Ironskin by Tina Connolly

Ironskin by Tina Connolly  302 pages

Jane Eliot wears an iron mask.
It's the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain - the ironskin.
When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a "delicate situation" - a child born during the Great War - Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.
Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn't expect to fall for the girl's father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her scars and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey.
Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things are true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of a new life - and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis  308 pages

It isn't easy being Sunday's child, not when you're the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday's only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true. When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night, Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland - and a man Sunday's family despises. The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction to this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past - and hers?

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa- 358 pgs.

Meghan Chase thought she left the world of the fey behind her.  After rescuing the Scepter of Seasons, Meghan and Ash were banished to from the Nevernever to live in the mortal world.  But a force is becoming stronger and is tearing the Nevernever apart.  Only Meghan can save the people and creatures from the approaching storm of the Iron Fey.  There is no turning back now and it will change her life forever.

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa- 359 pgs.

Ever since Meghan Chase learned she was the daughter of the Summer faerie king, Oberon, her life has been anything but normal.  After rescuing her brother from the clutches of the Iron King, Meghan has to fulfill her deal with Prince Ash and go live with the Winter Court.  When Oberon arrives in the Winter Court to pass the Scepter of the Seasons to announce the beginning of winter, it is stolen and no one believes Meghan when she says it is the Iron Courts doing.  Meghan also discovers that her powers have been cut off.  Together with Ash and Puck, Meghan must use her wits to get the Scepter back before Winter and Summer start a war.  As if stopping a war wasn't enough, Meghan must also deal with her feelings for both Ash and Puck.  The life of a Faerie princess isn't easy.

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King by Julie Kagaway- 363 pgs

Meghan Chase has never felt like she fit in.  Even at home, it seems like her mom and step-dad forget she's there.  When she was six years old, her father disappeared before her eyes and nothing has been the same since.  As her 16th birthday rolls around, a mysterious stranger begins to watch her and her best friend becomes overly protective.  When her half-brother is exchanged with a changeling, Meghan travels to Nevernever, the land of fey, ogres, trolls and all the other things we associate with fairy tales.  Once there, Meghan learns that she is the daughter of the king of Seelie Court and her life will never be the same again.

I'm not one that is usually into stories about fairies, but this one had me hooked from the start.  I had a hard time putting it down.  If you are unfamiliar with the fey, it does a good job of explaining them and their culture.  I can't wait to read the second one.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, 406 pages
Book 1 of series

I absolutely love strong heroines and Maas doesn't disappoint with her spunky queen of assassins - Celaena. Trained as an assassin after she was discovered laying between her murdered parents, Celaena's name strikes fear in the hearts off all who hear of her. Betrayed by those she called friend, she was tossed into a death camp/prison until the Prince came to ask for her to be his Champion. In a game of champions, one will rise to be the King's Champion - a wealthy and prestigious paid assassin. When the champions are brutally and ritualistically murdered one by one, Celaena begins to think that leaving the horrible prison might not have been a good idea. As she is pulled through layers of court intrigue, murder, magic, action, and romance, a perfect story is weaved. I enjoyed every last page of this book and look forward to further stories involving Celaena the assassin, Chaol the Captain of the Guard, Dorian the crowned prince and Nehemia royal princess/ bestfriend.

The Dark Heroine: Dinner With A Vampire by Abigail Gibbs

The Dark Heroine: Dinner With a Vampire by Abigail Gibbs, 534 pages
(book one of The Dark  Heroine series)

Romeo & Juliet meets Twilight sums up what this book is about. Seventeen year old Violet Lee's life is changed forever when she witnesses a mass murder before her eyes and is taken prisoner by the murderers. Everything she thought she knew about her world is false. There are monsters in the world and they aren't just evil men. They are vampires. Caught in a web of lies and betrayal, Violet Lee's life is threatened on a daily basis. Yet she finds herself drawn to her captor, Kaspar, at the same time as loathing him. As their attraction for each other grows, truths come out that will shatter everything they hold dear.
I was done with this book in one day. It's pretty easy to figure out the plot line, but it doesn't stop the book from being enjoyable.

Ironskin by Tina Connolly

Ironskin by Tina Connolly, 304 pages

It is hard to "retell" a great story like "Jane Eyre", but Tina Connolly gives it a valiant try in "Ironskin".  You have your plain looking governess, your dark Mr. Rochester, the beautiful little girl and the crazy mom. However, the author also weaves fey and fey curses into the tale. The plot moves along very slowly and sluggishly. It might have been better had I never read Jane Eyre before, but I couldn't help but compare "Ironskin" to it. There was no mystery. No suspense. No heart stopping moments. It was just a book. A book about a governess falling in love with her brooding master and his little girl albeit with a steampunk twist. Jane is fey-cursed and hides her scars behind an iron mask. Her sister has found love and so Jane must find work to provide for herself - which is difficult since the "ironskins" are feared and considered the trash of society. She heads to the dark manor in the employment of Mr. Rochart to be governess to his daughter Dorie as he believes Jane is the only one who can truly understand and help his little girl.  Dorie, is also fey cursed but in a different way. Her mother was inhabited/possessed by a fey when she was pregnant and the fey qualities transfered over to little Dorie. It is five years after the Great War between the fey and humans. Humans are trying to get back to "normal" without fey technology. Yet, the fey aren't truly defeated and there will be one more final battle that Jane has to fight to protect the people she loves and save humanity from the threat of the fey. How will this book end? Well, if you've read Jane Eyre, you'll know, but hopefully it will still be an enjoyable read to you.

Bossypants, by Tina Fey

Bossypants, by Tina Fey, 288 pages

While Tina Fey's character Liz Lemon on 30 Rock sometimes makes me as uncomfortable as the cover photo on this book, I found the voice of Tina Fey to be entirely different.  She is funny, but she is also incredibly intelligent.  Her book discusses growing up as a theater nerd, working for Second City in Chicago, and making the life-changing jump to a writer on Saturday Night Live.  But more than that- Fey asks why female bosses are asked questions male ones don't receive- like "Do you find it hard being in charge of people?" or "Isn't it hard to juggle work and your home life?"  While this book had me laughing out loud at many parts, it was also thought-provoking.

And Blue Skies from Pain by Stina Leicht

And Blue Skies from Pain (A Book of the Fey and Fallen) - Stina Leicht, 300 pages

The second book in the series does not disappoint.  Leicht creates extremely realistic characters and drama that give a gritty truth to the dangers of Ireland during the Troubles in the 1970s.  The fantasy elements of the war between the Fey and the Fallen and the Church form an added layer of drama that doesn't detract from the whole.  Liam has served as a driver for the IRA, gone to prison for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and suffered numerous personal tragedies. He has vowed to not be drawn back into the sectarian violence but soon finds himself as a pawn in the larger paranormal war.  If you are fan of the truly truly reluctant hero, you will love this series.

Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht

Of Blood and Honey (A Book of the Fey and the Fallen) by Stina Leicht, 296 pages

This book layers urban fantasy elements into the Irish Troubles in the 1970s.  Liam doesn't know who his father is, and always assumed it was a Protestant who wouldn't stay with his Catholic mother.  Liam is faced with trying to stay safe and find work during the bloody conflicts between rival Irish religious factions that make it extremely unsafe to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  The war between the Fallen and Fey pulls Liam into another centuries old conflict that will force Liam to discover his true heritage.  There are definite adult themes in this book involving violence, abuse and religion.  Leicht is very effective in injecting fantasy elements involving the Fallen, the Fey and even assassins for the Catholic church into the vivid descriptions of life in Ireland during the Troubles.   

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, 328 pages

Aislinn, like her grandmother and mother before her, can see faeries. She has always lived by strict rules to keep her secret safe from them. When the Summer King takes notice of her and selects her, it's all she can do to keep her secret and stay away from him and the rest of the fey. She is finally given three choices, none of which are pleasant ...but one of which she must make. One choice will cost her everything she loves. The second choice will give the Summer King all that he desires. The third choice will leave her cold. Which choice will she make? Added to the mix are one very bad villain who will do anything to see Aislinn dead and two very sweet love stories - That of Aislinn and her bestfriend Seth, and the Summer King and his lost love. All in all, this was an excellent and quick read.

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis, 308pages

A retelling of all the classic (and original) fairytales rolled into one, this wonderful teen romance will keep you turning pages. In some ways, I preferred the author's version of the story much more than the originals. Sunday is one of seven sisters born to a woodcutter and his wife. She is the seventh of the seventh and very special. Each of her sisters were gifted with various talents that will help make amends for a terrible wrong of the past. Sunday's happens to be the gift of "Creator".  When she unknowingly kisses a frog prince, she sets in motion a series of events that will ultimately cause her kingdom grief as well as joy. At times the author jumps from story to story and it can get just a little confusing. It's best to take the book one page at a time and try to not guess at the ending or whose story she is telling at that particular moment. Jack and the Beanstalk, The Frog Prince, Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, Faeries, and many other stories blend into one fantastic tale.

"Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception" by Maggie Stiefvater

"Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception" by Maggie Stiefvater, 325 pages
(Series - "Gathering of Faerie")

16 year old Deirdre is an accomplished harpist who is beginning to see Faeries -- as they are attracted to her ability to play so well. In fact, the faerie queen has decided that quiet, introvert Deirdre -- who suffers from extreme anxiety anytime she must perform before an audience -- is a threat. The queen has sent her top soul-less assassin, Luke, to dispose of the perceived threat. Unfortunately for the queen, Luke has fallen in love with his mark and seeks to protect her instead. With all the nasties lurking in the shadows seeking out Deirdre's blood will he succeed in saving her? Or will two lives be ended instead? Also, why are the faeries _really_ so intent to pursue Deirdre and her family? Mom, grandma and aunt are all heavily talented individuals ... is there a reason why? You'll have to read to find out. This book was a very quick and enjoyable read. Definitely delightful enough for me to keep reading through the series as the author cranks them out.