Sunday Read Recommendation - Ironside (Modern Faerie Tales #3) by Holly Black - My Review

 

Plot summary

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

Corny and Kaye decide to watch Ellen, her mother, perform in a bar. A male character is watching Kaye. Realising that this character is a faery, Corny attempts to get information from him in the bathroom. Kaye finds them and the faery curses Corny so that anything he touches withers.

Miserable and convinced she belongs nowhere, Kaye decides to tell her mother the truth that she is a changeling, long ago left in place of a human daughter. Her mother's shock and horror sends Kaye to the Seelie Court to find her human counterpart and bring her back to Ironside. Silarial offers Kaye protection to and from the court in order to offer her a deal, and a boy who can see through faerie enchantments, Luis (introduced in Valiant, the preceding book in the series), is arranged to lead them there.

Silarial offers Roiben a lifeline: defeat her champion and win seven years of peace while also placing Roiben's sister Ethine on the throne instead, or die trying. While she is in the court, the Seelie queen attempts to make Kaye use Roiben's name to force him back into the Seelie Court by bribing her with the return of the "real" Kaye. Kaye uses a fake name, then escapes with Ethine as a hostage. Kaye returns to her grandmother's house in order to retrieve her things where she finds her replacement, Kate, in her bedroom. Kaye talks with her mother, who accepts her as her daughter. Her grandmother thinks that Kate is Kaye's sister who she was never told about.

Corny later gives Ethine back in exchange for the release of Luis' brother, but his brother has already been killed and all the faeries return is his body. Luis attempts to use Corny's curse to kill himself in grief, but he puts Corny's hand on his tears, washing away the curse in salt water. Kaye then realises that Roiben is going to have to battle Ethine, not the knight Talathain as they assumed. She goes to warn Roiben. In order to speak to him, Kaye must complete his quest, and she does, claiming that she can lie, which in itself is an untruth.

Roiben goes ahead with the duel anyway, glad of the warning. He beats Ethine but asks her who she will pass the crown on to before killing her. The Seelie queen objects to this, but Roiben declares that his sister has the right to declare her successor even with her last breath. Silarial tells him that she may dictate the terms as the Bright Court will easily defeat the Unseelie Court in a fight; Roiben asks her if she will void their previous bargain, and Silarial agrees. At this, Roiben reveals that he has gathered an army from the exiled fae, which surround the Seelie Court, but Silarial then threatens Kaye's life. Ethine kills Silarial with the sword she had been given, declaring that Silarial is no longer her Queen. Ethine now holds the crown because she was Silarial's heir, but she chooses to give it to Roiben, saying "Take it and be damned." Roiben states that his sister's hate was a fair price to pay for peace and now rules both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts; peace will be held as long as he controls both courts.

Kaye strikes a deal with Kate to teach her about being a human in return for being taught about being a faery, in an attempt to help the girl adjust. Kaye tells Roiben that she plans to open a coffee shop in Ironside with Corny and Luis, who are now dating, and spend half her time in Faery; she reveals that she was able to say she could lie because "lying" can also mean lying on the ground.

Characters

• Kaye: A changeling pixie who is in love with the Lord of the Night Court Roiben; is given an impossible quest when she declares herself to him.
• Roiben: Former Knight of both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, now the Lord of Night Court. He is in love with Kaye, but in order to keep her safe from the evils of the Unseelie Court he gives her an impossible quest.
• Corny: Kaye's best friend; is scared of most faerys because he was controlled by them many times; is openly gay; reads manga; is attracted to Luis.
• Luis: A orphan teen boy who lives with his younger brother, Dave, whom he is trying to protect from the fae; is attracted to Corny; has the Sight (ability to see through glamour).
• Silarial: Queen of the Bright Court and Roiben's former mistress, whom Roiben once loved.
• Ethine: Roiben's sister, who was made heir to the Bright Court but later gives up the throne out of spite.
• Lutie-loo "Lutie", Kaye's faery, is like Kaye’s conscience.
• Ellen, Kaye’s mother, Kate’s real mother.
• Kate, Ellen's real child, is Kaye's counterpart.
• Adair: A knight of the Bright Court, he is sent into Ironside by Silarial to do her bidding. He first encounters Corny whilst searching for Kaye, who then tortures him for information. He is later dispatched in a fit of rage by Corny in the woods of the Bright Court.
• Talathain: A Knight of the Bright Court. In love with Ethine.

Sunday Read Recommendation - Valiant (A Modern Tale of Faerie #2) by Holly Black

You can press on the picture above, to reach Amazon site

My Review

I am a fan, of Holly Black and loved her first book in the series - TITHE (you can see My review HERE!) So naturally I went to the next book Valiant. I wanted more from the edgy, dark faery characters and settings.

The second book is very different as it not keep from the point the Tithe End. This is a very powerful book that deal with very difficult subjects like - 

• Betrayal and trust
• Running from home
• Homelessness,
• Addiction and its affects
• The true meaning of family and friendship
• About choices and making decisions and living with them.

The set of the book is start at New Jersey and move quickly in New York.

It has a completely different set of characters and the old set appear only vaguely, for a blip of time at the end of the book. 


The Plot

Valerie (Val) is the only child of a single mother that divorced from her father. Her relationships with him and his new family is distance and cold. Val is quite tomboyish. At the beginning of the novel, we are meet her is as a lacrosse player attending high school, and her eccentric best friends Ruth.

When Val discovers that her boyfriend, Tom, and her mother are having an affair. Betrayed and not sure where to go, Val runs away to New York City. there she meets a group of teen-squatters,  Lolli  (as in lollipop), Dave, and Luis.

On her first day with the gang, Val earns the nickname "Prince Valiant" It was after she helped a drag queen locate her shoe. This may be in homage to the Hal Foster comic strip Prince Valiant (or Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur). Though she earns the trust of the rest of the group, Luis remains wary of Val. 

She soon learns about the group's contact with a troll, Ravus. He lives beneath a bridge, a reference to the traditional fairy tale "Three Billy Goats Gruff". Ravus is the pruducer of the medicine, "Never", which faeries in exile take in order to resist the iron sickness in the human world. The exiles are dispersed throughout the city, and Dave and Luis must deliver the medicine to them. Luise own a great favor to Ravus because he saved Dave's life, after he had been shot by his own father.

Their father was a seer like Luis and he could see through the glamor of the fairies. This ability push him over the edge as we already talked about the fickle way of them. Anyway he did it in his one moments of despair, when he cam to conclusion that human can only lose against the canny creatures and to this world he can't have his family so he planed to kill them all and then kill himself. he succeed to kill their mother and wounded Dave badly.  (This subject of the cruel nature of the fairies will be discussed in more details, in the next in the trilogy)

But, here is the problem humans can take Never too, But for them it is an addictive drug. The differance from other known drugs which can give you the feeling of omnipotent powers Never can give you to ability to do  magic for a short time. And both things the drug and the magic both are highly addictive. Lolli and Dave introduce Val to "Nevermore", as they call it, and she, like the other squatters, is soon hooked. In the book there is descriptions of  the path of their falling without trying to make accuses of trying to soften the hard facts.

The relationships inside the group is weird . Dave is fell for Lolli but she is going after his brother, which ignore her. She actually drive Dave crazy. As the time goes by Dave attraction to Lolli got a sick turn same time as their addiction to the nevermore got worsen. He tried to make her jealous by convincing Val to make out with him.

Ravus, despite Val's first impressions as a fairy and a troll, is much kinder than he appears. when she impressed him with her spirit and courage, he begins to teach her swordplay and the bond between them strengthens.  But things got from bad to worse.Now too many exiles from the fairies courts are found dead by being poisoned and Ravus is the main suspect.

Things were going down the hill quickly, when Val's friend Ruth suddenly appear in NY, in attempted to convince her to return home. On the same eve the police appeared in their hiding place, Dave use magic and one of the police woman turn dead. of course, they had been forced to abandon. Ruth insists that Val must go home now and that she won't leave without her. Val agrees, but not before she is going to say goodbye to Ravus. She went to look for him in his alcove under the bridge, but he is not home. 

After along hours in waiting she looked for Ruth, Lolli and Luis by Belvedere Castle as they plan a head. Things turn weirder and weirder as Luis suddenly stated to hit on Lolli, and they made  sexual thenceforward ignoring all other things around. Luis informs Val that Dave has angrily stormed off, and nobody saw him since then.

In the middle of the night, Val awakes to see a tree-spirit faerie, who leads her to a festival by the water, where faeries and humans called "sweet tooths" (anthrall to fairy)  run around freely. Ravus arrives, and delirious and half-starved, Val kisses him. He was pleased, until Mabry arrives as well. Val had learned that Mabry is the one who was poisoning all the Fey and her it her purpose to incriminate Ravus to avenge him about an old matter that she see him accountable for.

Val tries tell this to Ravus but Mabry cuts in, telling Ravus Val has been stealing his potions. All the trust Ravus has in her is threatened when he discover about her addiction and her stealing from him and she flees away as he becomes enraged. But didn't quit, she was determine to prove it to him and the fearies who was looking after him.

Val and Ruth went to find evidence for Mabry's murders. After they broke into Mabry place, they found a harp in which Mabry has strung the hair of those she's killed, including that of Tamson, Ravus' best friend and Mabry's ex-lover. When the hairs are plucked, they sing of their deaths, revealing that Mabry is responsible for Tamson's death and Ravus' exile. The girls also find Luis.

The three of them come back to the false Luis and Lolli, and they realize it all the was Dave, uncontrollably high on Never he got from Mabry. In porpuse to win Lolli he made a deal with her, in In return he had to putt the  poison in Ravus' potions for her. Now that his scheme discovers, Dave takes off his glamor, laughing madly, and lose his conscious. Ruth rushes with him to the hospital and Lolli runs off.

Luis don't hold a gradge, aftet all dave his little brother and he is still responsible for him.  So, Luis and Val rush to find Ravus so he can cure Dave. They find him lying on the floor dying, Mabry has cut out his heart, and runs off to the Unseelie Court with it, so they can cancel her exile and take her back. The only way to gain time was , to pulls back the curtains and turn Ravus to stone, and then pursue Mabry into the Unseelie Court in new New Jersey and also Val's home.

In the Unseelie Court Val (and here we encountered Roiben as King and the pixie Kaye beside him) challenges Mabry to a first-blood duel for Ravus' heart. The king approve the dual, and Val start it with the glass sword belonging to Ravus. In this time she had to face her craving to the never, she know that it can help her with the magic but in the same time it is untrustworthy, as it can unbalance her too.

After this thing battle inside her, she finally decided not use the Never ever. Val fights Mabry on talent alone, stabbing Mabry in the throat and win. She and Luis rush back to Ravus, to  place his heart back into his chest, has a fairy it is working for him as he instantly heals. Ravus gives Luis the tools to go heal his brother, and he and Val finally admit their love for one another.

The important decision that Val made is to forgive. She forgave her mom and succeed to her her love to her. Eventually, make  her leave her drifting, streets life, and return home. She and Ravus continually will see one another, and Val says she plans to go to NY for college so she can see him. Val is happy her life is back to normal, with the exception of having a faerie for a boyfriend and never being able to introduce him to her mother. 

Characters 

Valerie "Val" Russell – Val is the protagonist. She finds out that her mother is having an affair with her boyfriend, Tom, and runs away from home. Desperate for change, she shaves her head and takes up living with a trio of homeless teenagers; Dave, Lolli, and Luis. Val's new friends introduce her to the fairy drug Nevermore to which she becomes addicted to. She gets caught in the homeless people's secret relationship with the faeries living among them. Midway through the book, she begins to learn swordplay from Ravus, a local troll, and eventually falls in love with him.

Ruth – Val's best friend. It turns out that she knew all about Tom and Val's mother. Several weeks after Val runs away, Ruth comes to find her and refuses to go home without Val.

Tom – Val's ex-boyfriend. He was having an affair with her mother, which resulted in Val running away.

Ms. Russell - Val's Mother. She and Val's father are divorced. In the beginning of the book, Val finds out that she had an affair with Tom, Val's boyfriend. Despite bad judgment, she genuinely cares for Val and is desperately worried when Val disappears.

"Sketchy" Dave – Luis's younger brother. Fall madly in love with Lolli, He is also addicted to Nevermore. Dave is not particularly loyal to anyone (not family nor friends) but himself, and strikes a deal with Mabry to frame Ravus for poisoning fey in exchange for her temporarily locking up Luis and also some more Never. Dave is in love with Lolli and resents his brother for her attraction towards him.

Lollipop (Lolli) – One of the homeless teenagers that introduced Val into the gange. Lolli is in love with Luis, but he does not return her feelings. Lolli has long aqua blue hair and only watches out for herself. She is also addicted to Nevermore and is responsible for Val getting addicted. She is also the one who discovered the powers that Never gives humans.

Luis – Dave's older brother. He has the Sight and lives in almost perpetual fear of the faerie folk. As a precaution against them, he had multiple iron piercings put in his face. He is blind in one eye, which was put out by a faerie when he was very young. Luis is easily the most responsible of the homeless teens, and would do anything for his brother, Dave, even though Dave typically resents the help. Before the book takes place, he struck a deal with Ravus to heal Dave from a gunshot wound in exchange for Luis' help with deliveries.

Ravus – A "young" troll whom Luis and Dave do errands for. He is a healer and makes medicine for the city fey to ease their sickness to iron. He is accused of poisoning several fey who die subsequent to taking his medicine. Ravus was self-banished from the faerie courts after he accidentally slew his best friend in a duel. Midway through the book, he begins to teach Val swordplay, and eventually falls in love with her.

Mabry – A half-goat fey who is responsible for the death of Ravus' friend. She was his lover, and weakened his armor during the duel so that when Ravus struck it, it offered no protection. Her plan backfired when she was banished with Ravus to "mourn her loss". She hates Ravus and planned to get revenge on him by framing him for a series of fey poisonings.

Other Covers for Valiant

Sunday Read Recommendation - Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black

My Review 

This is not my first book of Holly black and it's not the only one about fairies (The most famous of her is The Spiderwick Chronicles series which also turn to a movie.)But every time I find myself anew felling under her spell and for her incredible writing talent.

And I don't think that it is a kind of dark fairy tale like many reviewers claim, because any dealing with fairies is dark and risky. There are not such good faeries (the kind of Disney fairies) and in this meaning Holly give us a true feeling. Now I do some background

You see!

A shallow googeling about faeries you will give you the next -

The most common theme describes them as a race who had been driven into hiding by invading humans, were they believed to live in an Otherworld like existing underground, in hidden hills (many of which were ancient burial mounds. Another common feature is the their use of magic to disguise appearance a glamor.

Much of the folklore about fairies revolves around protection from their mischief and malice. Most of their descriptions consist of two distinguished kinds of them: One of, radiant, angelic beings and the other of, wizened ugly, monsters beings two of the commonly mentioned forms. Both of them of Immortals being that have magical powers.

The most prominent categories, derived from Scottish folklore, are the division into the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court and they are further divided into the Trooping Fairies (appearing in splendid processions) and the Solitary Fairies (mischievous spirits appearing on their own.

The Seelie court are known to seek help from humans, to warn those who had accidentally offended them, and to return human kindness with favors of their own. Other names for the Seelie court are 'The Shining Thron' or 'The Golden ones' and 'The light Court'. Still, Light fairies are known for playing pranks on humans and having a light hearted attitude, forgetting their sorrows quickly and not realizing how they might be affecting the humans they play pranks on.

The Unseelie Court or the "dark court" consists of the darkly-inclined fairies. Unlike the Seelie Court, no offense is necessary to bring down their assaults. As a group (or "host"), they appear at night and assault travelers, often carrying them through the air, beating them, and forcing them to commit such acts as shooting at cattle. Like the beings of the Seelie Court who are not always benevolent, neither are the fairies of the Unseelie Court always malevolent. Most Unseelies can become fond of a particular human if they are viewed as respectful, and would choose to make them something of a pet. Some of the most common characters in the Unseelie Court are Bogies, Bogles, Boggarts, Abbey Lubbers and Buttery Spirits.

All of the fairies love riddles.

All of the fairies can enthrall you, bestow you a good or bad luck and curse you.

All of the fairies can't lie (they can stretch the true or manipulate it but can't lie).

It is also believed that knowing the true name of a particular fairy can give you a power over him and you could summon it and force it to do your bidding.

Fairy gold is notoriously unreliable, appearing as gold when paid but soon thereafter revealing itself to be leaves, gorse blossoms, gingerbread cakes, or a variety of other comparatively worthless things.

For a protection you should use cold iron (iron is like poison to fairies, and they will not go near it) or charms of rowan and herbs, bells, Bread and salt and or the best is shunning the locations known to be theirs.

Also wearing clothing inside out will make you invisible to them.

Fresh running water will prevent them from following you. 

In any case you should not eat their food.

Delf-bored stones (with natural hole in them) will let you see through their glamor.

A considerable amount of lore about fairies revolves around changelings, fairy children left in the place of stolen human babies and abducting older people as well that are very talented in art like music or poetry or they are incredibly young and handsome.

And now to the plot-

The book follows the story of sixteen-year-old American Kaye Fierch, a young nomad who tours the country with her mother's rock band. The book begins in Philadelphia, at a gig her mother's band Stepping Razor is playing in a seedy bar in Philadelphia. After her mother's boyfriend and guitarist, Lloyd, attempts to stab her mother under the enchantment of Nephamael (a knight of the Unseelie Court) her mother takes her back to Kaye's grandmother's house in New Jersey to stay.

Once at her grandmother's house, Kaye begins to look for her old "imaginary" friends she had during her childhood, faeries named Lutie-Loo, Spike, and Gristle. However, she fails to find them and, begins to suspect that they were simply figments of her imagination. Her suspicions dissolve when she finds and saves the life of Roiben, a faerie knight, by pulling an iron-tipped arrow from his chest. In return, he grants her three truthfully answered questions about anything she chooses, which she does not immediately use. Soon after this, Spike and Lutie-Loo contact her and warn her that Roiben is a murderer who has killed Gristle. As revenge, Kaye tricks Roiben into telling her his full name (she later learns that faeries can be controlled by their true names).

Later on, her friends tell her that she is a changeling and that she should keep her human appearance, because the Unseelie Court wishes to use her as a "Tithe" in order to bind the Solitary Fey to the Court's queen, Nicnevin. Since Kaye is not mortal, the ritual will be forfeit, and the fey whom the Unseelie Court wishes to bind will go free. Kaye attempts to control her newfound abilities by enlisting the help of a Kelpie to teach her how to use magic. She is soon kidnapped by a group of fairies, as planned and is taken to the Unseelie Court to go through the sacrificial ceremony. Before the ceremony Roiben takes her to be prepared, having a dress made for her and allowing her to stay with him the night, where they acknowledge their feelings for one another. At the climax of the ceremony, Kaye uses Roiben's name to order him to free her from her bonds before she is killed, resulting in a bloodbath between Roiben and the court before they flee safely. In the process, he kills the queen of the Unseelie Court and many of her guards.

Kaye and Roiben spend the day at Kaye's home, and discover that strange events are affecting the mortal world. Odd reports of mauling and kidnappings are reported on the news and Roiben makes Kaye understand that this is a result of the solitary fey being free for the next seven years. Kaye receives a call from her friend Janet, inviting her to come to a Halloween rave held at the waterfront, she tries to persuade her not to go but fails. After a failed attempt to receive help from her "imaginary" faerie friends, Roiben and Kaye attend the rave. They are separated, and Kaye successfully locates her friends, but briefly leaves them to apologize to Janet's boyfriend for bewitching him earlier in the novel. However, she finds that the kelpie who lives near the waterfront has taken Janet into the water to kill her. In the novel, it is suggested that Janet went with him out of loneliness and a desire to get revenge on her boyfriend for going off with Kaye. Kaye follows but is too late and she manages to convince the kelpie to relinquish her body. Roiben finds Kaye mourning for her friend and gets her home.

The next morning, she and Roiben travel to the Seelie Court's camp some distance away to see if Corny is there. They reach a dead end, but discover that the knight (Nephamael) has proclaimed himself the king of the Unseelie Court. Roiben is suspicious of the situation and thinks that it is a trap for Kaye and him. Later, Roiben's suspicions are proved correct when they enter the Unseelie Court. Nephamael, who had discovered Roiben's true name from Spike before killing him, uses it to take control over Roiben. He orders him to seize Kaye, but Roiben uses trickery to let her get away. Kaye then devises a plan to poison Nephamael, while Corny and Roiben amuse him. She goes through with it; however, before Nephamael is dead, the Seelie Queen arrives, hoping to take over the court (right after her arrival Corny goes insane and stabs Nephamael multiple times, ultimately killing him). Roiben prevents the Queen's takeover attempt by claiming the throne as his


The Characters of the book (each one is a great characters):

Kaye Fierch - Kaye is the headstrong and independent protagonist of Tithe. She is secretly a changeling put in place of the real Kaye Fierch who resides in the Bright Court with Lady Silarial, though she herself is unaware of this until two thirds through the novel. She is intelligent, mature and full of guile but sometimes naive.

Ellen Fierch - Kaye's mother. A struggling rock singer, she tours the country with her rock band, Stepping Razor, until an attack by Nephamael in the form of a controlled Lloyd forces her to move back in with her own mother temporarily. Fiery sprited but caring, she is more of a friend to Kaye than a parental figure.

Roiben (Rath Roiben Rye) - A noble Seelie knight traded to the Unseelie Queen before the beginning of the novel as part of a truce agreement between the courts. He is a strong fighter and feared by many. He has a strong attraction to Kaye for reasons he does not initially understand. He is one of the main supporting characters along with Corny. Inwardly hating the cruelty he is forced to perform for his new Queen, he thus harbours deep feelings of self-loathing and self-despair.

Corny (Cornelius Stone) - Janet's older brother. He is quite antisocial and even entertains murderous fantasies, but he ends up bonding with Kaye. Along with Roiben, he is one of the main supporting characters. He is a computer geek who loves comic books and manga - yaoi in particular. He is gay and out to his sister and family, and comes out early on to Kaye. He enthusiastically helps Kaye when she discovers her faerie nature, but he is eventually seduced, enchanted, and captured by Nephamael who makes him his lover and slave. Corny seems to have a taste for submission and a certain level of pain, but he gets more than he bargained for with Nephamael.

Janet Stone - Corny's younger sister and Kaye's best friend since elementary school. Suspects Kaye of flirting with Kenny, as Kenny is mentioned flirting with numerous girls in the novel. She is oblivious to her friend and brother's faerie dealings. Later on in the plot a kelpie drowns her during a rave that Kaye and Roiben attend. Kay tries to save her but is unable to.

Lutie-Loo - One of Kaye's faerie friends from childhood. She is the classic 'Tinkerbell', being only as few inches high with cornsilk hair and wings.

Spike - One of Kaye's faerie friends from childhood. Harbours strong dislike and distrust of Roiben. He is killed by Nephamael towards the end of the novel after giving him information in the hopes of gaining his favour.

Gristle-The last of Kaye's faerie friends from childhood. He is killed by Roiben during a 'fox hunt' after stealing cakes from the Unseelie Court and does not appear in the novel.

Nephamael - Initially a knight of the Unseelie court, he is traded for Roiben as part of the Queen's truce. He hates his new "home" and delights in taking the throne of the Night Court for himself at the end of the novel. He is cruel, manipulating and ruthless, and takes great pleasure in toying with humans and lesser faeries, especially when he meets Corny, whom he makes his pet. He ultimately pays the price for his cruelty, slain by Corny in a fit of murderous insanity whilst under the influence of magic.

Silarial - The Seelie Queen, sister to Nicnevin and Roiben's former mistress. It is believed she orchestrated the whole plot to kill Kaye and free the solitary fey.

Nicnevin - The Unseelie Queen, sister to Silarial. Beautiful as she is evil, she passes her days plotting against the Seelie kingdom and amusing herself and her subjects with cruel pastimes. She selects Kaye for the Tithe in order to gain control of the Soitary Fey, though the sacrifice is interrupted by Kaye taking control of Roiben during the ceremony. She is slain by Roiben during ensuing chaos.

Kenny - Janet's boyfriend, he becomes attracted to Kaye because she unwittingly enchanted him.

The Kelpie - A murderous waterhorse and one of the Solitary Fey, who teaches Kaye magic and how to make a glamour in return for a carousel horse companion. He kills Janet later in the novel, luring her away from a party on the Pier.

Another covers
    About the Author  

Holly Black is a best-selling author of contemporary fantasy novels for kids, teens, and adults. She is the author of the Modern Faerie Tale series (Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside), The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), and The Good Neighbors graphic novels (with Ted Naifeh) The Poison Eaters and Other Stories, a collection of short fiction, and The Curse Worker series (White Cat, Red Glove, and Black Heart). She is also the co-editor of three anthologies, Geektastic (with Cecil Castellucci), Zombies vs. Unicorns (with Justine Larbalestier), and Welcome to Bordertown (with Ellen Kushner). Her most recent works are the middle grade novel, Doll Bones, and the dark fantasy stand-alone, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.

She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Theo, in a house with a secret library.

Sunday Read Recommendation - Riddle in Stone (The Riddle in Stone #1) by Robert Evert - Now $0.99 on Amazon and My Review

Now $0.99 on Amazon

Originally: $2.99

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Riddle in Stone

(The Riddle in Stone #1)

by Robert Evert

Goodreads Summery: 

Long after the last of the great heroes of old has died, the Undead King is stirring again, amassing a goblin horde ready to sweep out of the mountains and destroy all of humanity. The only thing preventing utter annihilation is Edmund—a stuttering librarian who knows a secret, a secret that every thief, assassin, and king would kill to have. Fleeing from relentless peril, Edmund wages a solitary battle against an ancient evil. But how can one man succeed when so many before him have failed?

My Review

I enjoy the reading not just because it is really good plot. It had all the ingredients that needed it to be a good story. Even if the main character is not the typical brave manly man hero.

Edmund is a quiet, shy, stuttering and chubby guy which best like his readings.Actually, More of the scholar type of guy. He knows many legends, can speak and read in several languages, but in daily basis, he is practically good for nothing, seriously, not the typical fantasy hero. But one miserable night change everything for him.

One evening, he was humiliated,due to his stammer, in front of a girl that he tried to court In the local village pub. As a result he got somewhat drunk, and decided to leave everything and goes on adventure. On the first night we had the pleasure to meet a dog with a lot of a character, which he named Thorax. Their relationships became more then a regular kind.

Before this rush decision to go on this quest, Edmund was familiar with a king’s proclamation for that granting a Lordship over the Highlands to the person who can locate and bring to the King the long last Star of Iliandor. In his own personal library lied the precious diary of Lord Iliandor himself, the beloved ruler of the Highlands who fought against and defeated the Undead King and his goblin armies in three hard-fought wars.

in the ancient tongue of Dunael, a language which very few living people could still read or understand, and luckily Edmund is one of them. The diary recount the end of the third and final war. It tell Edmund, about, when Iliandor died in combat, and when the blue jewel he wore upon his crown was forever lost. It also tell that a lone squire from Iliandor's army had managed to find his way back back to Rood, carried the diary on his person. Edmund is certain he knows where to start looking for the prized jewel and so far he didn't had an incentive to do anything about it. The insult in the pub was the last straw, and if he won't o this quest he will never do anything important in his life.

Of course, at the beginning, he did not make all the right responses – when he start he felt exhausted, his muscles ache, and he gets blisters, he is not fighting back when he is captured and he is not keeping all the secrets when he is tortured, but he grows and learns – But in this he is very humane. Edmund slowly changes as the adventure develops. But he possesses a great deal of knowledge, which helps him out of oh so many situations.

On the way, some of things he does terrifies him, but he does them nonetheless because if not, he will die. He loses weight, he becomes less selfish, and brave. This change in his character, enables him to save Pond Scum from the mine pits and develop a strong friendship with him.

There were also a bunch of ugly goblins, a troll or and elves. Two of the goblins - Kravel and Gurding - were simply brilliant with their humorous if somewhat morbid banter and their relationship with Edmund. (For example, they hate being called goblins because the name has evil vibes).
This make It a fun reading with all dry humor that Robert Evert generously insert into the story.

Even though this tell belong to the Fantasy genre, Evert sent deep roots into real life. His hero start has plump "geeky" confused guy... and even though he lost weight during one moment of bravery to do something with his 'worthless" life, inside he stay a confused geek.

All along the book, Edmund talks to himself in his head. It is a different kind of narration, but one that I have enjoyed.

I also liked that the author didn't hesitate to lift the glamor of fairy tell and made his hero facing with really life like decisions.

My readers, I loved reading it! 

I think you will love it too!

So I warmly, recommended it!!!

The next Book in the series
(Which I must read)