Book Haul (3)

I went to Barnes and Noble the week, then realized that buying the books I wanted was cheaper. After seeing all the new releases that I wanted but couldn't have, I went to a library which turned out to have just about all of them. So now I have a total of fourteen books to read in the next three weeks. Because of how many books I got, I'm going to split them up in three different sections.

Dystopians: 

Ashes, by Ilsa J. Bick (Ashes #1): I've heard this book was really good. I picked it up and checked it out. Let's see what comes out of it.

Elemental, by Antony John: Tied with the fey, elementals are my favorite type of paranormal creature. I'm interested to see how this book portrays them. 

Insignia, by S. J. Kincaid: This book was recommended to me by a friend, and so I decided to pick it up and give it a go.

Through the Ever Night, by Veronica Rossi (Under the Never Sky #2): The sequel to Under the Never Sky, a dystopian I liked well enough, but didn't love. I'm interested to see if this can redeem the first book.

False Memory, by Dan Krokos (False Memory #1): This author is coming to the biggest (really only) bookish event near where I live, and so I'm trying to read as many books by the twenty-or-so authors coming as possible.

The Darkest Minds, by Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds #1): She is also coming to the same event as Dan Krokos, and her novel Brightly Woven is one of my favorites.

Others:

Altered, by Jennifer Rush (Altered #1): Truthfully, I saw the cover and I had to pick. This looks to be a scifi book with four hot guys. Is there anything better?

Catherine, by April Linder: I loved her book Jane, which is a rewrite of Jane Eyre. This time she rewrote Wuthering Heights, and though I've never read the classic, I'm excited to read more of her lovely writing!

Vortex, by Julie Cross (Tempest #2): The first book, Tempest, wasn't very good, but it was decent enough that I'm interested in seeing if the sequel is better.

Nobody, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: This should actually be with the other dystopians, but I didn't realize until after I made the collages that this was a dystopian and not just SciFi. I loved Every Other Day by her, and so I'm excited to read this standalone.

Level 2, by Lenore Appelhans (The Memory Chronicles #1): This is one of those afterlife/heaven books, and though I didn't think one could be written better than The Catastrophic History of You and Me, I'm still willing to give it a go.

Everbound, by Brodi Ashton (Everneath #2): The didn't think Everneath was very good, but like Vortex and Through the Ever Night, I'm still interested enough in the story to see how it turns out, and also if it can redeem the first.

Splintered, by A. G. Howard: The somewhat-creepy cover caught my attention, and though I didn't think we could have another rewrite of Alice in Wonderland, it seems that I was wrong.

And then the one book I have to keep this week is the one I was given for my book group:

The Hunt, by Andrew Fukuda (The Hunt #1): Everything I've heard says this Hunger-Games-with-Vampires is amazing, and so I'm greatly excited to see how it is for myself.

Whew! Well, that's it. Leave your comments, opinions, and links to your Book Haul down there, and I'll check them out!

Anastasia

Book Review: Fairest of All by Serena Valentino

Title: Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen
Series/Sequel? No
Author: Serena Valentino
Genres: Fairytale retellings, old-fashioned fiction
Age Level: YA (12-18)
Page Count: 250 (Hardcover) 
Summary from inside flap of book: The tale of the young princess SNow White and her evil stepmother the Wicked Queen is widelt known. Despite a few variations from telling to telling,the story remains the same - the Queen was jealous of the girl's beauty, and this jealousy culminated in the Queen's attempt on the sweet, naive girl's life. 

Another tale far less often spojen of is the one that explains what caused the Queen to become so contemptuously vile. Still, some have attempted to guess at the reason. Perhaps the Queen's true nature was that of a wicked hag and her beautiful, regal appearance a disguise used to fool the King. Others claim that the Queen might have hated the girl for her resemblance to the Queen's first wife. Mostly, the Queen is painted as a morally abhorrent woman who never loved another being during the course of her miserable life. 

In fact, the theories about exactly what caused the Queen's obsessive vanity and jealous rage are too numerous to catalog. This book recounts a version of the story that has remained untold until now. It is a tragic tale of love and loss, and it contains a bit of magic. It is a tale of the Wicked Queen...
 
Review: When I saw this book at the bookstore, the thing that drew me in was the cover. Because look at it - is it not a gorgeous cover? When I picked up this book and read the inside flap, the thing that drew me in was how it was a retelling of Snow White, supposedly making the Wicked Queen... un-wicked. I've always been interested in that type of story, giving the villain a reason for being a villain.

It started slow. So slow, that, even a couple pages in, I was looking at the page numbers and thinking How much do I have left to read? But then I forced myself to ignore the page numbers and actually read the story, and I found out that it was a decent tale.

This is a fairytale retelling in a way I've never seen it done. The Wicked Queen - who doesn't seem to have a name, but just is called "the Queen" - is shown in a different light. Which, I guess, was kinda the point of the entire story. But it gives reasons for her being horrible and awful to everyone. It gives a different reason besides pure vanity that she looked in the Mirror every day and asked who was the fairest of them all. It gave reasons for everything that she did in the classic tale. For it wasn't so much vanity or just... horrible-ness... but grief. It was amazing all the back-story the author was able to create - and make it it sound plausible and reasonable.

A couple problems I had with it: The storytelling was very childish. Well, maybe not childish, but it was very "Once upon a time..." But that, considering the topic, was appropriate. It's written in third person, in that very fairytale kind of way. I also didn't like how it didn't give the Queen, the King, or the Prince (the one who awakens Snow with Love's First Kiss and all that) any names. They were called by their titles throughout the entire book. In books, one of the things I find most interesting about characters are their names. Do their names have anything to do with their personality? Is their foreshadowing in their names? I wish the the author had given them names. My third and last complaint: I feel as if the ending left a little something to be desired. It made sense where it ended, it's just... the words and the meaning of the words they used - not the actual definition, but what it means as a metaphor or whatever - were confusing the first time I read them. I had to read them again to really understand it and all it meant.

If you like fairytale retellings, I would suggest this for you!





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Book Review: Sisters Red

Title: Sisters Red
Series/Sequel? Unknown
Author: Jackson Pearce (and yes, Jackson is a Ms., not a Mr.)
Genres: Romance, Fairy tale retellings,  urban paranormal /fantasy
Age Level: YA (12-18)
Page Count: 324
Summary: Scarlett lives for the hunt. Ever since the Fenris - the werewolves - took her eyes and left her scarred, Scarlett had done all she can to exact her revenge, and save "Innocents", those that don't know about the Fenris, from being eaten.
Scarlett has help, though. Her little sister Rosie and best friend Silas have always helped with the hunt, working together seamlessly. But as Rosie helps her sister, she no longer because sure if hunting is the life for her, like it is for Scarlett - if Rosie wants love in her best friend instead of love in the hunt.

Review: The last book I read that's so good, it's had me reading till WAY past my bedtime, on the bus, and even hidden inside my textbook at school,  was Iron Daughter,  the second book of the Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa. And I'm sure many of you know how AMAZING that series is. But this book managed to do that.

This book is told by the alternating POVs of Rosie and Scarlett, with a prologue and an epilogue written in third person. I liked how unique their voices were. 

Scarlett's thoughts were constantly focused on the hunt - cold, calculating and unfeeling at times. She was constantly concerned about saving the people that didn't know about the Fenris. She also felt very protective and responsible for Rosie, her love for her sisters being the only thing that stood equal in importance to the hunt.

Rosie, on the other hand, was more concerned about what I consider the more regular things: love for her sister, cooking and baking, her cat Screwtape, her sister, and later on, her love for her boyfriend.

Both Rosie and Scarlett had deep, sisterly love for one another, saying that it had always seemed to them that they were two people sharing one heart. I loved how their love for one another made such an important point in this book. In many current novels, you normally read about romantic relationships, instead of familial ones. This was a fresh plot point, and I welcomed it greatly. 

I loved, at the same time, Rosie's romantic relationship with Silas. There wasn't really that much making out, but sweeter kisses and hugs, and I found that cute and totally "Awww!" worthy instead of the more sexual relationships that are common to read about today. 

All in all, this was an amazing book. If you haven't read it, I would suggest doing so ASAP!

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Book Review: A Kiss in Time

Title: A Kiss in Time
Series? No
Author: Alex Flinn
Genre: Romance, Modern Fantasy
Age Level: YA (12-18)
Page Count: 371
Summary: In this retelling of Sleeping Beauty, typical high school guy Jack wants nothing more than excitement and freedom from his parents when he takes a trip to Europe for the summer. But even in Europe, all they do is look at boring museums. So when Jack fights his way through thick brambles and finds himself in what looks to be an abandoned theme park - like Colonial Williamsburg, but in Europe - what is he to think? Then he stumbles upon a huge castle, and finds a sleeping princess - and what can he do but kiss her? Soon enough, the princess Talia is awake, and forcing Jack to take her from her country and parents back to the states. Things get messy, though, when it turns out it's not just Talia's parents looking for them - it's an evil witch! Will love be enough to stop her and save Talia?

Review: I've read Alex Flinn's Beastly and I loved it - this was no different! (My love for it, I mean. Not the actual book.) 

 This book was split into three parts: part 1 Talia, part 2 Jack, part 3 Talia and Jack. Meaning, the first part was told in all Talia's point of view, the second part was told from Jack's POV, and the third part did every other chapter - Talia, Jack, Talia, Jack. I actually really liked this format, being able to see both character's perspectives on things - from their initial reactions to each other, to later on, when they began to develop feelings for each other.

Jack seems like the typical teenage guy, and in many ways is (read: concerned about drugs and girls) but he also has some deeper, more likable traits. I love how he had that one fear, the one thing he couldn't face, and you could tell that from just reading his character - before even reading where it was essentially spelled out for you towards the end of the book. Normally, it takes a series - and into the second half of the series - to really understand a character that well. I was really impressed by Ms. Flinn in terms of that. 

I was also impressed how... old-fashioned Talia was when she spoke, and in her thoughts. I'm a writer (as previously mentioned) and there are at least a couple of characters that are very old. When I try making them seem their age, however, I always run into problems. I loved how Alex Flinn managed to make Talia actually seem her age. 

There have been many, many different take-offs of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale. However, I feel as if this is one of the better ones. Make this part of your TBR pile - you won't regret it!

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Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder
Series? The first in the Lunar Chronicles, followed by Scarlet, coming out next year.
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: Scifi, Romance, Dystopian
Age Level: YA (12-18) 
Summary: Cinder is the most renowned mechanic in New Beijing. Of course, it helps that she's a cyborg. But when Prince Kai, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Commonwealth, comes to her booth in disguise, needing her to fix a royal android, she knows something is up, even if he just jokingly says it's a matter of "national security".
The Emperor, and many people on Earth, have been struck with leutomosis, a deadly disease. It was brought to Earth by the Lunars, people from what started out as a simple moon colony and have grown to be dangerous, magical, and feared. But Cinder may hold the cure to the disease in her blood - in fact, she may hold more than the cure.

Review: This book is a Cinderella retelling, but not in the way you could imagine. I've heard a lot about this book and wanted to read it, and was so glad when I found it waiting for me at my library.

Cinder is new and fresh, and I loved the way she responded to everything - from the disease to Prince Kai. Even though she may no longer be human, she acts like she is, with the same feelings we have. She also has to deal with prejudice and discrimination, and she tries desperately to keep Prince Kai from finding out - especially since he's shown an interest in her.

Queen Levana and the Lunars are a little frightening and unearthly, and I love them for it. Everything about them had me biting my nails, and leaning forward in my seat. It was pretty awesome.

Prince Kai as a character was pretty awesome as well. He was joking and sarcastic, and not like what you would expect him to be in his position. That being said, he did have a little bit of teenage guy in him - worried about marriage and pretty girls and kissing. But it was for what I believe is a nobler reason - for his country, the Eastern Commonwealth.

This book was written in third person, and while I normally don't like books as much when they're written in third person, this book made third person as personal as first. It was awesome!

The one thing I don't like about this book: I won't do spoilers, but there was this one thing that was supposed to be a total surprise and gasp-worthy, but I totally saw it coming. Maybe I've just read to many books, but it was totally predictable.

Even so, this was an awesome book and an awesome start to the series. I can't wait for next year and the sequel, Scarlet!

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