A Star Looks Down

A Star Looks Down by Betty Neels, 1975 Harlequin Romance

     Elizabeth Partridge works as Staff Nurse at a busy London hospital preparing patients for surgery and releasing them to Recovery. Beth is a plain girl with a younger brother to support and is intent on giving her brother his best chance.
     When William introduces her to a visiting professor Beth is amused by the reverence her brother treats him to. Professor Alexander Van Zeust is a kind man in his later thirties to Beth's fresh-faced twenties but a handsome man, nonetheless. When the professor's sister is hospitalized for appendicitis he seeks out Beth to care for his four nieces and nephews.
     Beth and the children get on, but when one week turns to three, turns to five Beth finds herself falling for the kind doctor and his family. The professor, his sister, and her children invite Beth to his country home, near where she grew up; and later to their home in Holland.
     When disaster strikes and the professor discovers Beth, as unsuitable as she believes, has fallen in love Beth decides there's nothing to be done and returns to England. Whether the professor follows her or not, Beth has made up her mind and is waiting for Alexander to change it.
     Betty Neels wrote simple love stories with predictable plots, A Star Looks Down is a refreshingly unique installment full of old-fashioned romance. Suitable for readers of romance of all ages Beth's story is a new variation of the same, favorite melody.

Long May She Reign

Long May She Reign by Rhiannon Thomas, 2017 HarperTeen

     Freya has never felt like she fit at court: she says the wrong thing and cannot master the subterfuge the gaudy court requires. Instead, she would rather be in her laboratory completing experiments and discovering answers to her never-ending questions. Freya's father is the king's advisor and treasurer. He insists she attend the king's birthday party, but the stress of the court triggers a panic attack. Freya and her best friend, Naomi, escape back to her lab.
     After a night of experiments, Freya is stunned at the news the entire court has been murdered. Freya, twenty-fourth in line, is now Queen. She is rushed from her childhood home to the Fort where the remainder of the court is taking refuge. In a country which has not been engaged in warfare for centuries, the Fort is the only truly defensible location in the city.
    Freya and her new advisors investigate the murder of the old court from the old castle. She fights to become what the court is used to a queen being, but it is a real challenge for the young woman used to lurking in the background. Naomi continues to support the new queen as she meets the court and tries to develop her own style of leadership, and their friendship sustains through the challenges. The old king's bastard son, William Fitzroy, attaches himself to their small group. When Freya's heir, Madeline Wolfe, returns to court the young woman becomes part of Freya's new entourage.
    The group makes slow progress but when the old king's closest advisor and best friend, Torsten Wolfe, accuses Freya of murdering the old court to gain power the remainder of the court is split. Some follow Torsten in his bid to remove Freya from the throne, others flee from the brewing conflict, and still others remain and support the anxious young queen in her bid to change her country for the better.
    Despite her advisors' misgivings and apparent attempts to stifle her investigation, Freya is intent on solving the problem of mass-murder to clear her name and build a cohesive country which can flourish. At the final conflict, Torsten is up against Freya and her scientific mind - the strategist and the scientist vie for the superstitious nation's support.
    Freya's story tells of a young woman trying to find her place in a world she has never felt a part of. She discovers her own ability is more than she once believed, and that there are many different ways to win the support of her people. Long May She Reign is an underdog story and a story of facing challenges despite the fear of failure.

Belle's Song

Belle's Song by K. M. Grant, 2010 Quercus Publishing

     Belle's father is a bell founder and named after the bells he has devoted his life to. Belle' smother made their home run smoothly while Belle is absorbed by the stories in her head. When her mother dies, Belle is hopeless as a housekeeper and one of the widows in their London neighborhood moves in to care for the young woman and her father.
     She does take part in her father's work and while helping the men raise the bells, Belle is distracted and her distraction results in the large bell falling and breaking both of her father's legs. Belle's father is crippled and his work begins to fall off, but the neighborhood helps keep Belle's little family running.
     After her father's accident, Belle feels she caused the incident and she starts searching for a way to make it right. When a pilgrimage leaves from the local tavern to Canterbury, Belle decides to join and pay penance at the shrine, hoping to heal her father's injuries. Belle discovers that one of their party is the famous Chaucer.
    On their way to Canterbury Chaucer's assistant, Luke catches the pretty girls' eyes. Luke is the son of an alchemist who no longer wants to deceive audiences and is traveling to become a monk as penance. Belle is fascinated, though the squire traveling with the party seems to be just the right amount of courtly charming. Walter is a flamboyant young man on pilgrimage with his father as recompense for his sister's elopement against the church's doctrine.
     The trio become friends, though Luke is wary of becoming too attached to the pretty girl when he is meant to become a monk. When Walter and Belle appear to be more than mere friends Luke begins to distance himself from their interactions. Both Belle and Walter are concerned that their actions have pushed away the boy they're both falling for. Walter confides in Belle as they discover one of their party may be dipping into nefarious activities.
    A Catholic priest who gathers sins for the church is called the Summoner. The Summoner traveling with the pilgrimage has some sins of his own. When the Summoner blackmails Belle, she and Walter uncover a political plot against the king. They discover an unknowing Luke at the center and the pair work to untangle the knot around him.
    When her life and immortal soul are threatened by the Summoner, Belle is unsure what to do. She struggles with self-harm and an obsession with the number three. Her friendship with Walter and budding relationship with Luke driver her to challenge the Summoner and bring the nefarious plot into the open.
    Belle's Song deals with mature topics in a way younger readers may not understand including self-harm and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The tale is a retelling of Chaucer's famous Canterbury Tales with political intrigue and an unanticipated love triangle. Teen and young adult readers who enjoyed A Golden Web and In the Shadow of the Lamp will enjoy this tale.

Wait 'Til Helen Comes

Wait 'Til Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn, 1986 Harper Collins

     Molly is twelve, along with her ten-year-old brother, Michael, she aims to avoid their new seven-year-old step-sister Heather. Molly and Michael's mom married Heather's dad and the new family moves to a creepy old house - which used to be a church.
     Heather makes Molly and Michael's lives miserable, especially when she insists on playing in the cemetary in the back yard and Molly becomes responsible for looking after her step-sister.
     Young Heather starts talking to a ghost named Helen. She tells her step-siblings Helen will come for them and Molly begins to worry something is wrong. Every time she tries to say something to their parents, Heather twists the story around to get Molly in trouble.
     Molly's worries seem to be unfounded, until Helen comes and Heather is in bigger trouble than anyone could have guessed.
     Readers who enjoyed The Dollhouse Murders and other children's ghost stories will find a continued trend in Wait 'Til Helen Comes. With some concerning themes, including a homicidal history the story is aimed at elementary readers. Most young readers discount the darker elements of Hahn's writing, but when in doubt, please read the story before suggesting it.

Frogkisser

Frogkisser by Garth Nix, 2017 Scholastic

     Anya is a second daughter: the younger princess behind her sister Morven. The two girls lost their mother quite young, and their father remarried. Their stepmother had little to do with the girls leaving much of their education to the Royal Dogs. When the king died their stepmother remarried Duke Rickard. Neither their stepmother nor their stepstepfather could hold the throne and have been waiting for Morven's birthday.
     Morven is soon to come of age, but the Duke has plans for the little kingdom which preclude her coronation. Duke Rickard is a sorcerer of wicked intent. He has been biding his time and building his power until he can take over Trallonia. When it looks like Morven may fall in love with a visiting prince Denholm, the duke transforms her suitor into a frog.
     Anya, though young, has been studying sorcery and Morgen turns to her sister when Denholm is turned. Anya makes a sister-promise to turn the frog back into a prince. Thus begins her quest. Anya takes Ardent, an overexcitable new member of the Royal Dogs, and prince Denholm in his frog cage and they go searching for ingredients to create a transmogrification lip balm. Along the way, they encounter a boy-turned salamander thief-in-training, a Good Wizard, a band of brigands who steal from the rich and give to the poor, and an otter-turned-girl.
     As her quest becomes more and more complex Anya's patience and desire to take on more responsibility are tested. When the band of brigands introduces the concept of an All-Encompassing Bill of Rights and Wrongs, Anya challenges the idea that a second sister can make policy changes and considers what it could mean.
     Duke Rickard announces his plans to take over the small kingdom and Anya must hurry her quest to a quick conclusion, find the ingredients for Denholm's transmogrification lip balm, and return to Trallonia to save Morven and the rest of her subjects.
     Frogkisser is meant for middle-aged readers and is a twist on traditional fairy tales. Readers who enjoyed The Wizard of Oz and the Percy Jackson books will enjoy this upbeat tale.