This romantic, fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast is sure to make your heart skip a beat. Feyre is a young woman, struggling to support her family. They once lived the lives of prosperous merchants, but now have lost everything and are starving in a hovel. Feyre has taught herself to hunt and spends her time out in the dangerous winter woods. After taking down a deer and an enormous wolf, Feyre finally has food for her family and some extra money from selling the wolf's pelt. Just when she's feeling a little comfortable, an enormous wolf-like creature bursts into her family's home, demanding she pay the price for killing a fairie. It turns out the wolf was actually a fairie in disguise and now Feyre must either forfeit her life, or go with the creature to the fairie lands of Prythian forever. 

Feyre goes with the creature across the border that keeps the mortals safe from the powerful immortal fey and into the land of Prythian. She discovers that the wolf is actually a High Fey male named Tamlin who can change his shape. He tells Feyre that his estate in the Spring Lands is her home now, but Feyre knows that this beautiful place is not all it seems to be. Dangerous creatures roam the woods and an unknown terror is gaining strength across the land. 

Feyre's story will be familiar to readers as well as new and exciting. She is a strong young woman with a mind of her own who refuses to give up who she is. Sarah J. Maas is a wonderful new voice in YA fantasy with both this series and her Throne of Glass series. She writes unforgettable characters who will inspire readers. Her worlds are easy to lose yourself in and will feel very real. Some of the content of this particular series is mature so it's recommended for older teen readers. If you've already read, and loved, this book, then you should pick up A Court of Mist and Fury. The sequel is even better than the first one! Happy Reading!

Love knows no reason, no boundaries, no distance. It has a sole intention of bringing people together to a time called forever.
-- Unknown

Perhaps the quote above was in the mind of Richard Matheson, the author of the book “Somewhere in Time” or in the thoughts of the writers of the screenplay for the film; perhaps not.  It could easily be applied to this story of Playwright Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) and Actress Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour) and the love that lasted both their lives.   The difficult question posed by the story is understanding just when their love began?  Did it begin at the moment Richard first saw her, after the 1972 opening performance of his play when she presses a watch into his hands; or when Elise first meets him at the elegant hotel where he eventually returns the watch to her sixty years earlier? Theirs is truly a love that transcends time itself. Read more about Somewhere In Time

Quite a while ago I posted about the movie "Melancholia," a film about the end of the world and how people reacted to the knowledge that not only their lives would end, but also the lives of everyone else on the planet. Recently I watched the film "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World." As the title suggests this is another film about the end of the world. The premise is almost exactly the same; what effect would knowing you and your world will end in a matter of days have upon you. In fact these movies could almost be two episodes of the same movie. "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" stars Steve Carell as Dodge and Keira Knightly as Penny two individuals traveling together for very different reasons. Dodge is seeking his old high school sweetheart to spend his last days with. Penny just wants to be with her family. Read more about The World Ends.... Again!

I don't read enough young adult fiction, so when I came across The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight with its intriguing title, I decided to jump in. It tells the story of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan who is flying across the Atlantic to attend her father's wedding but only under duress.

"The Professor," as she tags him, left Connecticut a year ago for a four-month stint at Oxford, but never returned home to the family. He asked for a divorce from Hadley's mom, and Hadley has been seething ever since. Reluctantly, under pressure from both parents, she's boarding a plane at JFK International Airport.

The first thing that happens is she misses her plane. This really complicates things because she only gave herself a window of five hours from arrival at customs to being a bridesmaid at a London church. She gets scheduled on a jet three hours later. Hadley asks a woman to watch her bags and the woman angrily accuses her of breaking the law, but a handsome youth with a charming British accent offers to help. Read more about The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

While suffering withdrawal pangs from Downton Abbey last week, I came upon Alexandra Potter's light but literate Me and Mr. Darcy.  Like Downton Abbey it offers fancy English estates, afternoon tea on fine china, cool British accents, and couples in love.

You can tell that Alexandra Potter, a Brit, writing about an American heroine, has spent a lot of time in the States. Her bio notes that she travels often to New York and L.A. She has the American idiom down and captures Yankee humor well.

The book starts out with Emily (a New York bookstore manager) out on a date with a cheap guy who is calculating how much extra she owes for the pizza that they just shared. (She added toppings for her half.)  Unfortunately, Emily has a track record of being unlucky in love.  Her fashionable friend, Stella, who also works at the bookstore, invites her on a winter beach vacation with the hope of meeting new men. Emily refuses. Glancing at a flyer on the counter, Emily has a ready excuse--she can't because she's going on a one week "Jane Austen Tour."

Impulsively, Emily snags the last spot for the event and joins a coterie of much older ladies on the bus tour.  The only two men are the aged driver and a rather obnoxious, poorly dressed reporter who will be covering the event.

Potter has a good ear for snappy dialogue. Spike, the reporter, and Emily don't click at all. In fact, Emily really Read more about Me and Mr. Darcy