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
In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.
Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?
Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.
My Thoughts:
So good. Sucked me in and I could not stop reading. Why is this labeled 3.5? It's long enough to be a stand-alone and doesn't fall between the 3rd and 4th books. If anything, it's a prequel. And that is my only beef with Fairest.
Meyer so effortlessly gets inside people's heads. Her characters all sound like individuals, dialogue sounds like real people, everyone is well-layered, has depth and meaningfulness and relatability. Seriously, Meyer's characterizations are flawless. Her writing is flawless. I can find nothing at fault here in this book whatsoever. It's beautiful and tragic.
I so pitied Levana. I so sympathized with her and her horrible upbringing and loneliness. Why did no one show her any kindness?
Enter Evert, who is equally tragic but not in an insane way like Levana. The only person to show Levana kindness, ever, was Evret. And for that he doomed himself.
Oh man, just--Everything was So Good! In a horrible, tragic, depressing way. I want to read more. I cannot wait for Winter to come out. I might just be hyperventilating. Come on, Winter! You're killing me, here!
GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
Sexual Content: Moderate
Language: Mild (if any)
Violence: Moderate
Drugs/Alcohol: None
I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.
Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.
Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.
Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.
Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.
It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.
My Thoughts:
I started this book not knowing what I was getting into. I find that when I do not read the synopsis of a book, I enjoy it better because I am going into something that with absolutely no expectations!
This book has soooo many aspects that I like to see in my YA books! Instead of a hero story this is a complex "villain" story where the main character is dark and physically scarred. All characters have some sort of "flaw" in their appearance. We have a great story with just the right amount of romance that doesn't overtake the story but is very light. Plus we have a beautiful and completely platonic friendship between a male and female character.
This story is about a girl named Adelina who was raised by a father who abused and tortured her. She lost an eye due to a feet that swept through her country and killed massive amounts of people but leaving lots of others physically scarred but with these scars came powers. You'd think the world would be crazy excited to have powers but with the scarring came a mental stigma that they called those who survived the fever and scarred are called "malfetto" who are hated, shunned, and even feared due to their "imperfections." Adelina is such a person and her father tried to use that to his advantage and hurt her in order to get what he wanted.
One night after fear of being sold to a man to be a mistress, Adelina flees, which ends up her killing her father in self defense. She is then captured, charged with murder and sentenced to death by fire. She is saved by a group of people that have survived the fever, who are marked, and have powers. And they call themselves....The Young Elites...
The leader of this group is named Enzo, an exiled prince who wants to take his rightful throne back and will do whatever it takes to get it back. I liked him a lot because he isn't "weak" he is strong and perfect for his role.
The Young Elites are after one thing, and that is to take back what is theirs. A place in this world. Adelina
learns the night of her father's death that she does have powers and her powers are wielded by the darkness that surrounds her. She tries to be the hero, the good person but because of everything in her past and the darkness within her, her powers are frightening because of what it takes for Adelina to use.
My favorite however is the relationship between Adelina and Rafaelle who is a male courtesan, who outside of his "work" he is kind, smart, and overall good. Yet he senses Adelina and the darkness that surrounds her. Although he is a beautiful person, he treats Adelina with the kindness she never had, the only light she felt came with "no strings attached." He hates what he does but it's done with a purpose in mind and that is to further The Young Elites plans to help Enzo recapture the crown.
Overall this book was new to me and I really enjoyed it. I really hope for a redemption when it comes to some characters in this new trilogy.
Sexual Content: moderate (PG-13ish some kissing, understanding of the job of a courtesan and what it entails with either sex)
Language: moderate
Violence: moderate
Drugs/Alcohol: mild
