"What the hell?" I took a step closer to the mirror, staring at my reflection in disbelief. The person looking back was still me, but at the same time it wasn't. I had the same thick, dark, curly hair. The same hazel eyes. The same olive skin with a light dusting of freckles (ugh) scattered across the bridge of my nose. But my curls were now streaked with highlights. And not the subtle, golden-brown ones that sometimes appeared during the summer. No, these were an aggressive, dazzling blond that went from the roots of my hair all the way to the tips. It looked like I had spent a full day getting my hair done in some upscale salon. Never mind that I had never set foot in such a place since the day I was born. My eyes appeared somehow wider and more luminous. The colour brighter, my eyelashes darker up against them. And, when I looked closely, my pupils seemed to be slitted almost like a cat. I looked down at my body. My skinny arms-which had always refused to gain any definition no matter how hard I exercised-were lined with flat, wiry muscles. My bony shoulders were now curved and smooth. My scrawny legs were toned like a dancer. I reached down and lifted my shirt, revealing two subtle lines running vertically down my perfectly flat stomach, hinting at the rock-hard abs underneath. My whole body was rippling with strength. Like liquid steel.

#1 for a month on the Fantasy-Action Hotlist. Wattys2015 Winner. Fourteen-year-old Luisa is focused on staying under the radar at her rough London school, relieved that the summer holidays are soon to begin. Exploring the ruin of an abbey at night, Luisa falls into the underground land of Cataindar. The catains are a cat-like race, possessing powers and magic that most humans could only dream of. They have been expecting her. As the catain abbot guides Luisa through their world, Luisa finds out that things in Cataindar are not quite as they seem. Old secrets are discovered, new loyalties are forged and a dark truth puts Luisa's life in terrible danger. Cataindar is the first in a planned series involving talking cats, giant rats and an ancient power that will change the world as we know it forever.

"As soon as you believe you are a monster is when you become one." After many years of war, the kingdom of Edria is finally in an era of peace--peace obtained by one thing and one thing only. A deal. King Regol has made a deal with the devil, or rather, a beast. A monster. Or so he claims. When he uses the deal for his own advantage, he threatens a girl named Zara, who has had everything but her family taken away. Zara is ordered to kill the beast Regol made a deal with, unbenownst to her that the deal even exists. When her attempt fails, she is left with two choices: to never go back home, or to learn from the beast so she can take back what is hers. She faces dangers on the castle grounds she thought were only stories; magic, creatures that kill a person in a single puff of air, and lastly, the beast, who can barely control the darkness that has buried itself in him for years. The longer she is on the castle grounds, however, the more she realizes everything is more than it seems... ...and that she has a power she could only dream about. **** A retelling of Beauty and the Beast Wonderful cover by @nicegirlsreadbooks Highest rank: #1 in Fantasy #4 in Adventure