Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

The Blurb On The Back:

There is no Blurb on the Back.

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The Verdict:

If you love watching the play performed, then you'll love reading the original text.

Tithe: A Modern Tale of Faerie by Holly Black

The Blurb On The Back:

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band, until an ominous attack forces them back to her childhood home.

To the place where she used to see Faeries.

They're still there. But Kaye's not a child any more. This time she's dragged into the thick of their dangerous, frightening world. A realm where black horses dwell beneath the sea, desperate to drown you ... where the sinister Thistlewitch divines dark futures ... and where dashing Faerie knights are driven to perform acts of brutal depravity for the love of their uncaring queens.

Once there, Kaye finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival Faerie kingdoms - a struggle that could end in her death ...

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Wonderful writing and imagery cannot make up for the gossamer thin plot and poor characterisation. Disappointing.

Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie by Holly Black

The Blurb On The Back:

When seventeen-year-old Valerie Russell runs away to New York City, she's trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city's labyrinthine subway system.

But there's something eerily beguiling about Val's new friends. Impulsive Lolli talks of monsters in the subway tunnels they call home and of a powder that makes shadows dance around her. Severe Luis claims he can make deals with creatures no one else can see. And then there's Luis's brother, Dave, who makes the mistake of letting Val tag along as he makes a delivery to a woman who has goat hooves instead of feet.

When a bewildered Val allows Lolli to talk her into tracking down the hidden lair of the creature for whom Luis and Dave have been working, Val finds herself bound into service by a troll named Ravus. He is as hideous as he is honourable, and as Val grows to know him, she finds herself torn between affection for him - and fear of what her new friends are becoming because of him.

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The Verdict:

A more satisfying read than Tithe in terms of the underlying story, the continued poor characterisation means that this is a faery tale that's too lacking in credibility to be really enjoyable.