Garden Spells

In Bascom, things are not normal. This suits Claire Waverley perfectly. After a childhood on the road with her unreliable mother, she's glad to have a place to put down roots and stay put, even though her legacy is a strange one. Her garden blooms out of season, the food she makes can bring special powers to the people who eat it, her aunt gives away things people need, before they need them, and the tree in the garden bears strange apples. Claire is happy with her beautiful, solitary life, no matter how much her new neighbor intrigues her. And then her sister Sydney returns, with her daughter.

The bad: There is one sensual scene, and I say sensual because everything is more implied in Allen's fairy-tale manner than stated.

The good: This story is about developing relationships based on love, making true friends, even though both Claire and Sydney have their troubles.

My view: I love this book. Reading it is like coming home to the best home you can imagine. Sarah Addison Allen's style is a delight to read. This is a beautiful fairy tale full of magic and mouthwatering food.

Daughter of the Forest, A Favorite!

In the forests of Ireland, a young girl lives a happy childhood with her six brothers. It would be hard to pinpoint the moment when her happy childhood stops and her life slowly becomes something she never expected. Was it when she nursed the young Briton? Was it when her closest brother began hiding things from her? Was it when she gained a stepmother? When ever it was, Sorcha finds herself confronted with a task of impossible proportions and heartbreaking consequences. Is the price worth the reward?

The good stuff: Family is the main focus of this story, the good and the bad. Sorcha's brothers do all they can to protect her, and she would do anything to get them back. They are like the seven streams that surround their home, eternally one and also incomprehensible to one another.

The not so hot stuff: The kinda point of this story is that you do what you must for love, but the effects of sacrifice will change you forever. And they do. Sorcha and her brothers encounter depths of human evil that change them forever, and we experience every moment of degradation and pain along with Sorcha. The evils she encounters are not for young readers. I read this book first when I was 13, and I would say (much as I hate to) that I was too young.

Why I like it: There is a depth of emotion and human nature in this book that is staggering. Sorcha's dedication to her task is mind blowing, and an causes me to question what I would do for the ones I love. This book is like poetry to read, with the depths of human evil and the heights of human love considered thoroughly.

Beastly

Kyle is the guy who's got it all. And that sentence alone should make you realize what is going to happen in this book, yup, he's going to lose it. This modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast (my sister's favorite fairy tale) follows Kyle on his journey from the biggest jerk you can imagine (okay, not that big, but close) to discovering that he cares more about other people than himself.

Kyle starts out as a huge jerk, so you can imagine. He says horrible things to people, takes advantage of people and he's just nasty. There is also talk of someone groping someone else.

You all know the story of Beauty and the Beast, but it is even more touching to hear it from the Beast's side.

I thought this book was amazing! Not only do I love fairy tale retellings, but this book was funny and sweetly romantic. A definite must!