Into the Woods: "Some Kind of Fairy Tale" by Graham Joyce

Some Kind of Fairy Tale  by Graham Joyce is a book that makes you
believe in fairies... or, at least in the existence of some unusual beings, at any rate. It flawlessly blends a missing person mystery, the investigation into that disappearance, and the return of a girl who may have been gone 20 years but looks the same age she was when she vanished.
It alternates in viewpoints between Tara, the lost girl, her brother Peter, now father of a large family, her parents, her teen-age boyfriend, now also much older and the therapist given the job of deciphering the whole mixed bag of truth, lies, reality and fantasy. We won't give all the details away.
The descriptions of the the Outwoods, the site of Tara's disappearance and the Bluebell fields are so vivid you can practically smell them and the land where she claims to have spent what she thought was six months... is also exquisitely brought to life... and quite a different sort of life it is. Again, we will leave it to you to be surprised and enchanted (or possibly disturbed) by this other world in a story that will keep you up reading till the end... the Recommender's favorite kind of book!

bluebell fields from google images

Love and Death: The Cobweb Bride by Vera Nazarian

 The Cobweb Bride by Vera Nazarian is a haunting, beautifully written story that reads like a legend, it is so well told. From the first pages the author weaves a spell that draws the reader into the world she has created.
It is an imaginary European Renaissance world of cold, ice and snow. In the Kingdom of Lethe, one of three kingdoms of the Imperial Realm, an old queen lays dying. Her family in attendance notice a dark shadowy figure. It is Death in the guise of a man, a Spaniard, he moves away from the queen and proclaims he has come for his Cobweb Bride and will take no others until he has her by his side. In other words...no one will die until he finds her.
This has dire consequences for those, like the queen, suspended in their final moments...and even worse for those, like the knights and soldiers involved in battle between two warring Dukes, Duke Hoarfrost and Duke Goraque who bludgeon and strike each other to the death, hacking off arms, legs and even heads!...and yet, none of the mortally wounded fall, they keep fighting, including a knight who receives a final blow from Hoarfrost, himself, who then rises and spears the Duke in the back... killing him, and sending him through the ice of a lake from which he returns, one of the new undead, whom his brave son, Beltain, must now serve.

Meanwhile, another old woman is waiting to meet her end in the little village of Oarclaven. The grandmother of the Aryen clan. One of her three granddaughters, Persephone (called Percy), sees a dark shadow waiting by the bedside. When she mentions it to her mother she angrily demands Percy leave the house.

And in another part of the kingdom, in the Silver Court, the daughter of the Emperor, Claere Liguon, the Infanta, is about to turn 16, and everyone but everyone is at court to celebrate. She is about to receive a gift that will change her life...forever.

Back to the dying queen. The prince issues a proclamation requesting every family in the kingdom with daughters of a marriageable age, must send one to be the possible Cobweb Bride and to seek Death in his keep in the Northern Forests of the realm. Percy chooses to sacrifice herself and go forth in quest of Death's domain, as she knows she is her mother's least favorite daughter, being a plain girl and not a great beauty like her sisters.

Then, there is Death, himself, the mysterious presence, both shadow and man. His desire for the mystery woman has brought the known world to a halt and all its inhabitants to become momentarily immortal... a state of being abhorrent to some... but deeply coveted by others.

Thus begins this captivating story (plus it has a stunningly beautiful cover!) , which is the first of a trilogy. I loved the author's gorgeous imagery and her wonderfully realized characters who come to life, or unlife, on the page and thoroughly involve you in their destinies.   I can't wait to return to this world in the next two books!

"The Dark Monk" by Oliver Pötzsch

Having just finished the Dark Monk, the second book in the Hangman's Daughter series by Oliver Pötzsch, the Recommender can say it was every bit as good as the first one! Set in Bavaria in the 1600's...it's a dark time in the little town of Schongau, robbers are afoot, the local priest has died under very mysterious circumstances, not simply from overeating as everyone thought. There's a dire fever plaguing the citizens and former medical student Simon has his hands full trying to help his doctor father and also with his love for Magdalena, the daughter of Jakob Kuisl, the hangman and healer. Jakob is considered an untouchable by the locals because of his inherited profession despite the fact that he's smart, well read and an ace healer. Magdalena is thought of as equally "unclean" and if she and Simon were to marry... it would lower his station in town and they might even be driven out of of the community. Dark days, indeed!
With the priest's demise, Simon is sent for and while investigating begins to suspect something sinister and drags Jakob and even Magdalena into the mystery. Enter a new character, the deceased priest's sister, Benedikta, a worldly, attractive woman who seems as comfortable on a horse as she does with a pistol in her hand. Could Simon have eyes for this stranger? Magdalena is suspicious as Simon helps Benedikta to solve clues and cover-ups and riddle after riddle that seems to be leading them on a treasure hunt. Meanwhile Jakob is being forced to lead a hunt for the robbers and Magdalena is trying to forget Simon by setting off on her own adventure. What will happen to our heroes? Read this fantastic book yourself and find out!
The Recommender LOVES the hangman and all the main characters in this series. A likable hangman, you might ask? Yes, Jakob is an extremely likable, compassionate and sometimes cynical man making the best of his lot in life, he's a good and loyal friend and family man and  not afraid to stand up for what he believes in. Not a bad role model. I'll be starting book three in the upcoming weeks.

Not While I'm Around: "Demon" by Laura DeLuca

Without realizing it, the Recommender happened upon Laura DeLuca's Phantom right before the release of her 2nd novel to feature my new favorite fictional character, Lord Justyn Patko and his girlfriend, Rebecca Hope. So, putting all my other carefully lined up books aside for the moment, I had to see what the author had in store for these two in the new book.
When we last met them... Justyn and Becca had both been scouted for a college of the Performing Arts. Demon has them moving in together in an off-campus apartment complete with a welcoming basket of herbs and potions from Darlene (Justyn's amazing Mom) and a cockatiel. They are mad for each other, though Becca is a bit nervous about facing this new college experience. And well she might be... as among their classmates are the trio from hell, two arrogant male students, Chad and Scott and their resident diva, Livy, a goth enchantress who zeros in on Justyn as her perfect future boyfriend, particularly after he and she audition for and get the leads in the college drama club's production of Sweeney Todd, while Becca scores a role, but as Sweeney's insane lost wife.
There is drama on stage and off. Justyn is as charming and magnetic as he was in the first book. He vows to protect Becca from all harm, but can he?  Becca will undergo an ordeal that seems to change her...possibly forever. Not saying what, that is for you to find out in this engrossing follow-up. The Recommender is happy to recommend anything with our perfect leading man, Justyn... or shall we say LORD Justyn, in the storyline! I am now looking forward to the 3rd installment of the Dark Musicals series...especially after the sneak peek Ms. DeLuca gives us in the opening chapter!!!

High School Musical: "Phantom" by Laura DeLuca

Rebecca Hope is a high school senior who feels invisible. She has two besties, Carmen and Debbie, and a passion for all things Phantom of the Opera, from the book to the musical to the movie. She knows all the words by heart and, like Christine, is an amazing singer, something nobody at school realizes, as she is shy and usually only comfortable singing in the confines of her shower. She has also harbored a secret crush on Tom Rittenhouse, handsome basketball star and surfer. Then, her high school drama dept. decides to put on Phantom of the Opera and Becca's friends push her into auditioning. How could she not?
Attending auditions, while the girls wait their turn, the boys try out. Tom steps up to sing the Phantom's solo number. The whole school assumes Tom will get the part. After all, he usually gets whatever he wants.
The drama coach calls out another name, one nobody knows... "Lord ... Justyn?" she questions...and a boy glides onto the stage. He is dressed in black. A goth boy. Carmen recognises him from a class, "That's Justyn Patko" she confides to Becca. He is a new student, recently moved to their town from Las Vegas. As he takes the stage and begins the song, Becca can't take her eyes off him. He is the Phantom, Erik, come to life.
Finally, after Wendy, the most popular girl in school tries out, it's Rebecca's turn. Nervously she begins and notices Justyn watching her in the shadows at the back of the auditorium. It gives her the courage to bring Christine to life for Justyn's Phantom. Suddenly, the audience, and Tom, see Becca differently, as a star in the making!
The cast is announced. Justyn and Becca get the leads, while Tom is to be Raoul and Wendy is relegated to Carlotta. They are NOT happy.
This is just the beginning of this wonderful story that captures the heart of the Phantom classic and combines it with the casting of these students who are bringing the musical to life while also reenacting the love story rivalry of Christine, Erik and Raoul, off stage. Plus, there is a murder mystery that seems to follow the lead of some of the fictional Phantom's threats. Who is behind them? You may be surprised...
The Recommender LOVED Justyn! He is such a real presence, someone smart, charming, witty, self-possessed and not afraid to be himself in a high school world that treats him snarkily. He also has some secrets of his own which will be revealed as his Phantom courts Christine, and he, Justyn, reaches out to Becca.
If you love the Phantom as much as I do, then don't miss this different take on our favorite characters! Last year, the Recommender had the pleasure of seeing Spaulding High School's (in Rochester, NH) production of Phantom of the Opera and it was phantastic! Really brilliantly done, with sets that creatively rivaled those on the Broadway stage and the students playing Phantom and Christine could easily have played them on Broadway as well, so I found this book particularly appealing!

Incredible Journey: Hawk Quest by Robert Lyndon

Hawk Quest is an amazingly epic story of a group of  diverse individuals making a journey together. It's also a heck of an adventure where you, the reader, begin to feel you are making the trip with them! So much happens in this book that it's hard to condense it to a synopsis.
The story begins in 1072 around the time of the Norman conquests.
Our leading man is Vallon, a  Frankish soldier of fortune, who is making his way through a storm when he comes across a hut inhabited by a young Sicilian medical student named Hero and his dying master, Cosmos, an explorer and philosopher. Before he dies Cosmos entrusts to Hero a chest and papers including one for safe passage through tribal territories and a ransom note regarding a Norman knight, Walter, who is being held captive by the Turks. It is Hero's job, left to him by Cosmos, to deliver the news of the ransom to the prisoner's family. The ransom requested is for four gyrfalcons, a rare white falcon found only in Greenland . He persuades Vallon to be his protector  and so begins the journey for this unlikely team.
They reach Walter's family's castle where, eventually, his mother convinces Vallon and Hero to take on the job of finding and delivering the ransom. Among the intriguing characters we meet, who will join them, are Wayland, a young, mute falconer working for the captive knight's family and his wonderful, nameless dog, a huge, loyal being who can read his master's mind and do his bidding and who will win your heart with his bravery; Raoul, a German soldier working for the family who convinces Hero and Vallon he should come along, too, and Syth, a beautiful girl who Wayland (and his dog) rescues from her feral existence.
Dress warmly! because we will be traveling to Greenland, Russia and the Black Sea and on to Anatolia and many, many other places on the map with our adventurers on the often brutal hawk quest as we face off against vikings and nomads and soldiers (not to mention villainous step-brothers) while we try to reach our destination in time.
This book has everything you could want in an adventure and more as it is not set in some fantasy world but in a real time and place that the author brings vividly to life. Don't miss this one!

Nice Book Site!

Recently book blogger Trish of Desktop retreat asked to highight a couple of the Recommender's designs on her lovely blog, so of course I was honored and thought I'd share a link to it: Desktop Retreat