Fairy Tale Gifts 6: Cheri Williams

I had to take the weekend off so I didn't finish drafting many of the posts I intended to do. The good/bad news is that I only have one new entry in the December Giveaway: Favorite Fairy Tale Things, this time from Cheri Williams who sent me links from her blog of books she's loved recently. We (readers and myself) want more! Send me your lists or even one item. You are making my own list longer with things I've not focused on. And if something has been mentioned before, that just means it's popular with many and we like to know that, too.

From Cheri, gleaned from her email and blog--one isn't due out until April 2012 so no holiday gifting on it:

Two of my fave reads for 2011 are:

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson. Here's a review from Cheri's blog:

Lucero-Elisa de Rigqueza, Elisa, is Orovalle’s second-born princess, the spare. Useless and floundering—until, at sixteen years old, a bargain for troops in an impending war foists her into marriage with a widowed king she’s never met, thrusts her into a foreign land and forces her to fight for life, love and country. Not to mention the fact that there are those would kill her—or worse—for the Godstone living in her navel.

The balance of life-and-death stakes and Elisa’s every-girl worries, fears and hurts kept me reading THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS at a pace I feared would burn out my Kindle. Chock full of characters to love, hate and suspect of every kind of treachery, prose that seriously had me drooling on my screen, a world I didn’t want to leave, and just the right amount of romance—this book has something for everyone. Including a perfect ending! One that’s completely satisfying and has me DYING for more.

His Fair Assassin by Robin LaFevers isn't out until April, but here's a quick review from Cheri's blog:

I have a new favorite! Grave Mercy: His Fair Assassin by Robin LaFevers

Rescued from a lifetime of abuses, Ismae Rienne escapes to the convent of St. Mortain. There she is accepted. There she is admired. There they know she was sired by Death himself and will train her to do his bidding. To kill at his command. A task she’s perfectly suited for—until she meets Duval.

A YA romantic historical fantasy set in medieval France—with teen girl assassins. Could there be a more idyllic book for me?! No. No there couldn’t. Perfect prose that hooked me fast, a cast of characters so real I couldn’t leave them, action, mystery, dollops of humor and ROMANCE. Oh my… the romance. Grave Mercy now sits on my list of all-time favorites.

Cheri Williams
Author / Publicist / Public Menace
www.cheriwilliams.com