Book Review: Dearest by Alethea Kontis

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Title: Dearest
Series: Woodcutter Sisters #3
Author: Alethea Kontis
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: February 3, 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

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Purchase Links:

Barnes & Noble  //  Amazon  //  Indie Bound

Book Depository  //  Powell’s

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Dearest
Woodcutter Sisters #3
Alethea Kontis
HMH Books for Young Readers. February 2015
ISBN 978-0-544-07407-1
Hardcover

From the publisher—

Readers met the Woodcutter sisters (named after the days of the week) in Enchanted and Hero. In this delightful third book, Alethea Kontis weaves together some fine-feathered fairy tales to focus on Friday Woodcutter, the kind and loving seamstress. When Friday stumbles upon seven sleeping brothers in her sister Sunday’s palace, she takes one look at Tristan and knows he’s her future. But the brothers are cursed to be swans by day. Can Friday’s unique magic somehow break the spell?

What drew me to the first book in the Woodcutter Sisters series and the second and, now, the third, is the covers. The designer is listed as Christine Kettner but, as Art Director, Ms. Kettner is not the actual artist. Whoever it is, that artist and Ms. Kettner have true magic in the their minds, eyes and fingers. I’ve seen other beautiful covers but these stand out and just one glance tells me this is an Alethea Kontis book; that’s brilliant branding at its best.

Opening Dearest takes the reader into Ms. Kontis’ unique world of fantasy and magic, a world I’m always glad to returen to. Other authors offer re-tellings of fairy tales and some do it very well but the Woodcutter Sisters series has a certain feel to it, a feeling that you’re immersed in the story and, in this case, sharing the journey with Friday. I love Friday—I think she’s my favorite of the sisters so far mainly because she’s so sweet and kind—and Tristan is also very likeable but it’s the seven brothers as a group who make this tale so much fun.

There are a few missteps, especially when coincidences happen too frequently, and the only reason I can stand the insta-love is that this is, after all, a fairy tale but, generally, I’m happy with this entry in the series and will eagerly await the next one.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, February 2015.

The Other Woodcutter Sisters Books

Links for Enchanted
Goodreads – Amazon – Barnes & Noble –
Book Depository – Indie Bound – Powell’s

Links for Hero
Goodreads – Amazon – Barnes & Noble –
Book Depository – Indie Bound – Powell’s

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About the Author

Her published works include: The Wonderland Alphabet (with Janet K. Lee), Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome (with Janet K. Lee), the AlphaOops series (with Bob Kolar), the Woodcutter Sisters fairy tale series, and The Dark-Hunter Companion (with Sherrilyn Kenyon). Her short fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared in a myriad of anthologies and magazines.

Her YA fairy tale novel, Enchanted, won the Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award in 2012 and the Garden State Teen Book Award i 2015. Enchanted was nominated for the Audie Award in 2013, and was selected for World Book Night in 2014. Both Enchanted and its sequel, Hero, were nominated for the Andre Norton Award.

Born in Burlington, Vermont, Alethea currently lives and writes in Florida, on the Space Coast. She makes the best baklava you’ve ever tasted and sleeps with a teddy bear named Charlie.

Website – Goodreads – Facebook – Twitter –
YouTube – Tumblr – Instagram – Pinterest

Want to meet Alethea in person? Check
out her Road Tour HERE!

Follow Alethea’s blog tour here.

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Tour-Wide Giveaway

3 Woodcutter Sisters Prize Packs (signed copies
of Enchanted, Hero, & Dearest – US Only)
Ends March 8th

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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