Book Review: The Selchie's Seed

I just finished The Selchie's Seed by Shulamith Levey Oppenheim. A mysterious white whale shows up near the shore one evening during a storm. The whale's flipper is torn. Fifteen-year-old Marian finds him, and along with her brother Graeme, they beg their mother to heal him. With just a bit of salve, she heals the white whale.

Marian is drawn to the whale. She can't stop thinking about him. One evening she comes home with a necklace of pearls and a shell, a gift from the white whale. Why is she so drawn to him? He brings Marian's magical heritage to light, much to her father's dismay. For they are a good Christian family. Not pagan.

I love books with faeries, especially selchies. They are a favorite of mine. This novella was amazing. It was beautifully written, and the story itself gorgeous. I fell in love with it so much I had to force myself to put it down and read it in two sittings. It's short, a bit over 80 pages, and it has lovely illustrations by Diane Goode.

It is currently out of print, and I've not been able to find it new. So if you happen to find a copy, pick it up.

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Graphic Novel Review: Clubbing

A spoiled, rebellious London girl takes on the stuffy English countryside in CLUBBING. The crime: Getting caught with a fake I.D. at a posh London nightclub. The punishment: Spending the summer at her Grandparent's stuffy country club. But Charlotte "Lottie" Brook, best known for her mile-high platforms, an expendable wi-fi account and an unbridled passion for classic lit, will end up doing more than just serving time in country boot camp. In between avoiding the strange locals and cake decorating contests, Lottie will narrowly escape romance and end up solving a murder mystery on the 19th hole of her Grandparent's golf course.

Clubbing by Andi Watson is a graphic novel published by Minx, an imprint of DC Comics. Minx graphic novels are targeted at teen girls, and, unfortunately, was short-lived, with only twelve novels published, and leaving three unpublished (including the sequel to Clubbing). The other two were eventually published.

Charlotte is sent to live with her grandparent’s after she is caught with a fake I.D. Lottie arrives in her goth clothing (which I loved seeing), her cell phone, iPod, and other gadgets every teen girl needs. She’s different from the rest of the crowd in this town, until she meets a group of kids that she thinks she’d fit in with. When she and hottie Howard stumble upon a corpse, Lottie suspects her almost friends.

Part of this novel is cute and funny and part is completely ridiculous. However, I really enjoyed reading Clubbing, and the art was fantastic. While this book is no longer being printed, you can still find it at comic book stores and Amazon.

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Book Review: Ironside

A Modern Faery’s Tale

In the realm of Faerie, the time has come for Roiben's coronation. Uneasy in the midst of the malevolent Unseelie Court, pixie Kaye is sure of only one thing -- her love for Roiben. But when Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest. Now Kaye can't see or speak to Roiben unless she can find the one thing she knows doesn't exist: a faerie who can tell a lie.

Miserable and convinced she belongs nowhere, Kaye decides to tell her mother the truth -- that she is a changeling left in place of the human daughter stolen long ago. Her mother's shock and horror sends Kaye back to the world of Faerie to find her human counterpart and return her to Ironside. But once back in the faerie courts, Kaye finds herself a pawn in the games of Silarial, queen of the Seelie Court. Silarial wants Roiben's throne, and she will use Kaye, and any means necessary, to get it. In this game of wits and weapons, can a pixie outplay a queen?

Holly Black spins a seductive tale at once achingly real and chillingly enchanted, set in a dangerous world where pleasure mingles with pain and nothing is exactly as it appears.

Ironside is the conclusion to Holly Black’s Faery trilogy and direct sequel to Tithe. It brings together Kaye, Roiben, and Corny from Tithe and Luis from Valiant. Roiben finds himself leading the Unseelie Court. And his love, Kaye, is in danger. To keep her safe, he gives her an impossible quest. As all fans of faery fiction know, faeries can’t lie. Her quest is to find a faery who can lie.

Along the way, Kaye ends up telling her mother who she really is. A faery changeling. Resulting in yet another quest… to find her mother’s real daughter who has been hidden in faery all these years. This leads her back into the dangerous world of Faerie, as she becomes a pawn of the Seelie queen.

Ironside, named for the faery's term for our world, is even more exciting than Tithe and Valiant, with even more twists and turns. When I finished this one, I dubbed it my favorite of the three. But, later, I adjusted that, placing it in second place (just under Valiant). But, regardless, it’s an excellent conclusion to an excellent trilogy, and I highly recommend all three of them. As well as anything and everything else written by Holly Black.

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Book Review: Valiant

A Modern Faery’s Tale

When seventeen-year-old Valerie runs away to New York City, she's trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city's labyrinthine subway system.

But there's something eerily beguiling about Val's new friends. And when one talks Val into tracking down the lair of a mysterious creature with whom they are all involved, Val finds herself torn between her newfound affection for an honorable monster and her fear of what her new friends are becoming.

Valiant by Holly Black opens with an introduction to Val and the life she lives with her mother… who is sleeping with Val’s boyfriend. She runs off and finds herself surrounded by new friends who all live together within the subway system: Luis, Dave, and Lolli.

Luis has “the sight” and years prior he was blinded in one eye by a faery simply because he was given the ability to see them. That’s only the beginning of this scary world Val is brought into. Dave runs errands, delivering a substance called “Never” to strange beings. A few of them decide to try the Never themselves, and while on this mysterious drug, they find themselves in Ravus’ home, the troll who makes the Never.

Val ends up trapped delivering the Never for Ravus, in exchange for Lolli’s freedom. While on a delivery, she comes across a dead mermaid. Poisoned. By the Never… Is Ravus behind it? Or one of Val’s friends? Or someone else entirely? But it might not even matter who is to blame when caught up in such a dangerous world.

While in the same series as Tithe, this novel involves a whole new set of characters. And I loved this one even more than the first. It’s more or less a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, as Val falls for Ravus. I love both Val and Ravus, and the romance blossoming between them.

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Book Review: Tithe

What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces the sixteen-year-old back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms -- a struggle that could very well mean her death.

Newcomer Holly Black's enormously powerful voice weaves teen angst, riveting romance, and capriciously diabolical faerie folk into an enthralling, engaging, altogether original reading experience.

Tithe by Holly Black tells the story of Kaye, a teenage girl who has always been different. She grew up having three imaginary friends: Spike, Gristle, and Lutie-Loo. Only they weren’t imaginary. They’re faeries. Not the sweet, cute little faeries that you see in children’s fairy tales. But real faeries. Scary faeries.

When Kaye meets another faery, Roiben, she saves his life, thus earning the knowledge that is his real name. And she is pulled deeper into this dangerous world. She finds herself in the middle of a faery war, between two powerful courts: Seelie and Unseelie. And it becomes her job to save a human from being sacrificed to the Unseelie court.

This was my first YA faery book, and I read it for the first time about four years ago. To be honest, I had a bit of trouble getting into it. It’s a bit grittier than what I’m used to. I didn’t really relate to Kaye. But I enjoyed Corny and Kaye’s friendship with him. I wasn’t a huge fan of Roiben either. Regardless, I quite enjoyed this novel. The bizarre world of faery is certainly intriguing, and Holly Black did an amazing job of describing it. I absolutely adored Lutie-Loo. And I have to say my favorite scene was the part on the carousel.

If you haven’t read Tithe, what are you waiting for?

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Short Story Review: Love Struck

Sure, love is hell. But it’s totally worth it.

In these supernatural stories by five of today's hottest writers—Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovely), Scott Westerfeld (Specials), Justine Larbalestier (Magic or Madness), Gabrielle Zevin (Elsewhere), and Laurie Faria Stolarz (Blue is for Nightmares)—love may be twisted and turned around, but it's more potent than ever on its quest to conquer all.

From two students who let the power of attraction guide them to break the hard-and-fast rules of their world to the girl who falls hard for a good-looking ghost with a score to settle, the clever, quirky characters in this exciting collection will break your heart, then leave you believing in love more than ever.

"Love Struck" is Melissa Marr's contribution to the anthology Love is Hell. Alana leaves a party on the beach and meets Vic, a hot guy with dreadlocks. He scares her. And the moment she gets away from him, she meets Murrin, another hottie. Both offer her their pelts, and it's then that she realizes that she met two selchies. Both of whom try to trap her. Selchies (or selkies) are seal people from folklore.

In all of the stories she's heard, it's the selchies who are trapped. But she realizes that it's the other way around. It's the selchies, the fey, who trap humans. Can either of them be trusted? She's going to have to figure out which one is more trustworthy and hope she picks the right one.

I love this story. And one of the selchies in this story is my favorite male character that Melissa Marr has written. While it's not set within the Wicked Lovely series, it is faery, so it very well could be set in that world. One of the things I find most interesting about this story is the flip from what I usually hear. A selchie woman's pelt is stolen, and she is stuck with the person who stole her pelt, until she can find it and escape. Not only is it the men in this story that are selchies, but they're the ones doing the trapping. Which makes complete sense to me. They fey are magical and cunning, and it seems more likely that they would do the trapping instead of being trapped.

Be sure to check this story out. Don't want the anthology? You can find "Love Struck" by itself in ebook form.

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Book Review: Brighid's Quest

Torn between the possibilities . . .

Fleeing her centaur clan's increasingly militant beliefs, Brighid Dhianna has begun to find peace and acceptance among the humans of Clan MacCallan. Still, she agrees to leave her newly formed friendships to guide her clan chieftain's grieving brother home.

As she journeys, Brighid discovers that the long-dormant Shaman blood that runs so thickly in her veins will no longer be silenced. As seductive new powers begin to beckon, Brighid glimpses a future that is more impossible -- and more magical -- than any she could have dared to imagine.

But when tragedy summons her back to the Centaur Plains, Brighid must make a decision that will affect not only her friendship with the humans, but the centaur herd and indeed the world. For the Great Goddess Epona has set her on a new path that demands everything she has to give.

When the whole world is turning to her for help, healing the heart of a warrior doesn't sound so daunting . . .

Brighid's Quest by PC Cast picks up shortly after Elphame's Choice ended.  We met Brighid in Elphame's Choice. She is a strong centaur huntress of Clan MacCallan. While she was very good friends with Elphame, she bumped heads with Elphame's brother, Cuchulainn. When Cuchulainn goes off to kill the rest of the Fomorians, Brighid follows along to help him.

I enjoyed this novel even more than it's predecessor. As Brighid and "Cu" go on this journey they find themselves enjoying each other's company, making a complete 180 from how things were in Elphame's Choice. I enjoyed reading their romance and adventure. Brighid is given the chance to become High Shaman to the centaurs. And after denying her shaman blood for so long, this choice is huge.

Many new characters are added to this already large cast, including Ciara... one of the large group of New Fomorians. Book three in this series was supposed to be Ciara's Destiny. It was put on hold to finish the "Divine" trilogy and then again with The House of Night series. But I'm holding out hope that it'll be published. (I've been waiting five and a half years.) 

Definitely read this series. You'll love them!

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