The Plague by Joanne Dahme

Fifteen year-old Nell is the spitting image of Princess Joan. With her parents dead of plague, Nell takes the job of royal body double to feed herself and her younger brother, George. And for a while, everything seems wonderful. The princess is kind, Nell learns how to read, George is happy. And then, on a trip to marry Princess Joan to the prince of Spain, everything goes horribly wrong. Add in an evil Prince, the plague, a crime, and an army of unholy rats and poor Nell and her brother are in for a terrible journey home.

This book was certainly interesting at the story's start. Real world historical events are twisted and warped with sorcery to make a nasty villain. While reading, I did find myself wishing that the author had chosen to make such and such happen or that parts of the story were changed. The beginning of the book is really interesting and effectively captivates the reader but then, it falls flat. My attention wavered and in a book with just over 250 pages, this is not a good thing. Sometimes, I even lost what was happening in the story. I was saying "Wait...when did THAT happen?!"a lot. I did finish the book and the ending was hugely unsatisfying for me. I felt a little bit irritated that after 200 pages, nothing happened.

As I said, the beginning was really interesting; the book started with a great idea and I think this book could have been fascinating but as it was, it was not a book I was really glad I had read.

Nevertheless, if this book sounds interesting, consider these: The Magic and the Healing or Bewitching Season.

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt

You know you've got your hands on a great book when you just mean to read the first page at the library and end up cross-legged in the stacks, intent on finishing it. This is one of those can't-put-it-down kind of books.

Keturah is the village beauty and a great storyteller. One day she follows a magical hart into the forest. She gets lost for three days. She is supposed to die. When Lord Death meets the lovely girl, however, he finds himself making a bargain with her. She may keep her life if she finds her one true love within the time allowed.

This is a romance, no way around it. And generally, I'm not super crazy about romances. But this book is engrossing. Keturah is interesting to follow and the character of Lord Death is mysterious and alluring. The story is full of fantasy, character interaction and displays the fears of dying any fifteen year old girl likely possess. Additionally, the story is not long by any means; at barely 200 pages most readers can finish the book in an afternoon. Of course, most readers will know what the ending is within the first twenty pages, but I found that knowing this made the story no less enjoyable to me.

If this book sounds interesting, consider these: Ella Enchanted, The Fairy Godmother or Magic Under Glass.