Kristen Barenthaler
Bio
Curious adventurer. Crazed reader. Librarian. Archery instructor. True crime addict.
Instagram: @kristenbarenthaler
Facebook: @kbarenthaler
Stories (370)
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Fantasy Reads: Young Adults
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh In this reimagining of The Arabian Nights, Shahrzad plans to avenge the death of her dearest friend by volunteering to marry the murderous boy-king of Khorasan, but discovers not all is as it seems within the palace.
By Kristen Barenthaler9 months ago in BookClub
Fantasy Reads: Adults
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman Neil Gaiman stays true to the myths in envisioning the major Norse pantheon: Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin's son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki, son of a giant, blood brother to Odin, and a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator. Gaiman fashions these primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds and delves into the exploits of deities, dwarfs, and giants. Once, when Thor's hammer is stolen, Thor must disguise himself as a woman -- difficult with his beard and huge appetite -- to steal it back. More poignant is the tale in which the blood of Kvasir -- the most sagacious of gods -- is turned into a mead that infuses drinkers with poetry. The work culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and rebirth of a new time and people.
By Kristen Barenthaler9 months ago in BookClub
Fantasy Reads for Young Adults: Historical
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare When sixteen-year-old orphan Tessa Gray's older brother suddenly vanishes, her search for him leads her into Victorian-era London's dangerous supernatural underworld, and when she discovers that she herself is a Downworlder, she must learn to trust the demon-killing Shadowhunters if she ever wants to learn to control her powers and find her brother.
By Kristen Barenthaler9 months ago in BookClub
Fantasy Reads for Young Adults: Romance
Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare Edwardian London, a time of electric lights and long shadows-- with demons waiting in the dark. For years there has been peace in the Shadowhunter world. James and Lucie Herondale have listened to stories of good defeating evil and love conquering all. But everything changes when the Blackthorn and Carstairs families come to London-- along with a remorseless and inescapable plague. James believes he has found love in the mysterious Grace Blackthorn. Cordelia Carstairs is desperate to become a hero, save her family from ruin, and keep her secret love for James hidden. When disaster strikes, dark and incredible powers are revealed-- as well as the true cruel price of being a hero.
By Kristen Barenthaler9 months ago in BookClub
Feel Good Fiction
How to Walk Away by Katherine Center Margaret Jacobsen is just about to step into the bright future she's worked for so hard and so long: a new dream job, a fiancé she adores, and the promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in a brief, tumultuous moment. In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Maggie must confront the unthinkable. First there is her fiancé, Chip, who wallows in self-pity while simultaneously expecting to be forgiven. Then, there's her sister Kit, who shows up after pulling a three-year vanishing act. Finally, there's Ian, her physical therapist, the one the nurses said was too tough for her. Ian, who won't let her give in to her pity, and who sees her like no one has seen her before. Sometimes the last thing you want is the one thing you need. Sometimes we all need someone to catch us when we fall. And sometimes love can find us in the least likely place we would ever expect.
By Kristen Barenthaler9 months ago in BookClub
Gothic TV & Movies
Castle Rock: Castle Rock is an American supernatural horror television series, adapted from Stephen King's fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. The series was created by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason, and premiered on July 25, 2018, on Hulu.
By Kristen Barenthaler9 months ago in Geeks
Gothic Novels: Series Starters
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews Such wonderful children. Such a beautiful mother. Such a lovely house. Such endless terror! It wasn't that she didn't love her children. She did. But there was a fortune at stake—a fortune that would assure their later happiness if she could keep the children a secret from her dying father. So she and her mother hid her darlings away in an unused attic. Just for a little while. But the brutal days swelled into agonizing years. Now Cathy, Chris, and the twins wait in their cramped and helpless world, stirred by adult dreams, adult desires, served a meager sustenance by an angry, superstitious grandmother who knows that the Devil works in dark and devious ways. Sometimes he sends children to do his work—children who—one by one—must be destroyed.... 'Way upstairs there are four secrets hidden. Blond, beautiful, innocent struggling to stay alive....'
By Kristen Barenthaler9 months ago in BookClub
Gothic Novels: Contemporary
Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales by Melissa Marr , Tim Pratt, Neil Gaiman , Carrie Ryan , Gene Wolfe , Kelley Armstrong , Rick Yancey , Kami Garcia , Charles Vess , Holly Black , Garth Nix , Margaret Stohl , & Saladin Ahmed
By Kristen Barenthaler9 months ago in BookClub
Gothic Novels: Horror
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley This edition is the original 1818 text, which preserves the hard-hitting and politically charged aspects of Shelley's original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong female voice. This edition also includes a new introduction and suggestions for further reading by author and Shelley expert Charlotte Gordon, literary excerpts and reviews selected by Gordon and a chronology and essay by preeminent Shelley scholar Charles E. Robinson.
By Kristen Barenthaler9 months ago in BookClub
Gothic Novels: Romance
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë Emily Brontë's only novel, a work of tremendous and far-reaching influence, the Penguin Classics edition of Wuthering Heights is the definitive edition of the text, edited with an introduction by Pauline Nestor. Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange, situated on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord. There he discovers the history of the tempestuous events that took place years before; of the intense relationship between the gypsy foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw; and how Catherine, forced to choose between passionate, tortured Heathcliff and gentle, well-bred Edgar Linton, surrendered to the expectations of her class. As Heathcliff's bitterness and vengeance at his betrayal is visited upon the next generation, their innocent heirs must struggle to escape the legacy of the past.
By Kristen Barenthaler9 months ago in BookClub
Gothic Novels: Southern Gothic
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt interweaves a first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case.
By Kristen Barenthaler9 months ago in BookClub
Gothic Novels: The Female Gothic
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent: Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution.
By Kristen Barenthaler9 months ago in BookClub
