A Court of Thrones and Roses by Sarah Maas

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

My Thoughts:
I could not put this down. Like, I had to keep to reading to find out what happened even though it's a Beauty and the Beast retelling and I basically knew exactly what would happen in the end. But this version was so fresh. So different. It's all faeries and mythical creatures and politics and warfare and I was absolutely hooked.

I liked that nothing was over-explained. Hardly anything was explained at all in one big monologue moment; We learned things slowly, piece by piece until it all wrapped up in this nice little bow at the end to make perfect sense. I liked how Feyre's relationships evolved with those around her. It was a natural, progressional evolution where we met a character thinking one thing about them, then got to know them better and they became something else entirely.

This world was very imaginative and I loved how Maas built it. How real the people felt. How there were normal people and normal problems mixed in with the extraordinary and magical and crazy. It was a fun, inventive world even without being a completely original story.

The part with Feyre dressing all Princess Leia-like annoyed me mostly because it was pointless. It was just a way to get our main character scantily-clad and offer up some kind of sexual tension. But it was pointless.

Since this world was new and had different rules and that oh-so-familiar fantasy-medieval-feel, I was abruptly pulled from the story every time I came across a modern curse word. It really annoyed me. The faerie people had that one phrase where they'd curse "by the cauldron" but other than that, they'd all use regular-ol' modern day curse words. If you're going to build an entire freaking world and make up all these rules for it why not go ahead and create some kind of original language to go with it? Most fantasy authors do. Heck, many non-fantasy authors do this, too. That's all.

So basically: If you're into fairy tale retellings or medieval fantasy or magical creatures, you may very well like this book. It's well-written, it has a lot of interesting new elements that I wouldn't have thought to go with Beauty and the Beast and it sucks you in from the beginning. This is definitely New Adult and I do not recommend for teens just because there is some graphic sexual content and very adult themes. But, for realz. it's entertaining. 

Sexual Content: Heavy
Language: Moderate
Drugs/Alcohol: Moderate
Violence: Heavy

Mechanical by Betsy Cornwell

**I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. It will be released on August 4, 2015.** 

Publisher: Clarion Books
Pages: 304
Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have turned her into a servant in her own home. 

But on her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette discovers a secret workshop in the cellar and begins to dare to imagine a new life for herself. Could the mysterious books and tools hidden there—and the mechanical menagerie, led by a tiny metal horse named Jules—be the key to escaping her dreary existence? With a technological exposition and royal ball on the horizon, the timing might just be perfect for Nicolette to earn her freedom at last.

Gorgeous prose and themes of social justice and family shine in this richly imagined Cinderella retelling about an indomitable inventor who finds her prince . . . but realizes she doesn't want a fairy tale happy ending after all.

My Thoughts:
I wanted to read this because it had a Cinder feel to it. But I read that so many people were turned off by this book because it sounded so much like Cinder by Marissa Meyer. 

However I can honestly say this is NOTHING like Cinder and it is it's own unique retelling of Cinderella. Such a classic that retellings will never get old. 

Nicolette has become the servant of the house but on her sixteenth birthday she discovers a secret workshop in the cellar of her home that once belonged to her mother. Nicolette's mother was a mechanic or tinker. She created mechanical creatures to do things and Nicolette decides to carry on with her mother's work. Nicolette loves to create things and she's very good at it. 

In order to one day leave her current situation, Nicolette decides  to make things and sell them at the market. Well her inventions become a hit and soon she has several orders. At the market she meets two people and they become really good friends.

The story itself was cute and unique but I had a hard time staying focused. I wanted to see how the story would progress especially with the epic ball and prince scene we are all familiar with and what this author would take the story.

Sadly it couldn't really keep my interest. I finished it but I really had to push through it. There wasn't anything content-wise wrong with the book, I just didn't enjoy the story.

The romance was lame and I was disappointed with it all. I saw it all coming and knew right off the bat what was going on and that was a little disappointing. 

Overall if you want another retelling then check it out. I think younger audiences would appreciate it and possibly enjoy it more than I did.

Sexual Content: none
Language: none
Violence: none
Drugs/Alcohol: none

The Isle of the Lost by Melissa De La Cruz

Twenty years ago, all the evil villains were banished from the kingdom of Auradon and made to live in virtual imprisonment on the Isle of the Lost. The island is surrounded by a magical force field that keeps the villains and their descendants safely locked up and away from the mainland. Life on the island is dark and dreary. It is a dirty, decrepit place that's been left to rot and forgotten by the world.

But hidden in the mysterious Forbidden Fortress is a dragon's eye: the key to true darkness and the villains' only hope of escape. Only the cleverest, evilest, nastiest little villain can find it...who will it be?

My Thoughts:
*An ARC of this book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.*

Couldn't finish. This is a book about all of Disney's evil characters being banished to an island without magic, right? Only none of these "evil" people felt evil. They were all, "Let's do something really evil and watch 1st years slip on a banana peel." Diabolical. I'm shivering in fright over here.

And I get that the book is for kids and pre-teens. But it wasn't very good in general. The perspective kept changing and sometimes it felt like it jumped around in the middle of a section that was supposed to have been someone else's perspective. Thoughts were rehashed a lot. A whole lot. And it's a short book. And I didn't even read it all. And once again: No was very evil! If holding a grudge and eating stale food makes one worthy of evil-mastermind status, there'd be a whole lot more villains in the world. And all the kids on the Isle of the Lost (which is a great title, btw) go to school. The classes are taught by former seriously evil people like Cinderella's evil Stepmother and the Voodoo guy from The Princess and the Frog and other bad guys who did actual bad stuff (the Voodoo guy creeped me out like you would not believe and I was an adult when I saw that movie!). But, thing is, if I'm a bad guy trapped on a sucky island where I'm bound to be unhappy for the rest of my life, I'm not gonna spend my time being altruistic and teaching kids ANYTHING at all. I'm going to do whatever is it I want to do. No one will stop me. I will not have friends. And I will use anyone and everyone to reach my own ends. It's a good thing I'm not evil. But, seriously, I didn't buy into the bad guys being all teacherly; Teachers are way too selfless and bad guys are way too selfish.

None of the characters felt very defined, either. Total meh, all around. And, honestly, the writing was meh, too. I was skipping paragraphs after a while. When I started skipping pages I knew it was time to give up.

I get that this is written for a younger audience but it's still just not very good. If you're going to read a fairy-tale mash-up for pre-teens, there are so many options out there that I would just skip this one entirely. Go read Half Upon a Time or Ever After High or any number of highly entertaining, well-thought-out, well-written and just all-around great books.

Sexual Content: None
Language: Mild
Violence: Mild (boys fighting)
Drugs/Alcohol: None

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Published: May 12, 2015
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Pages: 395

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all. 

My Thoughts:
Honestly, I had no idea what this book was going to be about. I kept seeing other YA authors and such rave about this book, so I picked it up.

I am so glad I did! It's a retelling of A Thousand and One Nights! WHOOT! I was hooked after the first sentence!

Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid the Caliph of Khorasan knowing that in the morning she will die. BOOM BABY! Are you hooked? Good!

Oh man what do I say without any spoilers! okay Shahzad only volunteered to marry the Caliph because she plans to kill him and end the suffering of her people. This king who kills his brides the morning after their marriage needed to stop and she decided she would be the one to do it. With a heart full of hate and a desire for revenge Shahrzad marries the Caliph.

Khalid is not what he seems, and soon Shazi starts to see that, which throws off her game and the reasons why she is there.

I really liked Shazi, she a great protagonist who feels so strongly even at sixteen. I liked watching to struggle and wage war with herself has she tries to discover the cause of so much bloodshed.

However this is not just a story of a girl and prince. No, there are other things going on behind the scenes that Shazi and Khalid know nothing about, things that could put their whole lives at stake.

Overall I couldn't put this book down and loved every minute of it. This does have some steamy scenes in it that may not be appropriate for a younger audience though-just a warning.

Sexual Content: moderate (knowledge that two characters had sex, some passionate kissing, and a steamy sex scene that isn't too graphic)
Language: none
Violence: moderate (fighting scenes)
Drugs/Alcohol: mild

A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Published: May 5, 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's
Pages: 419

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

My Thoughts:
This is not YA...is it? It can't be.... really? I think it has got to go under the NA (New Adult-ranges from ages 19+ or "college age") category now. Because I would NOT let a younger teenager read this.

Because WHOA....

Okay I bought this because it's a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I mean who wouldn't! Sarah J. Maas is an EXCELLENT writer. And the retelling was amazing. I will honestly say I thought it resembled Juliet Marillier's version of Beauty and the Beast, at certain parts but IT'S NOT.

Feyre fights for the survival of her family; after being left destitute due to her father's bad business dealings and debts-Feyre hunts for food and sells what she can for whatever else they need to survive. The dynamics of the family was great and goes along with the oldest stories I've read of Beauty and the Beast. Feyre made a promise to her dying mother to take care of the family, which has kept Feyre going all these years. She is a surviver, she taught her self how to shoot, how to skin hides, and she does this solely for the purpose of her promise to her dying mother.

When Feyre kills a wolf, a HUGE beast/wolf/bear/creature comes for retribution for that kill. Feyre agrees to go with this creature and live in the dreaded faerie lands with no chance of every going home and seeing her family again.

I enjoyed the faerie aspect of this story as I feel it stays true to the original idea that faeries aren't to be trusted. I loved every aspect of the faerie world and all that came with it.

I enjoyed the mystery behind what's killing or taking over the faerie world and the concept behind and involving the faerie world and how it affects the human world. It was amazing and extremely well written.

The romance was awesome in the aspect of a GOOD MAN! I am tired of seeing these girls fall for the "bad guys" and somehow "change" these guys. It's unrealistic but you can have a brooding character who underneath is gentle, good, and kind and I loved that about Tamlin.

I loved Tamlin's character for all the reasons written above. Plus the fact that he was willing to do whatever it takes for the good of his estate and the people on there. He was good man. I liked him.

Overall the story was phenomenal and amazing. However the reason why I could not recommend this to younger audiences is the fact that there is a graphic sex scene. Now, it does NOT go on for pages on end or chapters but it's graphic enough that I would not recommend this to younger audiences. I am disappointed that if this book is considered YA that it would be so graphic.

Sexual Content: heavy (as mentioned above)
Violence: heavy
Language: mild
Drugs/Alcohol: mild/moderate (faerie parties and drinking)

*for those sensitive to that kind of content I would recommend you "OBTAIN" the book before buying it*

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?

My Thoughts:  No spoilers here!

OK - this book is a perfect example of “like the story, not the writing style”.  I really enjoyed the story and all of its fairy tale elements, but the style wasn't my thing.  Overall, I would recommend it though.  It’s dark, mysterious, at times disturbing, and fantastical.  *We all know I love a good fantasy/fairy tale (if you didn't, you do now)!*

It started off pretty slow, but once I got into the story I was intrigued.

Ben and Hazel’s living situation made me kind of sad because of the fact that their parents were around without really being around.  In order to deal with this, they rely heavily on their imaginations.  As they grew up, though, they drifted apart and withheld secrets from each other leading to unspoken grudges.

This might seem stupid, but I love the fact that Hazel is the sword wielding knight and Ben is the melodic musical hypnotist.

READ IT!

Sexual Content: Moderate
Language: Moderate/Heavy (I'm not completely sure , but I seem to remember a good bit of language)
Violence: Heavy (at the end - depending on your tolerance level)
Drugs/Alcohol: Moderate

Crimson Bound by: Rosamund Hodge

Publication: May 5, 2015
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 448

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption.

(This is a standalone novel, not part of the Cruel Beauty Universe.)

My Thoughts:

Can I just say that I LOVE Rosamund Hodge. She is now on my "must read" authors list.

Here we have another dark fairy tale retelling. Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.
I was utterly impressed with the amount of imagination and creativity that went into this story.

The characters in the story weren't simple, or even black and white. They were all complex and there was a lot of gray in here.

Rachelle (Little Red) thinks she knows what she is doing. Over estimating herself and a man she meets in the forest she ends up making a deadly mistake, one that would not only cost her, her life but that of another-one whom she loved dearly.

To atone Rachelle throws herself into training and killing evil creatures that come out of the dark forest. The Dark forest is getting stronger and eventually it will take over the kingdom and the world.

Regardless of Rachelle and the fact that she has become part of the forest and bound to an evil king that is trying to return, she fights herself constantly and the evil that is trying to overtake her.

I really liked Rachelle and her constant battle, however I am sad of some of her mistakes. It irritated me that she lasted so long and held out so long but ended up making some pretty stupid choices.

The romance was good and I really REALLY liked Armond and his story, I loved the mystery behind a lot of these characters and the twist Hodge took in regards to a few of the main characters.

Overall this is a very dark retelling and if you enjoy battling evil and fantasy then give this a go.

Sexual Content: moderate (PG-13, kissing, sexual tension, knowledge that 2 characters had sex)
Language: moderate
Violence: moderate (fantasy killings, talk of blood and gore, fighting)
Drugs/Alcohol: mild

Splintered (Spintered #1) by A.G. Howard

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

My Thoughts:
This sounded so fun. It's a new take on the Alice in Wonderland story where our protagonist, Alyssa, is a descendant of the original Alice. Alyssa learns that because of Alice there is a curse placed on the women of her family so that they hear bugs and flowers talk and go insane. Sounds awesome, right?!? And all the plot twists and turns and the way the story plays out is super fun and interesting. A.G. Howard, you know how to storyboard a tale.

You just suck at execution.

The actual writing of this book was so bad. So, so bad. Everything was over-the-top over-explained. We learned about each character with a few paragraphs of info dumping splattered throughout the book. Every time Alyssa thought of anything the narration would explain it so that nothing could be questioned. As a reader it's extremely boring to read a book like this: "My resolve was beginning to soften so I stepped back even though I didn't really want to, feeling the magnetism between us. I wanted him and I was pretty sure he wanted me but there was no way I would make a move on a boy that might have a girlfriend even though there were plenty of moments that let me know he was interested.(*not an actual quote, but you get the idea)" All of this could have been said with body language. In fact, it WAS all said with body language. First Howard would spell out what characters were feeling with what they did. Then, so there wasn't any doubt about what was going down in this story, she would spell it out with actual spelling. So. Much. Explaining. We are not idiots, Ms Howard.

That was another thing: The love triangle and romancey parts were just... cheesy. They felt very much like sappy, trashy romance novels. There was lots of staring at other, wondering what the other was feeling. Lots of unnecessary uncertainty. A whole lot of Alyssa questioning herself and what she really feels. Way too much back and forth, "does he like me? I can't let him see how I really feel". And then when we finally did reach a kiss scene it was weird as to be uncomfortable and unsatisfactory. Like, there were growly noises and soft groans and "giving in" and all that cheesy stuff. But it was abrupt, the scenes didn't have time to build and it made me feel cheap to read them. I also don't understand why Alyssa was attracted to Jeb or Morpheus as both of them seemed more big-brotherly or fatherly to her than romantic. They both told her what to do and tried to keep her from learning things and tried to manipulate her into doing what they wanted and had weird/creepy sexual tension every time they were near and had a bizarre rivalry that I'm not even sure they understood. Gag.

One thing that bothered me a whole lot about this was that the entire book hinges on the fact that Alyssa's great-great-great grandmother was Alice, who went to Wonderland. Alyssa even had family heirlooms and passed-down stories and knew something about her lineage.
But very early on in the book we are informed that Alyssa's mother, Alison, was raised in the foster care system without a family. How would Alison have learned of her heritage? Her ancestry? The stories of her family? How would she have received family heirlooms? I just--There's so much that Alison and Alyssa wouldn't know about their families and who they were. So many stories that wouldn't have been passed down. I don't understand how Howard could overlook something as huge as that. Either that or she knows nothing of foster care.

Dialogue was ridiculous. Not in a good way. There were cheesy one-liners all over the place. Actually most of the dialogue was cheesy. Jeb said more than most boys would about feelings and stuff. Morpheus wasn't nearly as cryptic as Alyssa thought he was. Once Alyssa was under the influence of some kind of Wonderland food and she kept thinking she was spouting nonsense when, in fact, what she was saying made perfect sense, it was just dumb. I did actually appreciate the way some of the minor characters had their own way of speaking; That was kind of fun. For the most part it was just cheesy and over-explained. Too much. All the time. Got so sick of it. Like you should be now.

I did finish the whole book even though I just dragged through it. The plot was so interesting and well-developed that I wanted to find out what happened even though the writing was so bad. Despite the love triangle, I really did like the way the story played out and am curious about the rest of the series but can't decide if I will read another book by A.G. Howard. I may wait until she releases a few more books before I pick up her most recent, hoping her writing skills will have caught up to her storyboard skills. Only time will tell.

Anyway, many people have enjoyed this book. If you're into twists on the Alice story and don't care about poor writing and cheesy romance you might also like it. But if good writing and non-cheesiness are important to you in your reading you'll probably want to skip this one.

Sexual Content: Mild
Language: None
Violence: Moderate
Drugs/Alcohol: Moderate (weird Wonderland stuff and insane asylum meds

Beastly by Alex Flinn

A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright--a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever--ruined--unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

My Thoughts:
This was cute. I mean, who doesn't love a fairy tale revival? And it's modern day? Sure, I'll bite.

The story followed the typical Beauty and the Beast story. There really was no variation at all. When I read a revival story I hope for some kind of twist, an added element of "Whoa, that's interesting!" to reward me for reading a story I've basically already read/heard/watched (in at least 3 different movies). I didn't find anything noteworthy here.

Kyle's transformation from inner beast to man was interesting and, for the most part, well done but I felt like it happened too fast. I wished the witch had given him a few more years to break the curse. I felt like that would have been more realistic and I wanted to feel for him more; Feel his loneliness, his sadness, his change of heart. I wanted more time. That, and it always bothers me in YA books when high schoolers find their true love. If they'd been just a few years older it wouldn't have annoyed me so much.

The love story played out nicely but, again, I would have liked more time. It felt too fast, even in the fairy tale, fiction, suspend-your-belief place you go when you read books. More. Time. People do not fall in love that quickly, especially if these people are not actually people.

The chat room thing was entertaining but I didn't feel like it added anything to the story. It really just made me want to hear the other kids' stories.

I loved Will, the blind tutor. He was just so perfect; Kind but firm, funny but serious, intelligent but humble. He sounds a lot like Mary Poppins.

Something that really bugged in this book was the language. Dialogue was a bit unbelievable. People said weird things. Beast even notices himself saying weird things but keeps doing it, even when he's not thinking to himself how weird it is. And I get that the author was trying to incorporate the classic fairy tale language and dialogue and whatever else but it just felt forced. And then the characters would all go on these long rants and monologue about whatever-it-was they wanted to say. Wasn't a fan of that.

And I didn't like the way Kyle was portrayed before he was a beast. That's kind of the point but I got a little weirded out that this high school freshman was drinking and hooking up with girls.

Other than that the book was clean. And it was cute. And it was a fast, easy read. And I'll probably read other books by this author.

Language: Mild (honestly don't remember how many curse words there were but it can't have been that much if I don't remember, right?)
Sexual Content: Moderate (lots of derogatory talk about girls, inappropriate touching and a reference to sex, but no scenes)
Violence: Moderate
Drugs/Alcohol: Mild

Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay

Book Description:
Game of Thrones meets the Grimm's fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty's daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne.

Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora's throne ten years ago.

Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it's too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?

My Thoughts:
This book people. This book! You think it's a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, well it, but it's NOT! HA! How does that work? Well, you are going to have to read it to find out for yourself! And THIS IS A MUST OWN, A MUST READ, I LOVED!!! Can't you tell? I have read another book by Stacey Jay Of Beast and Beauty and I LOVED that one too! New must read author for me!

This story follows the tragic tale of Aurora and her brother Jor. Their mother killing herself to save both Aurora and Jor, leaving Aurora "fey-blessed" with gifts that could eventually turn into curses.

Aurora being raised by the fey lives a pretty good life, being taught the ways of the fey in order to survive. When her brother is captured by the evil queen Aurora dresses herself as a boy in order to gather an army to go against the evil queen to save her brother, her kingdom, and eventually the world.

When Aurora is captured she is saved by a man named Niklaas in search of Aurora to woo and wed her in order to save himself from a terrible curse before his eighteenth birthday.

Disguised as a boy Aurora sets off with Niklaas to find her army and he, the princess he sold something valuable to find her.

I loved Aurora because from the beginning she is likable, she's stubborn, strong, sassy, loves deeply, cares much, what's to do what's right, willing to sacrifice much to save those she loves etc. In other words-very relatable.

The character development was great, the world building perfect, the adventure-one you can't put down, the romance- so soft and sweet, the writing style elegant and captures the world the author was trying to portray.

Ok enough of the ooey gooey goodness....let me just say that in all fairness it did take me a bit to get into the story. The character of Niklaas was great because it's about a boy with a past but overall a good guy who learns and matures and changes! See? Men CAN change! HA! You do want to slap him A LOT because of things he does and say but again the character development with him was wonderful.

There were several messages with this book, a story of forgiveness, REAL LOVE-not hormonal "love," change, and MORE!

Overall: loved the story even though there were times it got a little wordy and a little hard for me to get into in the beginning.

Sexual Content: moderate (talk of sleeping with several women, talk of sex-no graphic)
Language: none
Violence: moderate (fighting scenes, a little bit of torture-not graphic)
Drugs/Alcohol: mild (a little drinking/drunkedness)

Rapunzel Untangled by Cindy C. Bennett

Rapunzel is not your average teenager. 

For one thing, she has a serious illness that keeps her inside the mysterious Gothel Mansion. And for another, her hair is 15 feet long. Not to mention that she’s also the key to ultimately saving the world from certain destruction. But then she meets a boy named Fane, who changes all she has ever known, and she decides to risk everything familiar to find out who she really is. 

Filled with romance, adventure, and mystery, Rapunzel Untangled is one story you won’t want to put down. Discover the true meaning of love and friendship in this modern twist to the classic fairytale.

My Thoughts:
First of all, this was adorable. And clean. It was just good, clean, grinning throughout the first half of the book, fun. I mean, it's a Rapunzel retelling, right? Set in the modern day. Hard to go wrong. Only a couple of things were weird. I'll get to that.

Rapunzel has only had contact with one person for her entire life: her mother. She is completely sheltered and locked away from everything. So we know she's going to be very naive and ignorant about the world. But she's Rapunzel, so it's endearing. Fane, though. I don't know. Here's a teenage guy who's grown up in the information age with all its warnings about technology and internet safety and whatever else. I'm expected to believe that a random unknown person requests his friendship on facebook, he accepts, then agrees to meet said random person without any kind of real information or even a picture. Sounds unsafe, to say the least. And dumb. And then there's the whole thing about Rapunzel having never met anyone else at all and falling in love with the one person she knows besides her mother. Real healthy. And then they're both pretty cavalier about Rapunzel's health when they sneak out and go places where other people and their germs will be. They're all, "I could die from this but let's go do it anyway." I guess I understand the mentality but that doesn't make it not dumb.

But it was cute and I did grin through the entire first half of the novel. And then it got weird. Lots of creepy witchcraftery and seances and just dark, weird stuff. It was handled in a lighter way, you might say, so that the overall feel of the book didn't get too dark but it was just weird. Maybe a bit cheesy. And then the ending made me roll my eyes a lot. Rapunzel is naive, yes, but she just did something really stupid at the end there. And if you found out something really terrible about your mother and then confirmed that terrible thing would you not just run away and call the cops? Why did Fane not suggest that? Then we could have avoided the weird supernatural ending there. 

Anyway, it was a fast, clean, sweet read and I would have no qualms recommending it to anyone. 

Sexual Content: Mild (some kissing)
Language: None
Violence: Moderate (just the final scenes at the end, there)
Drugs/Alcohol: None

Talon by Julie Kagawa

Coming Soon: October 28, 2014

Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

My Thoughts:

I have liked everything I've read by this author. So this wasn't a surprise to me, by the end, how much I love this author and her writings. 

At first when reading Talon I thought it was going to be too similar or exactly like the Firelight Trilogy by Sophie Jordan. I was almost cringing at how much they were similar...at first. But I continued and as the story progressed, yes there were a lot of similarities but Kagawa is really good at taking a story and making it her own. 

As you can tell just by looking at the cover and by my mention of Firelight, this book is about dragons. The kind that can change into human form. The problem with these types of stories for me is I have a hard time relating or seeing these things as "beautiful" haha I even tried finding a picture to match was I was trying to picture in my head. But they are all pretty terrifying. The story of Talon is about a secret society of shape-shifting dragons and the Order who hunts them down. Your typical YA dragon story. From the story Talon is all about it's own species preservation and doing whatever it needs to achieve that. After being hunted down almost to extinction they decided to infiltrate human society, when the Order of St. George finds out about a possible dragon they decide to send two of their best to track them down, know for sure if it's them and then kill them. The problem with that? is when one of the hunters starts to have feelings for the main female character. typical.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Truly, there wasn't really anything new here. However I love Julie Kagawa's writing, she can take an ordinary story and still write it beautifully in such a way that you enjoy the story regardless of the outcome you know is going to happen. The romance was a bit eye rolling even thought you held onto the book wanting to know where Kagawa was going to take you. 

Overall I still really enjoyed the story and couldn't put it down. I have yet to be disappointed with anything Julie Kagawa writes. 

Sexual Content: moderate (PG-13 sexual tension, kissing)

Language: moderate (I think it was more of PG- PG-13 I think it was more than I expected but not horrible)

Violence: mild 

Drugs/Alcohol: moderate (underage drinking, knowledge that a character gets drunk)