I'm not a fan of graphic novels (I don't know why, but my brain doesn't like reading them) and was unnerved/disturbed/left bewildered by this, which is not a good state when one is reading something for class as it tends to be difficult to discuss. Oh well.

My favorite two books in the Vorkosigan Saga. I highly recommend the series, but these two books in particular are excellently handled, above and beyond Bujold's usual skills.

I was really unimpressed with this book, which was sad as I had been informed that it was one of the best Beauty and the Beast versions that deals with the Beast out there.
I had two main problems. The first was that Napoli did not seem to understand that she was writing a novel rather than a textbook about the Ottoman empire. For example, if you've done the research and know all the Arabic words for the things in the story, either use ONLY the Arabic and deploy context, description and the occasional explanation to keep the reader aware or just use the English words for the foods and spices and animals. Good fantasy novelists do this all the time; they invent whole languages and subtly manage to introduce the new words and meanings into the story without making it feel overloaded and irrelevant. Napoli could use some of their skill so that especially the first third of the book feels more like a fairy tale and less like a history.
Of course, that still wouldn't fix my biggest problem with the story, which is that the main character, Prince Orasmyn, was one of the most boring main characters I had ever read. He felt as though he was saying or thinking the words the page in the kind of monotone that 6 year olds use in first grade performances. There was no life to his character, no sense of person, no soul! I was inside his head and couldn't believe he was interesting. I could not bring myself to care one whit what happened to him.
Napoli answers why the Beast's story is never told--because even after telling it, "Beauty and the Beast" is no better off.

So I had this great resolution that, since I'm moving across the country in a week, I would stop taking books out of the library so I could get through the ones I already have out. Then I finally noticed that the final book in Brennan's Demon Lexicon series was out, so, you know, so much for my resolutions.

I've really enjoyed this series since the beginning - I've always found it to be a great example of what YA urban fantasy could rise to be. Brennan's ability to write three books from three distinct perspectives (especially Nick's, in the first book) has always impressed me and held my attention. The world she created is equally compelling and she clearly has a great feel for making magic come alive.

My other reason for loving this book is that she writes fantastic YA characters, with the right balance of snarkiness, intelligence and distance that they carry the story, make it more compelling, but don't get in the way of the plot. It's a YA thing - plot, setting and story have to work in tandem and balance one another in a Young Adult novel in a way that they don't in an adult one. And I think Brennan strikes and keeps that balance throughout the story.

So, yes, good for her. And I'm so pleased this trilogy came to an end and everything worked out and...yeah, it made me happy. This was just such a well-crafted set of three books and it completely fed my desire for an exciting and thrilling urban fantasy novel that actually works. That's definitely what makes this series stand out for me - plot, characters, setting, writing, style all work without a hitch.