Cursebreakers Trilogy by Brigid Kemmerer

 

Cursebreakers Trilogy by Brigid Kemmerer
1) A Curse So Dark and Lonely - 512 pages
2) A Heart So Fierce and Broken - 480 pages
3) A Vow So Bold and Deadly - 416 pages

This retelling of Beauty and the Beast sucks the reader in immediately into the tale of the tortured Prince and the young women he takes to try and break his curse.  This isn't a story painted in bright Disney colors with dancing teacups.  This is a dark and angsty romance filled with violence and tragedy illuminating the depths of the bonds between people and how they can shine in the face of unimaginable evil.  

Girl Defined: God's Radical Design for Beauty, Femininity, and Identity by Kristen Clark, Bethany Baird

Girl Defined: God's Radical Design for Beauty, Femininity, and Identity by Kristen Clark, Bethany Baird -- 240 pages

Most of the principles that sisters Kristen and Bethany share in "Girl Defined" are not new or novel to a lot of Christian girls I know, but compiled in this easy-to-read (and pretty) little book, it is certainly ideal for young girls who seek to discover their purpose as a girl. Along with the same themes that run in other solid Christian books, Kristen and Bethany share their own stories that drive home different points, and leave journal space to write your own similar experiences or thoughts.

Makeup by Michelle Phan

pp. 240

Michelle Phan rose to fame making YouTube makeup tutorials, and besides becoming an online sensation, she's spent the last few years proving herself to be a shrewd businesswoman. This book not only details fashion and beauty tips, but manners and advice on how to create a business plan.

Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross

Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross, 326 pages

Spare yourself the agony and do not pick up this book. It is, by far, the worst book I have read. The main character, Maude Pichon, joins an agency that hires ugly girls as companions to the wealthy to make the upper society women more attractive. She does so after failing to make it on her own in Paris. I can sum up the whole story in three sentences: Girl leaves home because father wants to marry her off to a horrible, older man. Girl moves to Paris to become something more but ends up as an ugly companion to a debutante who doesn't wish to marry. Debutante goes on to be what she wants to be and Girl starts a whole new life being something more than just an ugly companion. That pretty much sums up the whole story.

Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey

"Beauty and the Werewolf" by Mercedes Lackey, 329 pages
(Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms Series)

    Bella Beauchamps is the daughter of a wealthy merchant who lives with her father, stepmother and two stepsisters. In a world where "The Tradition" makes everyone's lives follow fairytales, this sounds like the set up for a "Cinderella" story. However, Bella's mother is more loving than cruel and her two stepsisters are very affectionate with their sister. When Bella ventures into the woods to visit "Granny", the town's witch, she encounters a very strange wolf. After she is attacked and bit by the wolf, the king has Bella whisked away to a castle where she discovers she was actually bit by a werewolf. And not just any werewolf - a Sorcerer Duke. With the help of spirit elementals, a quirky witch and a fairy godmother, Bella will soon learn the truth about the werewolf and what will be required of her to help him. Will "The Tradition" push her together with the werewolf for a "Beauty and the Beast Tale" or will it push her with another for an entirely different story? Filled with funny moments, romance, adventure, mystery and suspense, you'll be hard-pressed to put this book down.