Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: The Romeo Catchers
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.thecasquettegirls.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://www.thecasquettegirls.com/bio/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
| LC control no.: | no2015105134 |
|---|---|
| LCCN Permalink: | https://lccn.loc.gov/no2015105134 |
| Descriptive conventions: | rda |
| Personal name heading: | Arden, Alys |
| Variant(s): | Alys, Lauren |
| Associated place: | New York |
| Located: | New Orleans (La.) |
| Field of activity: | Young adult fiction |
| Other attribute: | Pseudonym |
| Profession or occupation: | Author |
| Found in: | Arden, Alys. Casquette girls, ©2013: title page (Alys Arden) author bio. (grew up in New Orleans, lived in New York) |
| laurenalys.com, personal website Aug. 8, 2015 (Lauren Alys, a.k.a. Alys Arden, created in 2012) | |
| Associated language: | eng |
PERSONAL
Born in New Orleans, LA.
EDUCATION:University of New Orleans, B.S.B.A., 2003; RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, M.A., 2008.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Le Chat Noir, marketing director, 2001-03; Blue Man Productions, creative development project manager, 2003-06; Deep Focus, account planner, 2006-08; Undercurrent, strategy director, 2008-11; Hyper Island, global creative director, 2011-12; 3rd Ward, Brooklyn, NY, marketing director, 2012; FORtheARTofIT, strategist, facilitator, and writer, 2013-. Hyper Island, lecturer, facilitator, and master-class program designer, 2010-.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Alys Arden’s work has taken her around the world, but absence from her hometown of New Orleans has only intensified her attachment to the French Quarter, where her life began. Arden graduated from the University of New Orleans in 2003 with a degree in marketing and a minor in drama. Her first employer was the former New Orleans cabaret theater Le Chat Noir, where she worked as a marketing coordinator. She moved on to Blue Man Productions, a multinational entertainment company with theatrical and digital media operations around the world. Digital marketing became her specialty at Deep Focus and Undercurrent. With Hyper Island, Arden traveled the world to design programs for the intersection where people interface with design and commerce through digital technology. Beyond that intersection hovered the ephemeral memories of the exotic place she once called home. One winter day, in a city on the other side of the world, Arden began to weave those memories into a “slow-burning dark fantasy” of “magic and mystery,” according to a starred review in Publishers Weekly.
The Casquette Girls
The Casquette Girls is a paranormal romance set in a city well known for its otherworldly population. Adele Le Moyne is sixteen years old when she and her father flee their New Orleans home to escape the fury of the massive no-name hurricane they call “The Storm.” They return to a waterlogged house and a postapocalyptic cityscape, but Adele is relieved to be home in the city she loves. The city has changed, however, and so will Adele. She finds a corpse, one of many that will follow. She is clawed by an aggressive crow and then pelted with shards when an attic window in an old convent suddenly explodes above her head. She discovers that she has an eerie talent for controlling metal objects with her mind.
Adele explores the ruined streets in search of old friends and meets odd new ones, including the enigmatic young shape-shifter Isaac, who can take the form of a crow, and the darkly seductive Nicco Medici. Both of them will vie for her affection, each in his own way. Then she finds the 300-year-old diary of Adeline Saint-Germaine and learns that Nicco was once known to Adeline, too.
Adeline came to New Orleans in the early 1700s with “the casquette girls,” who were selected from French orphanages and convents for their virtue and piety, then sent by order of the king to marry Creole settlers in the New World. The moniker came from the wooden casquettes, or chests, that were said to contain the orphaned girls’ wedding finery and royal dowry. Legend has it that the chests were stored in the attic of the convent, untouched for years. When they were finally opened, the chests were empty, giving rise to rumors that the orphans had, wittingly or not, introduced a clan of vampires to the Louisiana territory of New France. The purported residents of the coffin-shaped chests have been sealed off in the attic for centuries, until Adele’s presence accidentally sets them free to suck the blood of their victims, leaving the clawed bodies to rot in the storm-ravaged streets.
The legend suggests that the casquette girls may have used witchcraft to subdue the vampires on their long sea journey to America. When it dawns on her that she is descended from an ancient coven of witches through her relationship to Adeline, Adele gathers a coven of modern-day practitioners in the hope of subduing the thirsty monsters. Her goal is to stop the carnage and restore a sense of normalcy to her beloved city. Then Adeline’s diary reveals another mysterious and unsettling family connection: one that could threaten her lofty goal.
Critics were enchanted by The Casquette Girls. The fantasy is anchored by the “weight of history,” explained the reviewer in Publishers Weekly. The author “offers readers a full plate of Southern gothic atmospherics and sparkling teen romance,” reported a contributor to Kirkus Reviews, and “Arden’s insights regarding her fragile city color the narrative with tragic realism.” Her love for the city “shines through her prose,” observed the author of the Nicolette Andrews Website, who complimented Arden for her “lush writing style and tangible descriptions.”
The Romeo Catchers
Adele’s adventures continue in The Romeo Catchers. She and her coven have used their magic to trap the vampires in the attic of the convent, but Adele is far from satisfied. She knows that the vampires are victims of an ancient curse, and only a witch can free them. Adele has a secret that she has not even shared with Isaac: one of the vampires is her own mother. Adele must balance the compulsion to free her mother against the potential repercussions for her mission to protect her city. The mission draws Adele toward the magnetic Nicco, whose dreams of ancient Florence might offer valuable guidance, if she can resist his charismatic allure. Isaac senses a danger even greater than Nicco’s hold over the girl he is learning to love: a secret from his own past that could destroy everything.
Reviewers were generous with their praise. To a Kirkus Reviews commentator, The Romeo Catchers represents “a meticulous blend of witchery, New Orleans lore, and teen angst.” School Library Journal contributor Amanda Raklovits found this installment to be “every bit as engrossing as the first, with deftly drawn character arcs and a captivating setting.” Kerry Sutherland predicted in RT Book Reviews that “readers will be enchanted and horrified in turn.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2014, review of The Casquette Girls; March 15, 2017, review of The Romeo Catchers.
Publishers Weekly, May 26, 2014, review of The Casquette Girls, p. S24.
Publishers Weekly Annual 2014, review of The Casquette Girls, p. 95.
School Library Journal, May, 2017, Amanda Raklovits, review of The Romeo Catchers, p. 100.
ONLINE
Advocate Online, http://www.theadvocate.com/ (February 7, 2015), Phil McCausland, author interview.
Alys Arden Website, http://www.alysarden.com (January 31, 2018).
Book Country, http://blog.bookcountry.com/ (September 23, 2013), Nevena Georgieva, author interview.
Casquette Girls Website, http://www.thecasquettegirls.com/ (January 31, 2018), author profile.
Fairy Dust Book Blog, https://thefairydustbookblog.wordpress.com/ (June 10, 2017), review of The Romeo Catchers.
Lauren Alys Website, http://laurenalys.com (February 1, 2018).
Nicolette Andrews Website, http://www.fantasyauthornicoletteandrews.com/ (April 24, 2015 ), review of The Casquette Girls.
RT Book Reviews, https://www.rtbookreviews.com/ (February 4, 2018), Kerry Sutherland, review of The Romeo Catchers.
Times-Picayune Online, http://www.nola.com/ (April 15, 2015), Chris Waddington, author interview.
TOR.com, https://www.tor.com/ (September 17, 2014), author interview.
Two Chicks on Books, http://www.twochicksonbooks.com/ (May 23, 2017), review of The Romeo Catchers.
Linked In
Lauren Alys Puglia
Strategist, Writer, Facilitator, etc.
fortheartofit
University of New Orleans
Greater New York City Area
Experience
fortheartofit
Strategist, Writer, Facilitator, etc.
Company Name fortheartofit
Dates Employed Jan 2013 – Present Employment Duration 5 yrs 1 mo
Location Nomadic
Hyper Island
Master Class Program Designer / Facilitator / Lecturer
Company Name Hyper Island
Dates Employed Jun 2010 – Present Employment Duration 7 yrs 8 mos
Location 14+ countries
With Hyper Island I design programs that accelerate learning in areas where technology, people, design, and commerce intersect. Topics could include but are not limited to: Digital Anthropology, Marketing & Strategy Comms, the Internet of Things, Company/Team Culture, Process Design for Innovation, Effective Brainstorming & Ideation, Mobile, UX, Customer-Centricity, etc.
Select clients include: Google, Dentsu, Yahoo, IAB, Unilever, Ogilvy, Hyundai, Saatchi & Saatchi, Arnold, Cheil, Media Arts Lab, Telefonica, Les Gaulois, BBDO
3rd Ward
Marketing Director
Company Name 3rd Ward
Dates Employed Apr 2012 – Dec 2012 Employment Duration 9 mos
Location Brooklyn
Hyper Island
Global Creative Director
Company Name Hyper Island
Dates Employed Mar 2011 – Apr 2012 Employment Duration 1 yr 2 mos
Undercurrent
Strategy Director
Company Name Undercurrent
Dates Employed Dec 2008 – Mar 2011 Employment Duration 2 yrs 4 mos
Undercurrent is a consultancy that provides digitally-focused strategic planning, ideation, measurement, training and advisement to global brands. My role was split between long-term client strategy for global portfolio companies like PepsiCo and developing Undercurrent’s teams, products, services and culture, ensuring that it is the most creative, innovative and effective place for teams to think and grow.
Client work included: General Electric, PepsiCo, IWC Schaffhausen, Estée Lauder, Gatorade, etc.
Account Planner
Company Name Deep Focus
Dates Employed Jan 2006 – Jun 2008 Employment Duration 2 yrs 6 mos
Managerial responsibilities included: A lead role in the creation of the Account Planning department (Writing processes, hiring, training planners and mentoring jr. planners). New Business development. Being a thought leader and evangelist for the benefits and role of digital solutions. Assisting clients with deepening their knowledge of digital marketing.
Project based responsibilities included: Determining audience segmentation and ensuring that an understanding of consumer attitudes and behavior is reflected in every stage of the campaign. Developing the overarching strategic direction for a client, while working in tandem with creative, media and editorial planners to ensure cross-agency creativity. Monitoring, analyzing and forecasting cultural, social, behavioral and technological trends. Facilitating cross-agency salons, brainstorms, campaign reviews, and key learning sessions.Developing telescopic creative briefs, POV’s, and key strategic documents that drive innovation.
Client work included: HBO, Picturehouse, CourtTV, Dewar's, Havaianas, etc.
Creative Development Project Manager
Company Name Blue Man Productions
Dates Employed Dec 2003 – Jan 2006 Employment Duration 2 yrs 2 mos
Managerial responsibilities included: Working with the founders, senior executives and creative team to execute projects in the most economical, timely manner, without losing sight of the creative vision while staying within the scope of the company’s brand values. Organizing brainstorms and workshops.
Project based responsibilities included: All production aspects: video, photo, graphic, music recording, etc. Creating key documents: agendas, project memos, budgets, and schedules. Resourcing, observing legalities: contracts, creative releases, and copyright clearances. Monitoring budgets and schedules.
Le Chat Noir
Marketing Coordinator
Company Name Le Chat Noir
Dates Employed Jun 2001 – Nov 2003 Employment Duration 2 yrs 6 mos
Responsibilities included: Assisting with all marketing/publicity efforts for the theatre and its individual productions. Organizing festivals, competitions, managing the box office, assisting daily with both front and back of the house operations.
Education
University of New Orleans
Degree Name Bachelor of Science
Field Of Study Marketing
Dates attended or expected graduation 1999 – 2003
Bachelor Science Business Administration
Minor in Drama & Communications
RMIT University, Melbourne Australia
Degree Name Masters of Communication
Field Of Study Media, Technology & Culture
Dates attended or expected graduation 2008
Alys Arden was raised by the street performers, tea leaf-readers, and glittering drag queens of the New Orleans French Quarter. She cut her teeth on the streets of New York and has worked all around the world since. She either talks too much or not at all. She obsessively documents things. Her hair ranges from eggplant to cotton-candy colored. One dreary day in London, she missed home and started writing The Casquette Girls series. Her debut novel garnered over one million reads online before it was acquired by Skyscape. Follow her adventures on Instagram or Twitter @AlysArden
Unable to copy
From sketchwriter: One dreary day in London, while dreaming of running away with the circus, she started writing The Casquette Girls. Her debut novel garnered over one million reads online before being acquired by Skyscape in a two book deal. Rep’d by ICM: Alexandra Machinist ICM Partners, 730 Fifth Avenue. New York, NY 10019
email address: hello@alysarden[dot]com
Alys Arden was raised by the street performers, tea leaf-readers, and glittering drag queens of the New Orleans French Quarter. She cut her teeth on the streets of New York and has worked all around the world since. She either talks too much or not at all. She obsessively documents things. Her hair ranges from eggplant to cotton-candy colored. One dreary day in London, she missed home and started writing The Casquette Girls.
Her debut novel garnered over one million reads online before it was acquired by Skyscape in a two book deal. Her second book, The Romeo Catchers, is due out spring 2017.
Alys is represented by ICM. And she still plans to run away with the circus one star swept night.
The Pop Quiz at the End of the Universe: Alys Arden
Tor.com
Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:00pm Post a comment Favorite This
Welcome back to The Pop Quiz at the End of the Universe, a recurring series here on Tor.com featuring some of our favorite science fiction and fantasy authors, artists, and others!
Today we’re joined by Alys Arden, debut author of The Casquette Girls, a Southern Gothic tale of history, magic, and vampires, set in the city of New Orleans. Alys grew up in the Vieux Carré, cut her teeth on the streets of New York, and has worked all around the world since. She tends to talk a lot. Travel a lot. And obsessively document things. She still plans to run away with the circus one day.
Please relate one fact about yourself that has never appeared anywhere else in print or on the Internet.
When I broke the news to my mother that I had written a paranormal book, I was surprised that she wasn’t surprised. She told me this anecdote:
When you were two years old, I was in the kitchen and you were in the living room. I heard you making noise, so I came in to check on you. The Poltergeist movie was on TV, and you were cracking up laughing. I felt bad since you were so young, but it was making you laugh so hard. You were THRILLED by it! I couldn’t bear to turn it off because you were just so happy, smiling and laughing at all of the stuff flying around.
What is your favorite short story?
“The Machine Stops” by E.M. Forester. It blows my mind that it was written in 1909.
Alys Arden The Casquette GirlsWhat was your gateway to SF/Fantasy, as a child or young adult?
A Castle in the Attic was my absolute favorite book as a child. I still have the copy my elementary school librarian gave me. It’s held together with tape. I haven’t thought about it until now, but it’s no great wonder that attics play a large role in The Casquette Girls.
Battle to the death, which weapon do you choose: A) Phaser, B) Lightsaber, or C) Wand?
Wand. I feel like you would still actually Gideon Smith amazon buy linkneed to know how to fight to use a phaser or lightsaber. (Ya, know, ’cause I actually know how to do magical things with wands…)
Do you have a favorite word?
Sassafras. Say it out loud; you’ll know why.
Name your favorite monster from fiction, film, TV, or any other pop culture source.
I’m going to have to go with Audrey 2 from Little Shop of Horrors. What’s not to love about a singing plant who eats abusive boyfriends?
What’s your favorite sandwich?
Peanut Butter-Honey-Banana
(Sometimes with bacon. Like Elvis.)
What literary or film science fiction technology do you wish existed in our world right now?
Anything to do with teleportation. I have to travel a lot for my day job. I love traveling, but if I never have to go through airport security again in my life, I would be a very happy person.
If you, as a ghost, could regularly haunt one celebrity, author, or literary figure, who would it be?
Edgar Allen Poe, so my ghost could be his muse for his next piece of work. Dreamy.
List three things you’d like our readers to know about you and your work.
(1.) I was born and raised in New Orleans, but was not there during Hurricane Katrina. The Storm in the book is fictional, but an amalgamation of all of the different hurricanes I’ve witnessed growing up on the gulf coast.
(2.) Speaking of hurricanes, I wrote the end of part two by candlelight after losing power for two weeks after Hurricane Sandy hit NY/NJ.
(3.) I’m currently working on a novella about one of the earlier casquette girls. It takes place in eighteenth century Bermuda and is tentatively called The Girl at the Gallows. So stay tuned to learn more about Isaac’s family history!
Three years later, New Year’s resolution is a vampire-centric bestseller
By Phil McCausland Special to The Advocate FEB 7, 2015 - 10:02 AM (0)
It started as a New Year’s resolution.
New Orleans native and University of New Orleans graduate Alys Arden never thought her debut novel, “The Casquette Girls,” would become an Amazon bestseller, have over 1 million online reads or earn her comparisons to Anne Rice and Poppy Z. Brite.
After 10 years in the advertising industry, working insane hours and flying all around the world, Arden decided she needed a new creative outlet. She turned to writing, swearing she’d begin on the New Year.
Three years later a thick advance copy of her book, “The Casquette Girls,” landed on her doorstep.
It wasn’t always easy to find the necessary initiative to get words on the page.
“I took a workshop with Gotham Writer in New York online to keep me going,” Arden said over coffee at Café Rose Nicaud, her purple lipstick matching her purple hair.
A circular amulet bounced against her solar plexus.
“And when that ended I thought I would need something to keep me disciplined. ... In the workshop you had to turn something in every week. My schedule was crazy, so I joined an online writing website called Wattpad.”
On wattpad.com, along with another site she tried called bookcountry.com, users read each other’s work and post feedback line-by-line or in the comments section.
Websites such as these two are becoming a self-publishing litmus test for writers, providing them with encouragement and constructive criticism.
“I finished part one and it felt like such an accomplishment for me that I felt like I could just put it on the shelf,” she said.
“Then a few people online said, ‘When are you going to post the next chapter?’ And that was enough to keep going.”
“The Casquette Girls” treads the well-worn trail of the vampire novel. But while the current trend is to make vampires sympathetic, a la “Twilight” or “The Vampire Chronicles,” Arden has decidedly let the monsters remain monsters, with the potential to rock the story’s characters and the city they live in.
The book is set after a hurricane, known only as “The Storm,” destroys much of New Orleans.
The heroine, Adele Le Moyne, must navigate a city filled with loss and myths to uncover the mysterious deaths that now plague the city.
“I loved it,” said Marita Crandle, owner of Boutique du Vampyre in the French Quarter, who has almost a whole shelf filled with hardcover and paperback copies of the novel. “And I love the fact that it’s based on a true story here. … Reading something that has fiction wrapped around some mystery is amazing.”
Now Arden is working on the sequel to her novel, as well as a novella, which takes place in 18th-century Bermuda.
“I’m really excited,” she said.
Alys Arden will be on an Undead Con panel at the Marriott at the Convention Center with other paranormal authors Sunday, Nov. 2 at 10:30 a.m.
Anne Rice fans anointed Alys Arden, now Amazon will publish her 2 New Orleans novels
By Chris Waddington, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on April 15, 2015 at 5:33 PM, updated April 15, 2015 at 5:52 PM
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All Stories
Alys Arden self-published her debut novel, "The Casquette Girls," and the world paid attention. That's as rare as "man bites dog" in the publishing world -- and the story got better on April 9.
Skyscape, a publishing imprint of Amazon.com, has purchased Arden's New Orleans-set vampire novel in a two-book deal.
The sale was confirmed in an email sent to subscribers of Publishers Marketplace, a trade publication that monitors book deals.
Skyscape will publish an edited version of Arden's self-launched, young adult debut in fall 2015. The sequel is due for release the following year.
Arden -- the pen name of New Orleans writer Lauren Alys -- has had plenty to celebrate over the past year as we reported in October.
"The Casquette Girls," earned a prestigious starred review from Publishers Weekly in May 2014.
"In this Southern Gothic love letter to the spookier side of New Orleans' storied past, Arden spins out a moody tale of magic and mystery, set against the backdrop of a city recovering from disaster," Publishers Weekly wrote.
Reviews of self-published book are a rarity at PW.
Then, as Halloween approached, Anne Rice fans invited Arden to the 2014 edition of Undead Con -- a nice boost for an author who only began writing Young Adult fiction as a lark. Arden, who works as an advertising consultant, had posted her early efforts on Wattpad, an online social platform that lets readers and writers share manuscripts. More than a million fans dipped into the book online.
"I started posting chapters as a serial on Wattpad, mostly as a way to motivate myself. I never expected to write a 150,000 word novel, and I never expected to find many readers. Posting a chapter every other Sunday was just my way of keeping on track with a hobby when I was burnt out from work and travelling too much," Arden said in a recent interview with NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
Want to meet the author? Arden will be signing books and discussing her novel April 25, 3:30 p.m., at the Robert E. Smith Library, 6301 Canal Blvd. The event is free and open the public.
Member Spotlight: Meet Writer Alys Arden
Posted by Nevena GeorgievaSeptember 23rd, 2013
alysarden_bookcountryAlys Arden is a Book Country writer from New Orleans. We first came across Alys’s young adult paranormal novel-in-progress THE CASQUETTE GIRLS a few months ago, and it was the first book Lucy reviewed when she joined us in July! We wanted to catch up with Alys and learn more about the inspiration behind her young adult book.
NG: Thank you for joining us. How did you become a writer?
AA: I made a 2012 New Year’s resolution, never thinking that anything would come of it other than a bunch on fancy to-do lists. But once I started writing, it kind of became an addiction, like going to the gym can be if you can just manage the pain of the first couple of weeks.
Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000035_00037]NG: THE CASQUETTE GIRLS is set in post-hurricane New Orleans, as sixteen-year-old Adele is trying to rebuild her life amid the chaos. It’s a paranormal story loosely based on several New Orleans legends. Can you tell us more about what inspired you to pursue these legends and what went into building the paranormal world in the book?
AA: At the time I started THE CASQUETTE GIRLS, I had been traveling for two straight years for work, and living mostly abroad. I became homesick and bought a place in New Orleans, to try and ground myself a bit. I hadn’t really been home for more than a long weekend since college. I’ve always been fascinated with mythology and the urban legends in your own hometown are the best kind! Especially because in New Orleans some of the legends are older than dirt and others seem to materialize from the thick, humid air. The paranormal world is something that I spent a lot of time working out. Like you said, it’s post-hurricane (a fictional storm, by the way, not Katrina), but I wanted to pay homage to some of the places that no longer exist because of Katrina or various other hurricanes. So, the setting is a blended reality, both in the paranormal sense and a historical sense. I’d say it’s paranormal with a high dose of realism, depending on your tolerance for mystery. A New Orleanian might just call it normal.
NG: One of my favorite parts about the book is Adele’s voice, which is witty and mischievous. How did you go about writing her character and perspective?
AA: The book is written in a close first person POV, (and the book is thick!) so I wanted Adele’s head to be a place where I wouldn’t mind settling into for incredibly long periods of time. I also really want her to have a voice that was authentically YA, but didn’t speak down to teenagers by being overly cliché, which is something that drove me nuts as a teen, and still does today.
NG: The excerpt of the book you have on Book Country ends on a note of mysteriousness and foreboding. What’s your technique for keeping readers on their toes?
AA: Hmm, personally, I love surprises. I loathe spoilers to the point where I likely will stop watching/reading something if someone ruins the ending for me. So in that regard, I kinda put myself in the readers shoes and ask, what would I want? Or what would drive me absolutely mad? And then I work that out.
NG: Who are your literary role models, the young adult writers who’ve influenced your work?
AA: Such a hard question! My tastes are all over the place. I grew up reading Anne Rice as a kid, who I still love, but now it’s anyone from Dorothy Parker to Patti Smith to John Green. I read mostly non-fiction, which freaks people out sometimes, LOL. THE OUTSIDERS is hands down my favorite YA book of all time. We had to read it in the 5th grade and I can still remember feeling like such a nerd for liking, no loving a *gasp* school book. I also love all of the really big blockbuster series that I can trap myself into for a week and forget about the world, like HARRY POTTER, THE HUNGER GAMES, etc.
NG: What is your writing routine like? Any favorite writing tips or resources you want to share with us?
AA: My routine is crazy! I am super-duper routined. Most of THE CASQUETTE GIRLS was written between the hours of 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. At first it was the only time slot that I could fit into my hectic work schedule, but then I quickly realized that it’s my most creative time of the day—before the world’s had a chance to bombard my mind. My biggest tip would be just to write! Even if it’s garbage. It’s the most simple tip, but still seems to be the hardest to grapple with.
NG: Why are you on Book Country?
AA: My favorite part about Book Country is the community aspect. I’ve gotten some great feedback from members and the staff has been so welcoming, too!
I joined Book Country for several different reasons, the most obvious one being that I was writing a book. Actually, I was editing the book at that point. Second, because I have a general interest in Internet culture and how it’s influencing business and disrupting entire industries. I’m always looking to test new sites, start-ups, blogs, whatever. It’s such a fascinating time for the publishing industry—a writer can really hone their skills and their stories on sites like Book Country, and then if they want to and feel ready, make a jump into publishing. Which is where my New Year’s resolution will come full circle! The full version of THE CASQUETTE GIRLS will be coming to print and e-readers on Halloween 2013!
NG: What is something fun that we don’t know about you?
AA: My hair is fifty shades of violet, which is well documented on my Facebook page!
Connect with Alys on Book Country and follow her on Twitter @AlysArden. Learn more about THE CASQUETTE GIRLS at http://thecasquettegirls.com.
Wikipedia:
A casquette girl, originally known as a fille à la cassette (girl with a cassette) but also known historically as a casket girl or a pelican girl,[1] was one of the women brought from France to the French colonies of Louisiana to marry.[2][3] The name derives from the small chests, known as casquettes, in which they carried their clothes.[3][4]
Contemporary engraving depicting the departure of "comfort girls" to the New World.
They were conspicuous by reason of their virtue. Normally women were supplied to the colonists by raking the streets of Paris for undesirables, or by emptying the houses of correction. The casquette girls, however, were recruited from church charitable institutions, usually orphanages and convents, and, although poor, were practically guaranteed to be virgins.[5] For this reason it later became a matter of pride in Louisiana to show descent from them.[3]
The first consignment reached Mobile in 1704, Biloxi in 1719, and New Orleans in 1728.[3][6]
=====
https://ghostcitytours.com/new-orleans/ghost-stories/truth-casket-girls/
The Myth of the Casket Girls
They arrived in 1728.
The port of New Orleans bustled with activity; the shouting of men, the stamping hooves of the horses, the scraping of boxes as the ships were unloaded. For the group of young women aboard the ship, La Nouvelle Orléans was a taste of the forbidden, of the unknown.
The women were ushered down the wooden plank onto the soiled ground; to their chest, they each clutched a coffin-shaped cassette, or small chest, that held all of their belongings. After nearly six months traversing the rough waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the young women were eager to make their arrival. Eager, and perhaps, also a bit nervous about their welcome.
Handpicked by the Bishop of Quebec on order of the French King, the young women were all of appropriate age and background. On their agenda was only one thing: to make a good match and marry one of the French colonists inhabiting the budding Louisiana colony.
Upon the sight of them, however, rumors began to circulate throughout the town.
“Pâle,” the Frenchmen all muttered to themselves as they spotted the women meant to become their brides. So very pale were the girls that their skin reddened and blistered within moments of enduring the hot, sub-tropical sun.
Clutching their casket-shaped chests in tight grips, the young women—Filles a la Cassette, as they became known—were brought to their new home. Until their respective marriages, they were to remain under the care and the protection of the Ursuline nuns.
The fate of the Filles a la Cassette was not as was expected. The local men in the Vieux Carre gravely disrespected the women. Some were placed into unwanted marriages, only to be mistreated by their husbands. Others, upon finding themselves alone and unwed, were forced into prostitution.
The French King had had enough. He demanded the girls’ return to France.
The Sisters of the Ursuline Convent then took the caskets-shaped chests that had once carried everything that the Filles a la Cassette had owned and climbed the steps to the third floor of the Convent at 1112 Rue Chartres. Up until this time, the windows and door to the third floor had always been sealed shut, and they remained so at that time as well.
But a short time later, when the nuns returned to the third floor, they found that the chests . . . they were completely empty. They spared no section of the third floor during their search though the belongings were never recovered. Fearing that the young women might have been something other than what they said they were, the Ursuline nuns spared no expense in making sure that nothing ever left that third-floor space.
The doors were bolted shut; the nails to the windows were blessed by the Pope himself and locked in place.
The whispering began anew, but this time they added one more word: “Vampire.”
In 1978, two paranormal investigators seeking answers to whether the Filles a la Cassette had, in fact, been vampires, camped out directly in front of the Old Ursuline Convent at 1112 Chartres Street. They’d been previously kicked off the property itself for loitering, but decided to stay the night and see if they experienced anything right outside of the walls themselves.
The hours passed, trickling by minute by minute; so slow was it, that sleep overtook them. And in their slumber, they failed to notice the third floor’s shutters—the same one’s which had been locked shut by the blessed nails—open and shut, open and shut. The recording cameras whirled to a stop as the scene faded to black.
The next morning the bodies of the investigators were found.
Their bodies had been torn open, ravaged as if by the claws of animal . . . their bodies drained of blood.
Vampires. Filles a la Cassette. It was all one and the same.
A photo of the casket girls in haunted New Orleans Louisiana, Ghost City Tours.
The sketch shows the Casket Girls as they arrived in new Orleans.
The Myth Unveiled
The legend of the Casket Girls as blood-draining vampires has circulated since at least the early twentieth century. Tour guides bring wide-eyed tourists out to stand just across the street by the Beauregard-Keyes House Museum. There, as the tourists stand on their tiptoes, phones clutched in hand, they attempt to peer over the outer walls of the Old Ursuline Convent. Then, the guide flings one arm up, index finger pointing squarely at the third floor of the Convent where the louvered shutters are tightly shut.
“It is there,” the guide says, “that the Casket Girls still remain locked away. Without the nails blessed by the Pope, the young women who once hailed from France would be out, roaming the streets to feast on the blood of the living.”
(I’ll give you a moment.)
(Another maybe).
(Just one more).
Okay. Surely you didn’t believe any of that nonsense? Tales of murder, blood-starved women and vampires seem like a satirical spin-off to the legends of Vlad the Impaler, the Romanian prince who did, in fact, stick his enemy’s heads on spikes leading up to his castle. (Even this was only done to ward off any other invading armies who thought they could take Vlad; and even this was done because Vlad was short on military supplies and had to think outside of the box).
But for the so-called Casket Girls, the rumors of vampires and the undead has no basis for truth. Rumors of vampirism is a much newer addition, perhaps exacerbated by Anne Rice. Fans immediately began to suspect that the Filles a la Cassette were actually transporting vampires in the chests from the Old World to New Orleans.
As for the prostitution factor . . . well, that deserves an even closer inspection.
History of Young Women Brought to the New World
New France
The Casket Girls were not the first program initiated by the French Crown to create population growth in the New World. The Canadian colony of New France (modern-day Quebec) was the first, tracing back to 1663.
Apparently that colony, too, was lacking in the way of the fairer sex, and the Intendant of New France, Jean Talon, decided to pen King Louis XIVth and ask him for women. The King complied and began to recruit women to be sent. It was a stringent process—the women had to be between the prime ages of 12 and 25, and they had to provide a letter from their respective parish priests which recommended them for the position.
They were given the name Filles du Roi, the King’s Daughters, and between the years 1663 and 1673, over 800 young women made the voyage from France to Canada.
Don’t be fooled though: Not all the women made it in Quebec. Some died en route to Montreal; others stood at the port in France and rethought their life decisions before hightailing back to their village; while yet others were actually sent back to France from Canada for failing to live up to the standards of being the Filles du Roi.
The idea that the women were prostitutes was fostered early on, even within a century of the women landing. Baron La Hontan wrote that the women were of “middling virtue” and that the only reason they had chosen to emigrate was because they needed religious absolution from their sins (i.e., they were Ladies of the Night and desperately needed God in their lives).
Except that out of over 800 women whom were sent to New France, only one women was ever charged with prostitution. Her name was Catherine Guichelin, and she only turned to prostitution after her husband decided that he’d much rather live in France. Naturally, he then abandoned her in the new world with their two children.
Still, the rumors continued to persist. And it seems that they sort of became a trend.
Biloxi: The Next Group
The next group of young women came in July of 1704, though they were sent to the French colony in Biloxi.
They arrived on the Pelican at the bidding of Jean Baptiste La Moyne, Sieur Bienville. Like Jean Talon, Bienville had written directly to King Louis XIV for potential brides for his soldiers and men.
After all, the soldiers and expeditions who had sailed down the Mississippi River with Bienville were now “chasing through the woods in pursuit of Indian mistresses.” Bienville was desperate.
King Louis XIV agreed and sent a group of twenty-three young women in the care of the Sisters of Charity, an order of Quebec, as well as Father Henry La Vente and three other priests. The marriageable women ranged in age between fourteen and nineteen, but had been specifically chosen because they were pure. Virgins. Necessary bride material for the turn of the eighteenth century.
An alleged letter written to Bienville by the French King read, “His majesty send by that ship 20 girls to be married to the Canadians and others who have begun habitations at Mobile in order that this colony can firmly establish itself. Each of these girls was raised in virtue and piety and know how to work, which will render them useful in the colony by showing the Indian girls what they can do, for this there being no point in sending other than of virtue known and without reproach.”
The women were chosen well, thanks to then Bishop of Quebec, Jean Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrieres de Saint-Vallier, and the Biloxi colony blossomed.
And then the next group arrived, who weren’t so very pure or virtuous.
The Arrival of the Baleine Brides
Once again, Bienville was desperate for women. This time he was in the new colony of New Orleans and it was the year 1721, but the desperation was all the same.
The men of New Orleans needed brides, as they were having illicit affairs with enslaved women or women of the gens libres de couleur, to say nothing of the fact that the men were reportedly the scum—Bienville’s words—of France with only debauchery on their minds.
Bienville needed good, virtuous women.
Who was the King of France to turn down such a proposal? He gladly acquiesced. This time he turned to the Hôpital Général de la Salpêtrière for the women Bienville needed.
Eighty-eight women arrived near Mobile Bay on January 8, 1721, and were promptly handed over to Bienville to deal with. Unfortunately this time around, the French King had found his “supply” of women from the House of Correction. All were destitute, most were prostitutes, and they were all meant to become proper wives.
As you can imagine, this plan wasn’t as well executed as in 1704 or even in 1673 by the French. And these new women? Well, they only added to the terse and debauched environment already raging in New Orleans.
It would come as no wonder that Bienville might try again just a few years later, and it’s perhaps this event in 1721 that stained the reputation of the Filles a la Cassette in 1728.
Dismantling the Myth of the Casket Girls
Did the French colonists once again think that Bienville had brought them prostitutes as wives? It’s perfectly plausible, especially since similar rumors had followed each shipment of young women to the New World in the prior sixty or so years.
A Matter of Pale Skin
But what we have no record of is any of the early New Orleanians thinking that the young women who arrived in 1728 were vampires. Commentary that the women were pale is understandable—after all, they’d been stuck inside of a ship for six months and probably saw little to no sun as they’d been put below desk as was “proper for young, virtuous women.”
The French Creoles living in New Orleans would also been quite tan. Situated near the Gulf as it is, New Orleans is a sub-tropical climate. In comparison to the sun-kissed skin of the Frenchmen, no doubt the Casket Girls would have looked nearly transparent.
The Meaning of “Cassette”
The word “casket” was not widely used until the mid-nineteenth century to refer to burials or the dead. Cassette is a Middle French word, but refers to instead “a small box for jewels” or “chest.”
The Casket Girls were known to have brought cassettes with them, but they literally were meant for storage. Luggage. (Can you blame a girl for wanting to bring as much with her when traveling to an unknown location?)
The author Nathaniel Hawthorne reconfirms this idea when he said in 1863, “Caskets! A vile modern phrase, which compels a person . . . to shrink . . . from the idea of being buried at all.”
By 1900, the term “casket” in relation to a burial object was widespread in North America. In the early eighteenth century, the cassettes brought with the young women were—sorry to disappoint—nothing but a chest, unlikely even in the shape of a casket or coffin at all.
The Secret Third Floor of the Convent
Although it’s great to imagine the Pope—which one though? We don’t even know that!—blessing the nails to keep the vampires locked inside of the attic space . . . Well, it’s highly unlikely.
In reality, those louvered windows are a lovely set of hurricane shutters installed some time in the last decade or so.
And within that third floor . . . we at Ghost City Tours have it on good authority from the Archivist of the Archdiocese of New Orleans that there is nothing on the third floor of the Old Ursuline Convent besides archival records and other storage items.
Not as thrilling as vampires or abandoned caskets for the undead, but there you have it.
Why the Myth?
It’s hard to say why the vampire myth has stuck around for so long, and who exactly started it.
Was it really Anne Rice’s take on it that sparked the whole thing? Is it simply the fact that we New Orleanians love the alternative and weird, especially when it is intrinsically connected with our beloved history? Perhaps it’s simply a case that the legend is retold and retold again because tourists love to hear it.
What we do know is that the Casket Girls went on to make some brilliant marriages in their initial years here in the French Quarter, and it’s said that almost of all of New Orleans can trace their lineage back to one of the young women sent from France to become the French Creoles’ brides.
Another myth perhaps?
Maybe we should just stick with the blood-sucking, undead version instead.
Arden, Alys: THE ROMEO CATCHERS
(Mar. 15, 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Arden, Alys THE ROMEO CATCHERS Skyscape (Children's Fiction) $9.99 5, 23 ISBN: 978-1-5039-4000-0
In this sequel to The Casquette Girls (2013), teen witches Adele and Isaac grow closer while fresh evil descends upon flood-ravaged New Orleans.It's been five months since a mammoth, unnamed hurricane destroyed New Orleans. Sixteen-year-old Adele Le Moyne, a white witch with French heritage who can manipulate fire and metal, has started a coven with Desiree Borges, her Creole, voodoo-practicing classmate, and Isaac Thompson, a white 18-year-old who can change into a crow. Together, they've magically trapped a clan of murderous vampires in the attic of a French Quarter convent. Adele, however, remains drawn to Nicco Medici, charismatic leader of the vamps. Author Arden tangles the lives of her teen protagonists gleefully, adding secrets that Adele and Isaac keep from each other even as they fall in love. Adele's secret--that her mother is one of the trapped vampires--drives her to peer into Nicco's dreams, glimpsing his life in 17th-century Florence and searching for clues to save her. Throughout, the author continues to woo culture and history mavens, adding vivid New Orleans color (the funeral procession) and plenty of post-hurricane detail (such as Isaac's grim recovery work, so similar to that carried out after Katrina). While the vampire action is minimal, warm, carefully drawn characters are the story's main attraction. A meticulous blend of witchery, New Orleans lore, and teen angst. (Fantasy. 14-adult)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Arden, Alys: THE ROMEO CATCHERS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2017. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A485105161/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=cd60b2e5. Accessed 10 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A485105161
The Casquette Girls
261.21 (May 26, 2014): pS24.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
* The Casquette Girls
Alys Arden. FortheARTofit Publishing, $3.99 e-book (522p) ISBN 978-0-9897577-2-0
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
In this Southern Gothic love letter to the spookier side of New Orleans's storied past, Arden spins out a moody tale of magic and mystery set against the backdrop of a city recovering from disaster. Two months after a massive hurricane nearly destroys New Orleans, 16-year-old Adele Le Moyne and her artist father return to a half-underwater home, where rebuilding goes hand in hand with curfews and scavenging. As Adele tries to return to normal, she's swept up in inexplicable events, with strange people drifting in and out of her life and bodies turning up like clockwork. Adele finally discovers that the French Quarter is home to a clan of vampires and that only she, as a descendant of the coven that originally cursed them, can break the centuries-old spell that holds them there. The sense of place and weight of history are strong in this slow-burning dark fantasy, filled with colorful characters and growing tension. While the cast occasionally grows unwieldy and the story can get convoluted, it's still a thoroughly satisfying page-turner and a strong debut for Arden. Ages 12-up.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Casquette Girls." Publishers Weekly, 26 May 2014, p. S24. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A369729582/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=dc4d68da. Accessed 10 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A369729582
Arden, Alys: THE CASQUETTE GIRLS
(Feb. 1, 2014):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Arden, Alys THE CASQUETTE GIRLS fortheARTofit Publishing (Indie None) $24.99 10, 31 ISBN: 978-0989757706
Set in a storm-ravaged New Orleans, this evocative paranormal romance pits teen heroine Adele against suave ghouls. Back from Paris and home in New Orleans, high school junior Adele is glad to be away from her coldly distant mother. The city she knew, however, has been destroyed by a superstorm. Adele and her father must adjust to a water-damaged-and frequently nightmarish-reality. Exploring their house, she's attacked and severely scratched by a crow. Then one night, near her indefinitely closed school, she finds a corpse. This chilling episode leads to an even more surreal event, in which a convent's shuttered window explodes, showering Adele with debris. After a large metal stake rolls near her and she grabs it, a supernatural talent begins to awaken within her. Later, she reconnects with friends and meets newcomers Gabe and Niccol� Medici, who search New Orleans for missing relatives. At home, she uses her strange new control over metal to discover the hidden diary of Adeline Saint-Germaine, her 18th-century ancestor. The diary speaks of European girls traveling to America with royal dowries in wooden boxes; the girls also used witchcraft to keep vampires at bay. Gradually, Adele sees connections among New Orleans' high murder rate, her uncanny abilities and Saint-Germaine's tale. Debut author Arden offers readers a full plate of Southern gothic atmospherics and sparkling teen romance in a patiently crafted tale that will best reward careful readers. Adele is a strong, sensible protagonist who's just vulnerable enough: "His hand swept my neck as he delicately picked up the thin silver chain, following the tightly woven links all the way down to the two charms dangling at my waist." Her winning characterization is topped off with subtly drawn superpowers: "Careful not to let them clink on the glass [of the jar] and bring attention to what I was doing, I smiled as a dime did a swan-dive to join the pirouetting nickels." Best of all, Arden's insights regarding her fragile city color the narrative with tragic realism: "Everything we drove past-an abandoned supermarket, a dilapidated bank, a gym, a hamburger chain, a laundry mat, a pizza joint, a housing project-everything had that same distinct mark of the Storm left on it: the water line." Satisfying teen entertainment but also a cathartic, uncompromising tribute to New Orleans.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Arden, Alys: THE CASQUETTE GIRLS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2014. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A357032864/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=943dd7cf. Accessed 10 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A357032864
The Casquette Girls
261 (Annual 2014): p95.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Casquette Girls
Alys Arden. For the Art of It Publishing, $3.99 e-book ISBN 978-0-9897577-2-0
In this Southern Gothic love letter to the spookier side of New Orleans's storied past, Arden spins out a moody tale of magic and mystery, set against the backdrop of a city recovering from disaster. Two months after a massive hurricane nearly destroys New Orleans, 16-year-old Adele Le Moyne and her artist father return to a half-underwater home, where rebuilding goes hand in hand with curfews and scavenging. As Adele tries to return to normal, she's swept up in inexplicable events, with strange people drifting in and out of her life and bodies turning up like clockwork. Adele finally discovers that the French Quarter is home to, a clan of vampires and that only she, as a descendant of the coven that originally cursed them, can break the centuries-old spell that holds them there. The sense of place and weight of history are strong in this slow-burning dark fantasy, filled with colorful characters and growing tension. While the cast occasionally grows unwieldy and the story can get convoluted, it's still a thoroughly satisfying page-turner and a strong debut for Arden. Ages 12-up.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Casquette Girls." Publishers Weekly, Annual 2014, p. 95. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A394685201/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=f52b4f3a. Accessed 10 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A394685201
Arden, Alys. The Romeo Catchers
Amanda Raklovits
63.5 (May 2017): p100.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
ARDEN, Alys. The Romeo Catchers. 603p. (The Casquette Girls: Bk. 2). Amazon/Skyscape. Mav 2017. pap. $12.95. ISBN 9781503940000.
Gr 9 Up--Almost a month has passed since the climactic events of The Casquette Girls, and Adele can't stop thinking about the vampires her coven trapped in the convent attic. Two vampires in particular preoccupy her thoughts: her estranged mother and the enigmatic Niccolo Medici. The teen is determined to save her mother, and despite efforts to forget Nicco, she can't shake their connection. Her budding relationship with Isaac complicates her quest, as she has yet to tell him or her best friend Desiree, both members of her coven, the truth about her mother. Adele and her friends will need to find the remaining members of their coven to strengthen their power, but along the way, they find a new danger that threatens their relationships, magic, and lives. Though lengthy, this detailed and descriptive sequel isevery bit as engrossing as the first, with deftly drawn character arcs and a captivating setting. While Adele was front and center in the previous volume, here alternating perspectives allow Isaac's character to be more firmly fleshed out. Likewise, Adele's connection to Nicco through his dreams reveals more of his fascinating backstory in 17th-century Italy. As in the first book, New-Orleans itself plays a vital role. The pages are filled with landmarks, history, colorful characters, and poignant scenes of a city recovering from a devastating hurricane. Indeed, some of the most vivid and powerful passages involve Isaac's work as a first responder and recovery worker. VERDICT A richly developed and well-written sequel that would be a good purchase where the first installment is popular.--Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Raklovits, Amanda. "Arden, Alys. The Romeo Catchers." School Library Journal, May 2017, p. 100. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A491032150/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=d950e6e4. Accessed 10 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A491032150
Review The Casquette Girls By Alys Arden
April 24, 2015 by nicoletteandrews@gmail.com
Anyone who has followed the blog since the early days may remember a feature called Wattpad Wednesday. Back in the day, I used to review books that I was reading on Wattpad at the time. It was fun to do but like most things time got away from me and I had to drop the feature. I’ve decided to pick up reviewing again because lets be honest, I love to read and I love sharing my opinions on books I read because who doesn’t love a good book recommendation. So that being said, I will only review books I have enjoyed and would want others to read. No ho-hums here, I don’t have unlimited free time. For my first review, I thought it would be fun to reprise one of my old Wattpad Wednesday reviews, THE CASQUETTE GIRLS.
T81B8TyCBWiL._SL1500_he CASQUETTE GIRLS is set in a post storm New Orleans, where a young girl Adele returns with her father to help rebuild. As the body count climbs, it’s obvious is wrong in the city and its not just the storm damage. Adele discovers new powers and accidentally unleashes something sinister from within the attic of an old convent. Magic and mayhem ensue.
I adore a good vampire tale, and this book does not disappoint. It reminded me of Interview with a Vampire for the lush writing style and tangible descriptions of New Orleans. But unlike Anne Rice you get a much more grittier version of the Big Easy. It’s easy to see Arden loves the city, it shines through her prose. The characters in this are unforgettable. As I mentioned, I read this story back in the early days before it was published and back then there was a fierce debate about who Adele should end up with. For me personally, I vote for the sarcastic and artistic Isaac, but some others like the mysterious Italian, Nico. Whichever team you choose, you’ll fall in love with this story. It’s the right combination of mystery and action that will leave you begging for me. I’m still waiting on the sequel, which may be a while since Arden just signed a book deal. I can be patient though –if only a little bit.
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Review: ‘The Romeo Catchers’ by Alys Arden
Posted by THEBREATHINGGHOSTS on JUNE 10, 2017
Blurb from GoodReads.com:
Is blood thicker than magic in La Nouvelle-Orléans?
Tormented by the fate she condemned her mother to, and by the lies she’s forced to tell to cover it up, Adele scours Storm-ravaged New Orleans for the truth about her family’s magical past. But every turn leads her back to the one person she’s determined to forget: Niccolò Medici. Not even the multitude of enchanted locks on the attic door trapping Nicco within can break their connection.
Sensing Nicco calling to Adele, Isaac tries relentlessly to keep her from exploring paths too dark that would endanger them all. But a new threat is rising: the Medici’s presence has attracted something else to New Orleans…an older enemy, one that will bring Isaac’s haunted past to life, test the witches’ friendships, and jeopardize Adele and Isaac’s blossoming relationship.
In this spellbinding continuation of The Casquette Girls saga, Adele must draw on the past—from seventeenth-century Florence, a time bubbling with alchemy and fraternal betrayal—and sort history from fantasy if she is to have any chance of saving her mother, her coven, and her magic.
Review:
Oh my jeeeeeezus, where do I even start with this one? How do I sum up such a riveting, mystical, magical, romantic, unique book? A book which had me GLUED from page one- even more so than its sultry, magic-infused predecessor, The Casquette Girls? This is the kind of book which will STAY with you, in a good way- it’s completely immersive, completely escapist wonderful writing, and yet at the same time, locations used throughout this book (e.g. the Bottom of the Cup Tearoom) are real places you can actually visit in New Orleans. Think of ‘The Romeo Catchers’ as a cross between Poppy Z. Brite’s ‘Lost Souls,’ ‘The Craft’ and ‘The Originals’– but BETTER. Tons better. Now to review it. Ok, so deep breath, here goes:
Things I LOVED about this book:
NEW ORLEANS: Can there be a better setting for a witchy vampire-y magic-y novel? I THINK NOT. ‘Nawlins’ is practically a character in its own right, and with good reason- this is the kind of novel that makes you want to book a one-way ticket there.
ISAAC, Adele’s love interest. (And yes, his name goes in capitals because he is an utter bae, and also my Book Boyfriend of the Month.) I adore you. I ship you with Adele so hard. You are a perfect slightly angsty cinnamon bun and YOU MUST BE with Adele, but if you can’t be with Adele, then please be with me instead. Gotta get myself a silver feather necklace so that I can pretend you gave it to me as a token of our undying eternal love. *Sighs* *Fans self*
DESIREE: Oh, Desiree, you were badass in ‘The Casquette Girls’ and even more badass here. I heart your style and your witty one-liners. I also think your voodoo-shop owning gran is an utter legend. More graveyard seances with Desiree please.
ADELE: To be honest, at points, I found Adele annoying (especially her constant arguing with Isaac- who is perfect- and her fixation with creeptastic vampire predator Nicco- uh, why??) but I loved her cool, 90s-infused style (silver talisman necklaces, dresses she customizes herself, Docs,) her part-time job in a cafe- don’t know quite why, just loved the setting and the descriptions- her sketching and her research into her ancestor’s diary. (Which is not apparently a grimoire- kinda confusing, but anyway…)
THAT SCENE WITH ADELE AND ISAAC ON THE ‘SS HOPE’: Fellow TRC readers will know what I’m talking about- what a brilliant, romantic, wonderful scene. (*Takes cold shower.*)
REN: (SPOILER) My lovely, exuberant tour guide Ren kind of goes to the dark side in TRC, and starts acting all cray-cray and kissing girls even though everyone knows his love for boyfriend Theis is the real deal. I still love him and his pirate vibe though. I’d love to be on one of his tours.
THEIS: Speaking of Theis…how cool is it to have a normal dude- albeit with a love for vampires and implanted fangs- in a committed, loving relationship with another guy (aka Ren of course.) I love how ‘normal’ this was represented, and how they love each other in their own kooky kind of way. I totally ship Ren and Theis, and would actually have loved to have seen Theis more in TRC- he’s such an individual.
(SPOILER): The Maleficiums. (I think I spelt that right.) These are magical tattoos that every witch gets when they come into their power, and only they and other witches can see them. This was SUCH a cool idea, and I wish they’d been described more, as I can actually see them taking off into a cult kind of way, and people getting them in real life, like the amazing Shadowhunters fans who have tattoos of Shadowhunter runes. Desiree’s, by the way, is lime green 🙂
MAC: Adele’s dad is still a metalsmith, and still cool. Fact.
Ghosts: Ghosts and the spirit world are everywhere in TRC and it gives the whole novel an edgy, eerie, rather uncanny vibe- especially as they interact with humans. I’ve heard the tragic and utterly romantic story of Miss Julie’s ghost before, but really like Arden’s take on it.
Loved Callis’s atmospheric entrance into the story (he wanders into Adele’s cafe in a rain-soaked New Orleans and immediately I loved his rockstar style and his guy liner, ha.)
Everyone seems to dress and act like they’re in a cleaner, less graphic version of Poppy Z Brite’s ‘Lost Souls.’ Trust me, though, that’s a good thing- the style in ‘Lost Souls’ is INSANE.
Things I was not so sure about:
ANNABELLE: Oh, for Gawd’s sake, is selfish, spoilt, vain, Queen Bee Annabelle still in this? Yes, yes, she is. Dammit.
NICCO: Creepy, predatory, psychopathic, controlling, vindictive, scheming, parasitic…and still a love interest for Adele?? REALLY?? I’m #TeamIsaac all the way.
Jeanne and Sebastian, the Daure brothers, Emilio…just way too many characters. And evil vamp Emilio was just way too pantominey for my liking. I did like Chatham Daure though. And horrible psychic Madam Morgana.
Brigitte (or, How do you solve a problem like Brigitte?) (SPOILER): Adele spends a lot of the novel vowing to save her mother from the attic, but then doesn’t really do anything. Bit disappointing.
Nicco’s dreams: As Nicco is utterly infuriating, these did not do anything for me. Luckily, he does spend a heck of a lot of time still locked up in the attic.
Celestina: Callis’s little sister: dresses like the creepy twins from ‘The Shining,’ and yet (SPOILER) no one figures she’s a totally evil devil spawn. Makes sense.
The scenes in Adele’s old school: again, these didn’t do much for me: I wanted more witchy coven scenes with Adele, Isaac and Desiree. The ‘humans’ in this novel felt a bit too bland.
Where was the kooky drag queen waitress who served Adele and Nicco when they went for dinner together? I kind of missed her! 😦
THAT ENDING: no spoilers, but it utterly broke my heart. Talk about a cliffhanger. *Gulp, sob*
All in all though, this book had me utterly hooked, and I will cause merry havoc if there isn’t a third novel on the way. Just READ THIS BOOK NOW. You won’t regret it. All Hail, Queen Arden!
Overall rating: 10 out of 10! Woohoo!
This book in four words: Exciting. Riveting. Magical. Unique.
Favourite Character: Isaac
Read if you enjoyed: ‘Lost Souls’ by Poppy Z Brite, (which I also mention in my article on ‘Vampires and Scent,’) ‘The Vampire Lestat’ by Anne Rice.
Image from innovativequery on Tumblr
TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2017
Book Review- THE ROMEO CATCHERS by Alys Arden
Title:THE ROMEO CATCHERS (The Casquette Girls #2)
Author: Alys Arden
Release Date: May 23, 2017
Publisher: Skyscape
Format: Paperback, eBook, Audiobook
Source: Finished Copy From The Publisher
Rating: Obsessed!!!!!!!!!!!
Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble| iBooks | Audible | TBD
Is blood thicker than magic in La Nouvelle-Orléans?
Tormented by the fate she condemned her mother to, and by the lies she’s forced to tell to cover it up, Adele scours Storm-ravaged New Orleans for the truth about her family’s magical past. But every turn leads her back to the one person she's determined to forget: Niccolò Medici. Not even the multitude of enchanted locks on the attic door trapping Nicco within can break their connection.
Sensing Nicco calling to Adele, Isaac tries relentlessly to keep her from exploring paths too dark that would endanger them all. But a new threat is rising: the Medici’s presence has attracted something else to New Orleans…an older enemy, one that will bring Isaac’s haunted past to life, test the witches’ friendships, and jeopardize Adele and Isaac’s blossoming relationship.
In this spellbinding continuation of The Casquette Girls saga, Adele must draw on the past—from seventeenth-century Florence, a time bubbling with alchemy and fraternal betrayal—and sort history from fantasy if she is to have any chance of saving her mother, her coven, and her magic.
Happy Release Day to THE ROMEO CATCHERS!!! This series has quickly become an all time favorite of mine and I can see many re-reads in the future!
This behemoth of a book was freaking fantastic!! Not as good as book 1 but still a solid 5 star read! I can't get enough of this world, every time I read a book of Alys's I feel like I'm living in New Orleans and in this case historical Florence. I love all the magic and history interwoven into the series! And OMG betrayal runs deep in this book and some surprising reveals! I will say I wasn't a huge fan of Isaac's POV in this one but I adored Adele's and Nicco' parts! I can't wait to see what happens in book 3!
I have been matching books with my LuLaRoe Leggings lately and I have this TC pair in stock, it totally reminds me of the book cover and Isaac. If you'd like to purchase them join my Facebook group!
Adele's supernatural rollercoaster ride continues at breakneck speed, with shocking revelations along the bloodstained way. Rich descriptions of post-storm New Orleans as well as a variety of vivid secondary characters create a lush background, allowing this extraordinary story to thrive. Readers will be enchanted and horrified in turn as Arden plunges them into a sudden, unpredictable cliffhanger that will leave them as stunned
as her characters.
Isaac is plagued by nightmares thanks to his first-responder experiences as he continues to devote himself to recovery efforts, his commitment to Adele and the coven. But Adele is torn between her very real love for him and her compulsive attraction to Nicco, who is still bound by the curse. As centuries-old ties to the mysteries and dangers of the present are slowly revealed through her frightening and intimate connection to the vampire, the pressure on Adele increases. Will her secrets — and Isaac’s — leave them and the coven vulnerable to a new evil? (SKYSCAPE, Jun., 603 pp., $12.95, PB, 12 & Up)
Reviewed by:
Kerry Sutherland