TODAY ONLY: Bargain Ebook: Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer for $2.99

 

Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer is on sale TODAY ONLY in ebook format for $2.99. This is a fantasy novel with inspirations drawn from East of the Sun, West of the Moon (which also means Beauty and the Beast) and Tam Lin. Pure catnip for many of us. It's also well reviewed. This is the first time I've seen this on sale so I bought it, too.

Book description:

Echo Alkaev’s safe and carefully structured world falls apart when her father leaves for the city and mysteriously disappears. Believing he is lost forever, Echo is shocked to find him half-frozen in the winter forest six months later, guarded by a strange talking wolf—the same creature who attacked her as a child. The wolf presents Echo with an ultimatum: if she lives with him for one year, he will ensure her father makes it home safely. But there is more to the wolf than Echo realizes.

In his enchanted house beneath a mountain, each room must be sewn together to keep the home from unraveling, and something new and dark and strange lies behind every door. When centuries-old secrets unfold, Echo discovers a magical library full of books- turned-mirrors, and a young man named Hal who is trapped inside of them. As the year ticks by, the rooms begin to disappear and Echo must solve the mystery of the wolf’s enchantment before her time is up otherwise Echo, the wolf, and Hal will be lost forever.

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New Book: Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer was released earlier this year. It is a definite catnip book for many of us with inspiration drawing from East of the Sun and West of the Moon, Beauty and the Beast, Tam Lin, and Cupid and Psyche.

Book description:

Echo Alkaev’s safe and carefully structured world falls apart when her father leaves for the city and mysteriously disappears. Believing he is lost forever, Echo is shocked to find him half-frozen in the winter forest six months later, guarded by a strange talking wolf―the same creature who attacked her as a child. The wolf presents Echo with an ultimatum: if she lives with him for one year, he will ensure her father makes it home safely. But there is more to the wolf than Echo realizes.

In his enchanted house beneath a mountain, each room must be sewn together to keep the home from unraveling, and something new and dark and strange lies behind every door. When centuries-old secrets unfold, Echo discovers a magical library full of books- turned-mirrors, and a young man named Hal who is trapped inside of them. As the year ticks by, the rooms begin to disappear and Echo must solve the mystery of the wolf’s enchantment before her time is up otherwise Echo, the wolf, and Hal will be lost forever.

Bargain Ebook: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is on sale for $3.64 in ebook format at the moment. It was released earlier this year and this is the first time it has been discounted.

And why should you get it? Because it is a Tam Lin retelling and we collect those. Or I guess I do. So I have it.

Book description:

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R.R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin--one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin--and his world--forever.

New Release: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

(US/UK Links)

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is released this week in both the US and UK, see A Court of Thorns and Roses: UK Link. This is the first book in a new series by Maas and draws from Tam Lin folklore, which tends to be a fan favorite for many. Tam Lin, and this retelling, have Beauty and the Beast influences, too, so if that is your catnip, now you know of another book to add to your list!

Book description:

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin-one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin-and his world-forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristen Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

Bargain Ebook: Thorn Jack: A Night and Nothing Novel by Katherine Harbour is $1.99

Thorn Jack: A Night and Nothing Novel (Night and Nothing Novels) by Katherine Harbour is on sale in ebook format for $1.99. Released earlier this year, this is a Tam Lin retelling.

Book description:

Combining the sorcery of The Night Circus with the malefic suspense of A Secret History, Thorn Jack is a spectacular, modern retelling of the ancient Scottish ballad, Tam Lin—a beguiling fusion of love, fantasy, and myth that echoes the imaginative artistry of the works of Neil Gaiman, Cassandra Clare, and Melissa Marr.

In the wake of her older sister’s suicide, Finn Sullivan and her father move to a quaint town in upstate New York. Populated with socialites, hippies, and dramatic artists, every corner of this new place holds bright possibilities—and dark enigmas, including the devastatingly attractive Jack Fata, scion of one of the town’s most powerful families.

As she begins to settle in, Finn discovers that beneath its pretty, placid surface, the town and its denizens—especially the Fata family—wield an irresistible charm and dangerous power, a tempting and terrifying blend of good and evil, magic and mystery, that holds dangerous consequences for an innocent and curious girl like Finn.

To free herself and save her beloved Jack, Finn must confront the fearsome Fata family . . . a battle that will lead to shocking secrets about her sister’s death.

New Book: Thorn Jack: A Night and Nothing Novel (Night and Nothing Novels) by Katherine Harbour

Thorn Jack: A Night and Nothing Novel (Night and Nothing Novels) by Katherine Harbour is released this week. I have a review copy coming to me so I anticipate a Tam Lin reading binge sometime in my near future. Because I can't read one without rereading some others. Good news is that if we love the book, it's the start of a series.

The book is a retelling of Tam Lin. Which is always a catnip tale for me. I'm not sure how many times I reread Pamela Dean's Tam Lin while at university, long before I started SurLaLune. And according to Harbour, she loves some of the same Tam Lin retellings that I do. Too many of which are not yet available in ebook format either.

By Katherine Harbour from the Harper Voyager blog:

I began writing THORN JACK when I was seventeen—in the ‘80s, books about fairies were popular and I’d read the ballad ‘Tam Lin’ and other books inspired by it: Elizabeth Marie Pope’s The Perilous Gard, Diana Wynne Jones’s Fire and Hemlock, Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin. I was intrigued by the idea of a girl rescuing her lover from ancient creatures who wanted to sacrifice him for their own benefit. I’d also heard Fairport Convention’s eerie cover of the ballad. What inspired me to retell ‘Tam Lin’ as a modern story wasn’t just the romance between the mortal girl and the mysterious knight, but the idea that the faery queen truly loved Tam Lin—‘Out then spoke the Queen of Fairies, and an angry woman was she; “Shame betide her ill-faired face, and an ill death may she die, for she’s taken away the bonniest knight in all my company.”’ A sacrifice must be something of value for it to be effective. In THORN JACK, Reiko Fata, the faery queen, loves Jack, her knight.

The idea of setting ‘Tam Lin’ in a resort/college town that’s a getaway for theater and film people, the wealthy and the artsy, seemed a perfect way to mask the Fatas’ (faeries) beauty, eccentric style, and lavish parties (faery revels). At the ballad’s beginning, there’s a warning about the ruins of Carter Hall being haunted: ‘“O I forbid you maidens all, that wear gold in your hair, to come or go by Carter Hall, for young Tam Lin is there.”’ It reminded me of those abandoned mansions, like Wyndcliffe, in upstate New York. In Tam Lin, the heroine is compelled to explore Carter Hall. In THORN JACK, Finn Sullivan, the heroine, is drawn to the Fata-haunted mansions of Fair Hollow.

Book description:

Combining the sorcery of The Night Circus with the malefic suspense of A Secret History, Thorn Jack is a spectacular, modern retelling of the ancient Scottish ballad, Tam Lin—a beguiling fusion of love, fantasy, and myth that echoes the imaginative artistry of the works of Neil Gaiman, Cassandra Clare, and Melissa Marr.

In the wake of her older sister’s suicide, Finn Sullivan and her father move to a quaint town in upstate New York. Populated with socialites, hippies, and dramatic artists, every corner of this new place holds bright possibilities—and dark enigmas, including the devastatingly attractive Jack Fata, scion of one of the town’s most powerful families.

As she begins to settle in, Finn discovers that beneath its pretty, placid surface, the town and its denizens—especially the Fata family—wield an irresistible charm and dangerous power, a tempting and terrifying blend of good and evil, magic and mystery, that holds dangerous consequences for an innocent and curious girl like Finn.

To free herself and save her beloved Jack, Finn must confront the fearsome Fata family . . . a battle that will lead to shocking secrets about her sister’s death.

So what is your favorite version of Tam Lin?

New Book: The Mirk and Midnight Hour by Jane Nickerson

The Mirk and Midnight Hour by Jane Nickerson was released on March 11th and I have to admit it fascinates me. Nickerson released Strands of Bronze and Gold last year, a Southern Gothic Bluebeard retelling. This new book is Tam Lin, a favorite of mine--and several of you. There are some wonderful Tam Lin retellings out there--my firsts were Robin McKinley's short story and Pamela Dean's novel, both of which thrilled me. McKinley's is more traditional and Dean's Tam Lin is anything but, which makes it a love it or hate it kind of novel. I love it and have reread it more than a few times, although it has been several years now since the last rereading. I really need it in ebook format, please, powers that be! I have owned three copies already and one more edition would make me even.

Anyway, I love Southern settings being a Southerner myself and I love Tam Lin so this book is nearing the top of my TBR list. I've also learned that Nickerson is a friend of a friend of a friend, which happens in the the South.

Book description:

A Southern girl. A wounded soldier. A chilling force deep in the forest.
All collide at night’s darkest hour.

Seventeen-year-old Violet Dancey has been left at home in Mississippi with a laudanum-addicted stepmother and love-crazed stepsister while her father fights in the war—a war that has already claimed her twin brother.

When she comes across a severely injured Union soldier lying in an abandoned lodge deep in the woods, things begin to change. Thomas is the enemy—one of the men who might have killed her own brother—and yet she's drawn to him. But Violet isn't Thomas's only visitor; someone has been tending to his wounds—keeping him alive—and it becomes chillingly clear that this care hasn't been out of compassion.

Against the dangers of war and ominous powers of voodoo, Violet must fight to protect her home and the people she loves.

From the author of Strands of Bronze and Gold comes a haunting love story and suspenseful thriller based on the ancient fairy tale of “Tam Lin.”

Tam Lin: Modern Interpretations in Books

I have often debated adding Tam Lin to the SurLaLune site proper, but have not done so, especially due to the already great site at Tam Lin, although it doesn't appear to be updated these days. However, I wanted to share a list of Modern Interpretations similar to what I do on SurLaLune, adapted a little from Terri Windling's comments on the SMoST page as well as Wikipedia and my own ongoing list, so here goes:

Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones

Red Shift by Alan Garner

Tam Lin by Susan Cooper

Tam Lin by Pamela Dean

Winter Rose by Patricia Mckillip

An Earthly Knight by Janet McNaughton

Soul-String by Midori Snyder (no cover image)

The Queen of Spells by Dahlov Ipcar (no cover image) 

Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear

"Cotillion" by Delia Sherman in Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction

"Tam Lin's Lady" by Liz Lochhead in The Grimm Sisters and An Anthology of Scottish Fantasy Literature and The Poetry of Scotland

Tam Lin by Jane Yolen

Burd Janet by Jane Yolen in Not One Damsel in Distress

Wild Robin by Susan Jeffers (no cover image)

"He Said, Sidhe Said" in Finding Magic by Tanya Huff

Gnat Stokes and the Foggy Bottom Swamp Queen by Sally Keehn

The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst

The Nightwood by Robin Muller

"Tam Lin" in Book of Ballads edited and illustrated by Charles Vess

The Hawthorn Tree by Patrick Little (no cover image)

Feel free to add more in the comments.  I have edited this list several times today and have had it eaten in part by the server a few times.  I'm off to other projects now before I smash something...