Customer Reviews

Black as Night: A Fairy Tale Retold

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Black as Night is the sequel to Ms. Doman's first book, Snow White and Rose Red which follows the adventures of two sisters hitting their high school years and beyond in the tender landscape of New York City. Black as Night continues the story of the eldest sister (primarily) who runs into some trouble while on her own for the summer (her family is on vacation and her should-be boyfriend is in Europe trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life). Ms. Doman deals with romance and young adult angst, in a way that is totally appropriate for any teenager (or their parents)to read while still keeping everyone's attention with an interesting and action-packed story line. I highly recommend this to teenagers and young adults.

In a world filled with so many complex media images confronting our families, it's a simple pleasure as a parent to be able to share a book with your teen. The trick is finding the right book and getting the teen to agree to read it. Author Regina Doman has made this trick a little less challenging by writing a series of books that are both engaging and appropriate for teen (and "grown up") readers. The title of Doman's latest installment, may sound a bit dark on the surface, but the story abounds with a light and faith that transcends the classic fairy tale it is based on. I had the opportunity to share this book with my thirteen year old son, who joins me in highly recommending it to other families.

"Black as Night" is a terrific sequel to "Shadow of the Bear." The story's main characters are Blanche and Bear, but Rose and Fish are still in it, just not in as big of a way as "Shadow of the Bear." Blanche is getting framed for drug possesion, and she goes and stays with seven friars (the seven dwarves)! It's a fantastic story!!!

Caught in a tangled web of envy, greed, and deceit, Blanche is frantically running away. But we don't know from whom. From its opening pages, we enter a world of more mystery, intrigue, and romance as Blanche, Rose, Bear, and Fish return in the sequel to The Shadow of the Bear.

Why is Blanche running away?

Bear, her boy friend, has gone to Europe with his younger brother Fish to sort through his life. Blanche's sister, Rose and her mom have left for a long vacation in California.

Frightened, alone, and pursued by two punks on a New York subway, Blanche seeks refuge in a once abandoned church, only to find someone else is now living there. Actually, it's not one person, but a whole community of friars.

But is Blanche safe? Can she run away or will she be pursued even here in the security of this new community.

More than a mystery thriller or a dressed up fairy tale, this book touches on a number of themes, as well as tackles some weighty contemporary issues. What is unconditional love? How do we treat those who are poor, sick, or suffering?

Will Bear and Blanche's family return home and find her before it's too late? Will she find out the truth before it's too late? Read Black as Night and find out.

At my daughter's request, I am reading Black as Night: A Fairy Tale Retold. This is a great book for young teenagers as it follows the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The outline of the story is a familiar one for most kids, and they will like that the author grabs your attention at the beginning and holds it throughout the story. The main characters are upright teens with a sense of moral fortitude that is lacking in most "teen reads" that are on today's bookstore shelves. When faced with sticky social situations involving drugs and other modern cultural dilemna, the characters make decisions to protect their morals, rather than taking the easy way out and falling "victim" to their peers. It is a win-win for teens who march to the beat of a different drummer and persist through difficulties in a sometimes heroic fashion.

AWESOME BOOK! One of our older teenage daughter's VERY favorites. 3 weeks after Christmas she's read it twice. Contemporary Christian living with a twist.

Black as Night is an excellent sequel to "The Shadow of the Bear". Set a little after the original story, this is a love story with a difference - the characters are concerned about a thing called "vocation". From the friary to uptown New York, Regina Doman has painted a very believable picture of the life of Bear and Blanche. Plenty of clever lines, quotes from contemporary lyrics, and insightful observations about human nature. And plenty of action & intrigue for those who like mysteries.

A must-read for any young Christian discerning their vocation (along with the other books in this series!) Beware the last few chapters - once the action starts you won't be able to put this book down!

In 'Black as Night', Blanche is alone in New York city. A mysterious enemy from Bear's past is stalking Blanche and framing her for a crime she didn't commit. The enemy is also targeting Bear and Fish, who must try to solve the mystery and find Blanche, who is missing after being framed for drug possesion. Regina Doman's sequel to 'Shadow of the Bear' is just as exciting and unique as the first book was. Two thumbs up!!!

This was my first Regina Doman book. Regina was nice enough to agree to come to a Catholic Homeschool Conference my group was putting on. She was very polite and gave almost everyone in my group my age a lot of good advice on writing (we have many aspiring writers). She also autographed every book everyone bought, thus my copy is autographed.

Once I was at home I sat down to read the book at around 9:00 p.m. At first, I was kind of put off by Bear and Fish ('what kind of name is that?' crossed my mind), but pretty soon I was completely drawn in.

The mystery starts when a beautiful girl with fair skin and jet black hair shows up in a friary in New York City. She will tell the curious friars very little about herself and how she came to be there, not even telling them her last name. However, she agrees to help the friars in organizing many donations and food stores and to assist in a lot of charitable work around the neighborhood. But it very soon becomes clear that their mysterious friend is in a lot of trouble of some kind when attempts on her life start happening at the friary.

Meanwhile, Arthur "Bear" Denniston and his brother Ben "Fish" are on an errand in Europe, but Bear worries when he can't get a hold of his girlfriend, Blanche Brier. When he comes home, he also finds out that drugs have been found in his house, and that Blanche has been fired from her job, and is missing, after a heist was pulled in the restaraunt she had been working at, and she was the prime suspect. Bear quickly realizes that the two things must be connected, and worries that he has gotten Blanche into danger, and knows that he has to get her out, before it's too late.

Regina has my admiration for her work in this book. The similarities to the Fairy Tale of "Snow White" are easily recognizable, and totally different from the original fairy tale. The awesome style of her writing includes an uncanny ability to both describe surroundings and interactions between characters.

As soon as I have money saved up, I am buying another one of these. Regina Doman officially has my business, and my prayers.

Regina Doman is a master story teller. Her books that I have read are like an amazing mug of tea - I take my time and sip them slowly savouring each paragraph, each page. The nuances in her writings are tremendous. Many books that I read I race through because I want to find out what happens next. With Regina's books I tend to take my time and meander through them, picking them up and reading them in sections over a few days or even weeks. I do not want to miss anything while reading the stories. I also find that based on the Catholic content, they also often drive me to prayer. While reading, friends and family or situations I know about will come to mind and I will pray.

This book could have easily been called Snow White and the Seven Friars. It is a modern fairy tale, and yet also a fairy tale retold. Doman has mastered the art of modernizing the classic fairy tales. The main characters in this story overlap with her earlier book The Shadow of the Bear: Blanche and Rose, two sisters from the Briar family, and Bear and Fish, brothers whose lives have changed drastically since the first book. The brothers, and this time Blanche as well, are being framed for drug possession. Blanche is in hiding and believes she is alone, Bear and Fish are in Europe and her Sister and Mother are visiting family in California. She is staying at the new Friary which was her old school and the next door church. She is helping the 7 friars get organized as they repair the church and school, minister to those around them and she is trying to figure out God's plan, who is after her and why.

This story is an amazing adventure, with action, romance, and faith all rolled into one tight package. Regina Doman is my favourite contemporary religious author. Her Catholic Fairy Tales Retold is full of amazing stories, that will be great reads for teens, young adults or even adults with an adventuresome heart. Give them a try you will not be disappointed.