Fitts is a faded member of the high society. Her single-parent family is struggling to make ends meet and her mother is as eager as the legendary Mrs Bennet to marry her off to the rich and handsome Clarence who is of good status.


Yet, Eleanor only meets her real Mr Darcy when she is forced face to face with the Spirit-Hunters after her brother, Elijah, goes missing. With the Dead rising from all around Philadelphia, Eleanor has to split her waking hours between squeezing into corsets while attending operas and working with the Spirit-Hunters to prevent the Dead population from spiralling out of control. At the same time, there is also the puzzling mystery of who is the Necromancer behind the hungry dead and the family mystery that seems to tie in closely with the deaths of high society members. 


The plot grows thicker and thicker and we are swept up in a whirlwind of adventure and of course, romance. Our Byronic hero appears in the form of the sandy-haired Daniel Sheridan and no one can describe Byronic heroes better than famous historian Lord Macaulay-- he is proud, moody, cynical, with defiance on his brow, and misery in his heart, a scorner of his kind, implacable in revenge, yet capable of deep and strong affection. With such a character, the romance in this novel goes up a notch. Slowly and deliciously, the two stubborn characters (Eleanor and Daniel) start falling for each other. But, Susan Dennard makes it impossible to forget their romance with an open-ended closure, not satisfying enough, yet still full of hopeful promises.


As for the identity of the necromancer, Dennard executes a thin thread that runs consistently throughout the whole novel. The whodunnit had me making wild guesses at every turn and kept me constantly delighted.     

Ultimately, I just want to say that each and every element in the novel, be it adventure, romance or mystery, is just truly exceptional. I will fall in love with the mystery in this novel all by itself. But, having a gorgeous romance and a blood-pumping adventure doesn't hurt as well ;)

It seems almost impossible to have steampunk alongside with zombies and to have it take place in the 1800s, but Susan Dennard has achieved it all in one go. That is why you shall have to read the book simply if not for any other reason than to see how she does it. 

And trust me, she does it gloriously and brilliantly.

Source: ARC from HarperTeen for review purposes as part of the blog tour

Author Spotlight

She is a writer turned marine biologist turned writer again. Among the traits she shares with her heroine Eleanor are a weakness for Shakespeare quotes, a healthy appetite for baked goods, and an insatiable curiosity. Sadly, Susan does not get to wear a corset or wave a parasol on a daily basis.

She lives in Germany with her French husband and Irish setter, and you can learn more about her crazy thoughts and crippling cookie-addiction on her blog, twitter, facebook, or Goodreads. Something Strange and Deadly is her debut novel.

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There is also a giveaway of a signed copy of Something Strange and Deadly. However, it is opened to U.S. only, as it is sponsored by Susan herself. 

Sorry, international readers, but don't worry, a few more giveaways are coming this way in August ;)

As for U.S. readers, count your lucky stars and participate now!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Character Gallery

xoxo,
Sel

Interview: Jennifer E. Smith (author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight)

Jennifer E. Smith is the author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, The Storm Makers, You Are Here, and The Comeback Season. 

She earned a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and currently works as an editor in New York City. 

Her work has been translated into 28 languages, and her new young adult novel, This is What Happy Looks Like, is coming out in April 2013.

When I first started blogging, I never thought that I'd ever be interviewing authors, yet here I am today, interviewing Jennifer E. Smith, the amazing lady who made me laugh and cry with her wonderful contemporary novel-- The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. :)

So, hello, Jen, I can't tell you how happy I am to have you here at Bookcase to Heaven™! I thought the statistical probability of that would be near zero, but here you are and I'm going start with my first question about...

MATH. Were you good at Math in middle school?

I've always been more of a words person than a numbers person. I guess I held my own at math while in school, but I never liked it very much, and embarrassingly, I still count on my fingers sometimes. I'm sure my old math teachers would find it amusing that I've written a book with the words "statistical probability" in the title...

I guess they would *grins* So what was your inspiration for writing a novel about the probability of fate?

I wanted to explore the idea of fate, and I was interested in the notion that something as little as missing your flight by four minutes could change your entire life. 

And how did you come up with the title?

It actually came from a line of dialogue near the end of the book. We’d tossed around a few other titles before that, none of which quite seemed to fit, and once we decided to go with that one, the whole book sort of came into focus. At one point, we almost scrapped it because we were worried it was too long, but I’m so glad we decided to go with it! 

I'm glad too ;) The title was what that drew me to the book in the first place! Now, do you believe in true love and soul mates?

I do!  But then, I'm a hopeless romantic…

So how did you envision yourself falling in love when you were young?

I was always a sucker for romantic comedies, so I guess I probably dreamed of those types of scenarios when I was younger. And that's probably why I write the sorts of books I do now. There's something deeply hopeful in these kinds of stories, and I've always been really drawn to that.

Then, do you prefer books that make you smile or books that make you cry?

I love both, and I certainly don’t think they’re mutually exclusive. I love books with big hearts, and those always seem to be the ones that manage to make me smile and cry in the span of a single page.

Why did you choose to become a novelist for the teenage/young adult audience?

First of all, there’s no better or more enthusiastic audience out there. But beyond the readers, I also really enjoy writing these characters. I think a lot of adults tend to underestimate teens, so it’s great to have an opportunity to give voice to sixteen or seventeen year old characters who are real and honest and emotional, but also incredibly bright and savvy and intelligent.  

And I enjoying reading about them! I see that you've written four books so far. Which book was the hardest to write, out of the four?

Actually, it was my one middle grade novel, which isn't so much because it was middle grade, but because it required world building. It gave me a whole new appreciation for other genres! But I really enjoyed the challenge.

Anything in particular that you want to say to the aspiring writers out there?

The only way to figure out if you can write a book is to actually sit down and attempt to write one. You learn by trying and failing and then trying again. You bounce back from the rejections, and you celebrate the successes both big and small. Writing is not at all the same thing as publishing, and it’s the much more important of the two. If you want to be a writer, you’re the only one who can make that happen. You just have to keep putting words down on the page. It’s the easiest and hardest thing in the world.  

Thank you for the advice! 

But, one last question before we end, and I just have have have to ask it. Do you have a special fondness for British boys (i.e. Oliver)? *winks winks*

I have to admit that I do. I've lived in both Ireland and Scotland, and I've always loved guys with accents. Who doesn't? ;)

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Indeed, who doesn't?

I think we all love her a little more after this honest and insightful interview!

Read why I love her here ;)

And let's rush to the bookstore when her new Young Adult novel, This is What Happy Looks Like, comes out in April!

Thanks, Jen, for taking the time to answer my questions! You're a real sweetie :)

Don't ever stop writing! (And same goes to the rest of you aspiring writers out there ;)

xoxo,

Sel