Snow White’s nemesis is her stepmother in the original story and I loved this spin on the devious character. You can tell she doesn’t want Sophie hurt, which means she’s harsh to help her. She’s setting her up much like parents do with their kids, disciplining them so that they are ready for the real world. That’s kind of the way their relationship works. Countless times she sets out to harm Sophie on the orders of someone else and the true villain but manages to escape. It takes Sophie’s character a long time to learn Adelaide’s lesson, which goes perfectly with the theme of fairytales and they are there to teach us lessons. Yes, Adelaide tries to hurt her multiple times so her approach isn’t right, but at the core, you can tell she feels for the girl. I think she sees a bit of herself in her, which makes it harder. Donnelly didn’t paint Adelaide’s character with a vicious stroke and I enjoyed this slight creative change because it redeemed her character a bit, kind of like Regina in the earlier seasons of the TV show Once Upon A Time. These characters are more complex than the original texts and that helps to show that people aren’t just one thing, good or bad. They have gone through things that have influenced them to react the way that they do when situations present themselves. I can see multiple sides of Adelaide which weren’t present in the original story and I loved that!

I never thought I would be going into a fairytale retelling feeling sorry for the original bad guy, but for Adelaide, I kinda do. She’s trying to be held at a standard that befits her role in society as Queen, but can’t simply due to gender. Something she had no control over but has to deal with all the fall out because of it. Her constant connections to the gender divide just made me like her even more. Her evilness spins very well with her rage against this divide and she challenges it. This is such a true statement and this is why despite everything I still loved her character.

“The queen gave the glass a bitter smile. ‘I give them no actual cause to diminish me, so they must invent one. Nothing scares a weak man more than a strong woman.”

Reading her perspective was entertaining and had great observations throughout, like this one above! Every time I wanted to hate her for something she did to Sophie she would say something like this to point out her own grief and sadness. This story has you feeling for Adelaide almost as much as the heroine of the story. It’s incredible!

“Sophie smiled now, thinking of the brothers as she started her hunt. She was so grateful for their kindness and care, and she had already grown very fond of them. Schatzi, she’d learned was a sensitive soul. He had red hair and a round face that was very often flushed with emotion Jakob, a decisive man of action, was the eldest. He had gray in his hair and beard, lines in his face. Jeremias was salty-tongued and merry, though Sophie had the feeling his bluff good cheer was a defense, for she’d caught glimpses of a deep sadness in his eyes. Johann was quiet and deliberate, always lost in thought. Joosts was the peacemaker. Josef, who always had hay stuck to him, was happiest tending his chickens, cow, and pigs. Julius was gruff but smart and insightful, and kind, too, in his way. He was the one who’d read to Sophie at night as she’d convalesced, to keep her boredom at bay.” 

This snippet is a great description that breathes life into the seven dwarves from the story. Their names are different, but the range of personalities remain. With such a large cast, its hard to have a lot of characters shine, but reading this, told from Sophie’s perspective, was heartwarming. They don’t have much time on the page as Sophie is separated from them for large amounts of time, so with limited scenes, this was a brilliant way to incorporate them into the story and to showcase each one, even if it is brief. Clever writing!

Next stop, Arno. Arno is the man Sophie meets in the graveyard after a certain twist (which shall not be spoiled here) and he’s so brutally candid, it’s hilarious. Sophie has a righteousness that most royalty possess and that immediately clashes with Arno’s poverty stricken life. She again can’t see what he’s getting at, but every time he gets a chance, he teaches her a lesson about another divide, the rich vs the poor. It was infuriating how she couldn’t get it, but it only let his character shine and have more scenes because he was a voice of realisation for her. There’s a lot this naive main character needs to learn and at times, it was infuriating to read Sophie’s perspective, but the supporting characters helped her see it, even if it took them a long time to do it.

“She’d trusted Haakon, because he was beautiful and dazzling, because he’d spoken a few romantic words to her and made her believe that he loved her. Her heart had been her undoing. Yet again.” 

I have to give her a little break because she was working with an erratic clock for a heart, but it’s still a shock when you read it. She’s up and down constantly and that makes it hard to know where she’s at mentally, because you know her makeshift heart isn’t exactly functional. Looking back the scenes with her going off her rocker weren’t entirely bad. They did lend a whimsical humour that does fit with the fairytale theme, it’s just jarring to read so tread lightly.

Like I said, Arno was the voice of reason for Sophie and I loved his character! It’s like when you yell at the TV while watching a horror movie when the character opens that door or calls out to ask if anyone’s there. You know the moments that are so dumb you can’t believe they do it every time. It was kinda like that, but rooted once more is another valuable lesson.

“I love fairytales. They always give it to you straight. Nothing the maiden was afraid of killed her; fear itself did. There’s a lesson in that story.” 

This is how the new villain is tied in with this story and it was brilliant! This is yet another deduction by Arno, obviously! It was a very clever foreshadow that surprised me. It introduces a more complicated villain structure than first perceived in the original. This is a tale where the stepmother or the huntsman isn’t the main evil to snow white. Unexpected and fresh. They’re even portrayed as victims to an extent.

Let’s move on to romance. The initial love interest could have been Hans’s brother from Frozen sums it up pretty well. Sophie’s heart blinded her from seeing it until it was almost too late to save herself and that is when she meets Will. He’s a grumpy, irritated, and brooding archer and I loved him. I don’t usually fall for those types, but there was something about him that just played really well off of Sophie’s erratic emotions. There’s a scene where she mistakes him for a dog and his reaction is so good. This was a hardcore slow burn romance, but it was worth it! 

‘He is not your prince!’ Sophie shouted. ‘He cares nothing for you and will use you for cannon fodder to satisfy his own ambition. You will die for him, because that is the kind of ruler he is. I will die for you, because that is the kind of ruler I am.”

I had a lot of problems with Sophie and I can’t put it all on her messed up heart, however, as the story progressed, I found it was the characters she met along the way that helped her grow into the Queen she should be and I loved that. She grows tremendously by the end of this and I think that made all of her problematic and naive scenes worth it. Eventually, Sophie was actually standing up and embracing her destiny and it was all perfect. Everything I wanted her to do and was worried she wouldn’t she did. So I’m incredibly happy for how this whole story went!

“Love is a fearsome thing. It is braver than generals, stronger than fortresses. It opens graves and pulls rings off corpses. It sits up through the long, lonely night with a failing child. It fashions hearts out of scraps and bits and rusty things and makes them beat on, no matter how many times they break.”

Poisoned is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of October 20th 2020.

Will you be picking up Poisoned? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

From Jennifer Donnelly, author of the acclaimed New York Timesbestseller Stepsister, comes a fairytale retelling that’ll forever change the way you think about strength, power, and the real meaning of “happily ever after.”

Once upon a time, a girl named Sophie rode into the forest with the queen’s huntsman. Her lips were the color of ripe cherries, her skin as soft as new-fallen snow, her hair as dark as midnight. When they stopped to rest, the huntsman took out his knife . . . and took Sophie’s heart.

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Sophie had heard the rumors, the whispers. They said she was too kind and foolish to rule — a waste of a princess. A disaster of a future queen. And Sophie believed them. She believed everything she’d heard about herself, the poisonous words people use to keep girls like Sophie from becoming too powerful, too strong . . .

With the help of seven mysterious strangers, Sophie manages to survive. But when she realizes that the jealous queen might not be to blame, Sophie must find the courage to face an even more terrifying enemy, proving that even the darkest magic can’t extinguish the fire burning inside every girl, and that kindness is the ultimate form of strength.

The post Review: Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi Jennifer! Can you tell us a bit about your latest novel, Poisoned, set to release October 20^th?

Poisoned is a retelling of Snow White – but in my version, the huntsman does exactly as the evil queen commands and cuts out the princess’s heart. This brutal act destroys him, but does it destroy the princess? Hmm, to not give too much away, I’ll just say that there are seven strangers in the forest with some pretty powerful magic who might take an interest in a poor, scared girl with a missing heart.

The idea of a lost heart, and the way the world often makes us feel as if our own hearts have been cut out, is a central theme in the story. I wanted to know why the queen gave that order. What happened to her to make her so cruel? What was driving her? Was it vanity, as the old tale tells us…or something darker?

What’s your favorite genre to read? And write?

For me, it’s really not about genre; it’s all about voice. I’ll read anything if that strong, beguiling voice is there. I’ll follow the author wherever she wants to go. I always know in the first few sentences if it is there, and I absolutely love falling under its spell.

What is your favorite fairytale and why? What made you want to write fairytale retellings? Do the stories hold a significance to you?

That is such a hard question! The Brothers Grimm are my favorite storytellers, but I don’t think I could ever pick just one favorite tale. I love Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, but I also love some lesser-known ones like The Fisherman and His Wife, The Companionship of the Cat and the Mouse, and The Little Mouse, the Little Bird and the Sausage that are quirky, ridiculous and darkly funny.

One of the biggest reasons I want to retell fairytales is that I have – I’ve always had – so many unanswered questions! Were the stepsister really ugly? Who said? And why do we believe them? Did the evil queen really ask her mirror “Who’s the fairest of them all?” or did she have a more important question to ask it? Why did the witch lock Rapunzel away? I need the answers. So I’m writing them.

With so many books about Snow White having been published before Poisoned, how did you make your spin on it different? Was it a challenge?

Honestly, I didn’t know there were so many! Clearly, I’m not as well read as I should be. The thing is, there could be a million other retellings, but each one would reflect its author – her unique perspective, her voice, her engagement with the characters, her years-long relationship with the story – and each one would be very different.

I don’t know that I made a conscious effort to put my spin on the classic tale; the story just unfurled. The need to write it came from many places. One of them was a plea for kindness that came from my main character, Sophie – the Snow White of my story. Sophie is kind and gentle, very good-hearted – but these qualities are not valued at her stepmother’s court—far from it. I wanted to understand how people defeat cruelty, how they face down ruthlessness. Sophie showed me that it isn’t done with more cruelty, with hateful behavior, or with violence; it’s done with kindness.

I know you write books in multiple genres like YA and historical fiction, have you ever thought of expanding to other genres? And with it being the spooky season, we have to ask, would you tackle horror?

I write historical fiction and fantasy for adults, young adults and middle graders, and I love moving between age groups and genres. It keeps things interesting. I don’t only read one genre and wouldn’t want to be limited to writing only one. I’ve never written a full-on horror novel, but I do incorporate elements of horror into my novels. Poisoned, Stepsister, Lost in a Book, and the Waterfire Saga all contain fantastical horrors like witches, ghosts, and monsters, and I really let my imagination run wild with them, always trying to up the ante and make them super creepy. My historical YA novels – A Northern Light, Revolution and These Shallow Graves – contain a different kind of horror: murder, oppression, rural and urban poverty. These horrors, real and shattering, need no embellishing.

What inspires you and your writing? What was the hardest part to write? Easiest part?

So many things! With The Tea Rose – my first novel – it was Jack the Ripper’s London; the streets of the East End took hold of me and wouldn’t let go. With A Northern Light, it was reading the letters of a nineteen-year-old murder victim. Nineteenth century New York inspired These Shallow Graves, and my lifelong love of the Grimms’ fairy tales inspired Stepsister and Poisoned.

For me, there is no hard or easy part with any of my books. They’re all really hard. Writing is not easy for me. I sometimes feel that I’m fighting for every word. I’m on my fourteenth novel now, so you would think I might know what I’m doing, but no – every new book is challenging in a new way, and the blank page still terrifies me.

What’s next for you? Is there another fairytale book on the horizons, one that can join Stepsister and Poisoned?

There is another fairy tale on the horizon.  The idea is very new, and I’m still getting my hands around it, so I can’t talk about it yet, but I’m super excited and can’t wait to share it with readers!

And lastly, do you have any book or author recommendations for us?

I’m currently reading The Night Country by Melissa Albert and Things in Jars by Jess Kidd, and loving them both.  I also loved Where the World Ends by Geraldine McLaughlin and A Map to the Sun by Sloane Leong. All very different books, but they have such strong, distinctive voices in common. Can’t wait to get my hands on Piranesi by Susannah Clarke, and Jack by Marilynne Robinson.

Will you be picking up Poisoned? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Jennifer Donnelly, Author of ‘Poisoned’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Read on to discover our picks and tell us in the comments below if any catch your eye!

Beyond the Ruby Veil by Mara Fitzgerald
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A dark, queer YA fantasy that’s perfect for fans of the Three Dark Crowns series and Wicked Saints. After Emanuela Ragno kills the one person in Occhia who can create water, she must find a way to save her city from dying of thirst. 

This Is All Your Fault by Aminah Mae Safi
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Set over the course of one day, Aminah Mae Safi’s This Is All Your Fault is a smart and voice-driven YA novel that follows three young women determined to save their indie bookstore.

Come On In by Adi Alsaid
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

This exceptional and powerful anthology explores the joys, heartbreaks and triumphs of immigration, with stories by bestselling and beloved YA authors who are themselves immigrants and the children of immigrants.

Hush by Dylan Farrow
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Graceling meets Red Queen in this exciting debut novel by an electrifying new voice.

Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston
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Ashley Poston, acclaimed author of Heart of Iron, returns with a dark, lush fairy tale–inspired fantasy for fans of Sara Raasch and Susan Dennard.

Swamp Thing: Twin Branches by Maggie Stiefvater and Morgan Beem
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

#1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater (the Raven Cycle series) and artist Morgan Beem unearth the primal power of memory and how it twists the bond between two brothers.

The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice by Lisa DeSelm
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Pinocchio meets Frankenstein in this dark fairy tale retelling where a young girl is commissioned to build an assassin for a dark-hearted tyrant.

Something Happened To Ali Greenleaf by Hayley Krischer
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Perfect for fans of Rory Power and Laurie Halse Anderson, this sharp, emotional debut follows two girls as they navigate tumultuous relationships, the effects of trauma, and what empowerment means to them.

Daughters of Jubilation by Kara Lee Corthron
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the award-winning author of The Truth of Right Now comes a stunning, grounded fantasy in the vein of Dread Nation that follows a black teen as she finds her place among a family of women gifted with magical abilities.

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From Jennifer Donnelly, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller Stepsister, comes a fairytale retelling that’ll forever change the way you think about strength, power, and the real meaning of “happily ever after.”

Everything I Thought I Knew by Shannon Takaoka
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A teenage girl wonders if she’s inherited more than just a heart from her donor in this compulsively readable debut. 

You Know I’m No Good by Jessie Ann Foley
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

This razor-sharp novel from Printz Honor winner and Morris Award finalist Jessie Ann Foley will appeal to fans of Rory Power and Mindy McGinnis.

What October YA releases are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post October 2020 Book Releases: YA appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

“What could you do? You’re a girl. Girls don’t fight. Stay here and cut cabbages for us, all right? Soldiers need to eat.”

Very condescending, isn’t it? This is throughout the whole story, painting the men in the novel as the villains. Women are less than favourable and are seen to be helpless shells, but don’t worry Isabelle is not one to fit that mould and she has no problem fighting it. However, prepare yourself for rude comments towards Isabelle and all other women! I won’t lie, there were several times that I couldn’t believe how they talked to each other and it did get me angry because of how ridiculous it seemed. There were even times I had to put the book down and leave because it got intense, so you’ve been warned.

Life is tough and Isabelle is no stranger to that reality, but she’s not what you would expect. In the older, darker versions of Cinderella, the stepsisters butcher their own feet in order to fit the infamous glass slipper and in this book that happens, but you know what you don’t see in the original? Her reluctance to follow through. She had remorse for stealing the Prince away from her sister, Ella, and she only continued the charade because she couldn’t fathom the idea of her breaking her mother’s heart. So this is not the stepsister we’ve come to know and this is just the beginning of how great of a character she is.

One scene that I will never forget was when she confronted the soldiers who beat her horse, Nero. They make crass comments about disciplining her for her bad mouth and she offers him to get a crop and they can see if he’s the one to teach her to stay in line.  She’s feisty and ballsy and a girl who will always fight for the ones she loves, even if she has to walk right in the line of fire (which she does quite a few times in here!).

She is hilarious in her ferocity and isn’t ashamed for fighting with her heart. Brave, courageous, and passionate, she is also intelligent and doesn’t care to act like “a lady should” and that was nice to see, especially in this world because she is laying the foundations for change with her behaviour as she shows how much a woman can do in a man’s world. Formidable and stubborn—she will not conform to their ways and the men in this story can’t stand that. Plus, she’s clever too and underestimated a lot!

“Change is a kiss in the dark. A rose in the snow. A wild road on a windy night,’ Chance countered. ‘Monster’s live in the dark. Roses die in the snow. Girls get lost on wild roads,’ the crone shot back.”

Jennifer Donnelly incorporated the idea of Fate versus Chance fighting over Isabelle’s life as another level to the plot which served as a third party perspective to the moments unfolding before our eyes and that was so creative and intriguing!

“Chance snorted. ‘Here are the things girls die of: hunger, disease, accidents, childbirth and violence. It takes more than heartache to kill a girl. Girls are tough as rocks.”

I absolutely adored Chance. To Isabelle he’s just an eccentric ringleader travelling with his entourage who she happens to stumble into, but he knows that it’s much more than that. The whole time he tries to protect her from herself, knowing exactly what choices will be her last and praying that he can stop her before it’s too late. He is a man that is not blinded by the blatant condescension towards women and this only made me love him more.

Speaking of men to fall for, let me introduce you to Felix, Isabelle’s childhood sweetheart. There was a lot of animosity between these two because of miscommunication and the blaming of each other for something neither one ended up doing but they found their way back to each other. Plus, all the ups and downs were juicy little tidbits that Donnelly sprinkled in right where you needed them.

I know you must be thinking that this isn’t a tale fit for romance, as it does follow Cinderella’s UGLY stepsister, but you would be wrong. Felix adores the very qualities that others find ugly and underwhelming. He’s a swoon-worthy guy that you can’t help but fall for and their bond over horses sparked an unforgettable love story.

He is probably the only guy that can compare a girl’s hair colour to a red squirrel and make it romantic, and if this didn’t have you falling for him, I bet knowing that he makes shoes out of wood to help a certain somebody solve her missing toes issue well have you reaching for tissues! Isabelle is constantly mocked over her looks and although she doesn’t let that affect her, Felix is the one guy who’s not hung up on it. All he can see is the girl who can tame horses and practice fighting like pirates.

In the tale, there were two stepsisters and Tavi is an intellectual force to be reckoned with.

“Try for whom, Hugo?’ she repeated, her voice raw. ‘For the rich boys who get to go to the Sorbonne even though they’re too stupid to solve a simple quadratic equation? For the viscount I was seated next to at a dinner who tried to put his hand up my skirt through all five courses? For the smug society ladies who look me up and down and purse their lips and say no, I won’t do for their sons because my chin is too pointed, my nose is too large, I talk too much about numbers? I wanted books. I wanted math and science. I wanted an education.’ Tavi said, her eyes bright with emotion. ‘I got corsets and gowns and high-heeled slippers instead. It made me sad, Hugo. And then it made me angry. So no, I can’t make myself likeable. I’ve tried. Over and over. It doesn’t work. If I don’t like who I am, why should you?”

This embodies so many emotions and powerful ideas. Tavi makes an excellent point. You shouldn’t have to force yourself to be a certain way just because society demands it of you. She knows what she wants and she will no longer try and lie to herself or others because she’s right, how can someone like you if you don’t like yourself. This was a classic example of what a fairytale does. It teaches morals or lessons for life and Tavi’s character has understood an important one, that many seem to forget. Despite it being 2019 and an overall more accepting society, I can’t help but feel like this is still relevant so I liked Donnelly including it.

Chance’s play was an amazing addition to an already great plot. It’s showcase of strong and powerful female rulers was empowering and I feel like it served as another lesson to all those with doubt. Doubt that women are limited in what they can say and do. And the use of successful women from history such as Elizabeth I was ingenius!

I really like how Donnelly expresses a clear divide between pretty and beautiful. Pretty is looks whereas beautiful is a matter of perspective. A lovely notion and a distinction that I once again feel is relevant to today. People may say one thing but still feel the opposite so this acts as a great reminder that you don’t have to possess what society has deemed to be pretty to feel beautiful.

This was a wonderful standalone that portrayed a feisty underdog of a heroine, friendships forged in forgiveness, and brimming with lessons that many of us forget, at one time or another. I definitely recommend this to any and all fairytale readers! It possesses a strong plot from start to finish and comes to a complete story by the time it ends, making it the perfect fairytale. Fans of CJ Redwine’s Ravenspire novels and A.G. Howard’s reimagined novel Stain will want to add this to their TBR pile! And if you were impressed by Donnelly’s writing like I was, check out her Beauty in the Beast inspired novel, Lost In A Book!

Stepsister is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.

Have you read Stepsister? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Isabelle should be blissfully happy – she’s about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn’t the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the prince’s heart. She’s the ugly stepsister who’s cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella’s shoe … which is now filling with blood.

When the prince discovers Isabelle’s deception, she is turned away in shame. It’s no more than she deserves: she is a plain girl in a world that values beauty; a feisty girl in a world that wants her to be pliant.

Isabelle has tried to fit in. To live up to her mother’s expectations. To be like her stepsister. To be sweet. To be pretty. One by one, she has cut away pieces of herself in order to survive a world that doesn’t appreciate a girl like her. And that has made her mean, jealous, and hollow.

Until she gets a chance to alter her destiny and prove what ugly stepsisters have always known: it takes more than heartache to break a girl.

The post Review: Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff pair up once more for their new sci-fi novel Aurora Rising, while YouTuber Christine Riccio makes her debut with a YA contemporary, Again, But Better. If it’s romance you’re after, be sure to check out Helen Hoang’s The Bride Test or Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue. Feel like getting lost in another world? Then you should explore Cate Glass’s An Illusion of Thieves or Hafsah Faizal’s We Hunt The Flame. Or perhaps if you need a good thrill, then Wendy Walker’s The Night Before or Thomas Harris’s Cari Mora might do the trick!

Read on to discover our picks and tell us in the comments below if you will be reading any!

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the academy would touch…

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
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A big-hearted romantic comedy in which First Son Alex falls in love with Prince Henry of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends…

We Hunt The Flame by Hafsah Faizal
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, We Hunt the Flame is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands.

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the critically acclaimed author of The Kiss Quotient comes a romantic novel about love that crosses international borders and all boundaries of the heart…

Again, But Better by Christine Riccio
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Shane has been doing college all wrong. Her life has been dorm, dining hall, class, repeat. She needs a change — there’s nothing like moving to a new country to really mix things up. Shane signs up for a semester abroad in London. She’s going to right all her college mistakes: make friends, pursue boys, and find adventure! Easier said than done.

The Night Before by Wendy Walker
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Told in dual timelines—the night before and the day after—The Night Before is a riveting thriller about family loyalty, obsession, and what happens when the desire for love spins out of control.

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Evoking the darker, older versions of the Cinderella story, bestselling author Jennifer Donnelly shows us that ugly is in the eye of the beholder, and uses her trademark wit and wisdom to send an overlooked character on a journey toward empowerment, redemption, and a new definition of beauty.

Cari Mora by Thomas Harris
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From the creator of Hannibal Lecter and The Silence of the Lambs comes a story of evil, greed, and the consequences of dark obsession. Monsters lurk in the crevices between male desire and female survival. No other writer in the last century has conjured those monsters with more terrifying brilliance than Thomas Harris. Cari Mora, his sixth novel, is the long-awaited return of an American master.

An Illusion of Thieves by Cate Glass
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A ragtag crew with forbidden magic must pull off an elaborate heist and stop a civil war in An Illusion of Thieves, a fantasy adventure from Cate Glass.

The Guest Book by Sarah Blake
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An unforgettable love story, a novel about past mistakes and betrayals that ripple throughout generations, The Guest Book examines not just a privileged American family, but a privileged America. It is a literary triumph.

A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay
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International bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay’s latest work is set in a world evoking early Renaissance Italy and offers an extraordinary cast of characters whose lives come together through destiny, love, and ambition.

The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay
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One of Madeline Cullen’s happiest childhood memories is of working with her Aunt Maddie in the quaint and cozy Printed Letter Bookshop. But by the time Madeline inherits the shop nearly twenty years later, family troubles and her own bitter losses have hardened Madeline’s heart toward her once-treasured aunt—and the now struggling bookshop left in her care.

Are there any books coming out this month that you’re excited to read? Tell us in the comments below!

The post May Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.