Book: Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Published May 2012|Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|320 Pages|Purchased for my Nook

Part of a series?  No

Genre: YA/Fantasy

Check it out at: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Alethea Kontis

Goodreads.com Summary: It isn’t easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past—and hers?

I’m not sure what to think about Enchanted.  I love that it’s based on that poem about the days of the week.  But it’s also a very strange re-telling of that poem, and it’s all over the place.  There were elements of Cinderella, The Frog Prince and Jack And The Beanstalk thrown in too.  It just felt all over the place, and I’m not quite sure if the story was supposed to be happy, dark and twisted or something else?  There were so many different things going on, and none of them really worked well together.

There were a few things introduced that could have been interesting, if they were explored more.  Like Sunday’s brother Jack, or the relationship between the King and Sorrow, or even the relationship between the King and his first two wives, and why he killed to remain immortal.  I wanted to know more about Sunday and the frog/prince…when he was a frog, of course.

I’m not sure about the whole family being magical- it just felt too random, and was just another thing that didn’t quite fit.  Plus…all the fairy tales were pretty inconsistent.  Sometimes, Kontis went with the fairy tales (as she did with the frog prince) but other times, she went against it (like the princess and the pea).

I did like the descriptions, and it was a pretty easy read, even if it was a little confusing and convoluted at times.

Final thoughts: There was too much going on in Enchanted.  I liked that you saw a lot of fairy tales, but overall, that just took away from the novel because you were never really sure where it was going.  It was just okay, so it gets a 2 out of 5.

Book: Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

Published December 2011|Published by Philomel Books|336 pages|Purchased for my Nook

Part Of A Series? Yes

Genre: YA/Paranormal

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Mary Lindsey’s Website

Goodreads.com Summary: A thrilling debut story of death, love, destiny and danger

Lenzi hears voices and has visions – gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can’t help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she’s a reincarnated Speaker – someone who can talk to and help lost souls – and that he has been her Protector for centuries.

Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn’t make a decision soon.

Shattered Souls was really interesting.  And I really liked it!

I’m still not sure about this reincarnating souls trend, especially if the person doesn’t remember their past lives, but I thought it was really well-done in Shattered Souls.  Especially when you learn why she can’t remember anything!

I thought Lenzi was an interesting character, but I’m still not sure if I like her or not.  Interesting as she was, I just couldn’t completely connect with her.  Alden and Smith were also interesting, as were Maddi and Race, and I liked seeing the relationships between all the characters.

I think seeing more of Lenzi’s previous life as Rose would have been helpful, because it came up a lot, especially in reference to how different she was.  I know that her starting over and seeing Alden through fresh eyes was kind of the point, I wish her past was explored a little more.

I thought the whole Speaker/Protector/Hindered aspect of the book was super-interesting.  A girl who can speak to the dead, who need to move on?  Definitely an interesting take on ghosts, and I really enjoyed it how she can speak to the dead and help them move on and that she has someone to make sure everything goes okay when she does resolutions.  I love what she did with ghosts- she did something interesting but they were still what we know and love about ghosts.

Final thoughts: Shattered Souls was really interesting, and I can’t wait to learn more about this world.  I thought the idea of speakers and protectors was different and reincarnation to keep things running smoothly was also interesting.  Shattered Souls gets a 4 out of 5.

Book: Princess In Waiting by Meg Cabot

Published September 2002|Published by HarperCollins Publishers|256 pages

Purchased for my Nook

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Find out more at: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Meg Cabot

Goodreads.com Summary: Never before has the world seen such a Princess.

Nor have her own subjects, for that matter. But Genovian politics are nothing next to Mia’s real troubles. Between canceled dates with her long-sought-after royal consort, a second semester of the dreaded Algebra, more princess lessons from Grandmere, and the inability to stop gnawing on her fingernails, isn’t there anything Mia is good at besides inheriting an unwanted royal title?

The tales of Princess Mia continue with Princess In Waiting.  I really love Mia and how she deals with being a princess.

We see her in Genovia, worrying about the infrastructure of Genovia.  We also see her attend a lot of different functions and count down the days until she can see Michael.  I loved seeing her worry about whether Michael was going to break up with her because she needed to cancel their first date.  Michael, of course, is completely amazing, and doesn’t break up with her.

I love the references throughout the book.  The references do date the series a little, but at the same time, it’s totally cool, because it’s like a trip down memory lane!  So…there’s a point where Lilly calls Mia in Genovia and tells her that there was a movie about her life and how it makes Lilly look like an unsupportive, raving lunatic.  I wonder if it’s a reference to the movie adaptation, which I couldn’t get out of my head every single time Lilly brought up the movie.

I love that Mia’s insecure.  It makes her really easy to relate to, and I love that she’s not perfect.  I love that she spends part of the book thinking she isn’t good at anything, and is then surprised when Michael points out that he thinks she’s a good writer.  Mia really is a great character, and she always makes me laugh.

I didn’t love Princess In Waiting, but it is such a fun series to read.  I don’t know much more I can gush about Mia and how much I love her, but I’m sure I can manage to gush about her for the remainder of the series.

Final thoughts: Princess In Waiting is another fun addition to the Princess Diaries, and I like that it’s happening in a short amount of time- Meg Cabot really zeroes in on a specific time frame for each novel, and I like that, because it doesn’t feel drawn out.  It gets a 4 out of 5.

Book: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Published December 2012|Published by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers|292 pages

Purchased for my Nook

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Check it out at: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Jenny Han’s Website

Goodreads.com Summary: Some summers are just destined to be pretty.

When each summer begins, Belly leaves her school life behind and escapes to Cousins Beach, the place she has spent every summer of her life. Not only does the beach house mean home away from home, but her favorite people are there: Susannah, her mother’s best friend, and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly has been chasing Conrad for as long as she can remember, and more than anything, she hopes this summer will be different. Despite distractions from a new guy named Cam and lingering looks from Conrad’s brother, Jeremiah, Belly’s heart belongs to Conrad. Will he offer his to her? Will this be the summer that changes everything?

I loved The Summer I Turned Pretty!  It’s such a fun, cute read, and I even get a little teary-eyed at one point!

I just…I really loved The Summer I Turned Pretty…I love that it takes place during the summer.  I love that we only see the characters during the summer.  I loved the characters most of all- Belly was fun, I totally get why she likes Conrad, and Jeremiah is such a great guy.  Susannah is such a cool mom, and while Belly’s mom is my least favorite character, she was still an interesting character.

It is the perfect summer read, although I would read it anytime I needed a dose of summer.  I loved seeing what Belly was up to, her relationships with Conrad, Jeremiah and her brother Steve, and all of the flashbacks throughout the book.  The flashbacks really added to the relationships.

I so wanted Belly and Jeremiah to end up together, but I also get why she has this huge crush on Conrad.  I liked seeing snippets of her relationship with both boys, and how her relationships with them changed throughout the years.

There is a certain simplicity to The Summer I Turned Pretty.  You get taken back to a time when your biggest worry was what you were going to do that day and hanging out with friends for one last summer.  You feel happy and sad and you can’t help but smile and laugh too.

Final thoughts: I loved The Summer I Turned Pretty so much that all I can do is gush about how much I love it.  It’s cute, it’s fun, and great if you’re looking for something summer-y, no matter what time of year it is!  It gets a 5 out of 5.

Book: Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Published August 2012|Published by Harlequin Teen|Pages: 227

Purchased for my Nook

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Check it out at: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Hannah Harrington’s Website

Goodreads.com Summary: Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can’t keep a secret

Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast—and nearly got someone killed.

Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence—to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she’s ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.

But there’s strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way—people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she’s done. If only she can forgive herself.

I loved Speechless!

I thought Chelsea’s vow of silence was really interesting, and I do think she learned a lot from it.  Like the power of speech, and how to truly listen.  I think she truly realizes how damaging gossip can be, but also how doing the right thing is important, even when it’s not easy.

I also liked all of the different relationships in the book.  The ones with Kristen and her former friends to the ones with her friends at the diner.  She doesn’t become friends with Kristen again, and their relationship is pretty unresolved.  Not everything can be worked out, and some things can never be fixed.  I also liked seeing how her relationship with Andy changed throughout the book, as well as Noah forgiving her for what happened.

It’s not a book about a kid who was beaten to the point of unconsciousness being Hannah outed him.  It did propel her to change, but it really felt like it was more about her changing as a person after seeing the consequences of her actions.

There is a lot of bullying going on- it’s not just Noah, for being gay.  Chelsea gets her fair share for telling the police what happened- and for not speaking, because either way, people think she won’t fight back.  At the same time, all of the shit she got was a bit much at times.  And all of her former friends?  They didn’t have a lot of depth, but they did what they needed to do, so they didn’t need too much depth.  They really do show that some people are just stupid and horrible and don’t care if they hurt people.  She goes through a pretty dramatic change, going from being a gossip to standing up for a kid who’s being bullied.

Harrington did a great job at handling all of the issues in the book, with very real characters.  It was really well-paced, and I liked that you got a day-to-day account of her life after the party.  I liked that all of the characters had their own flaws, and they were all so unique and interesting.

I really need to talk about the cover for a moment, because it fits the book so well.  I love how plain and simple it is, and it just really stands out.  I love that you don’t have some random but pretty girl on the cover.

Final thoughts: I loved Speechless, and thought it was a great book.  I loved the characters and how much Hannah changed from beginning to end.  it gets a 5 out of 5.

Book: In A Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth

Published February 2010|Published by Walker Children’s|Pages: 224

Purchased for my Nook

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Check it out at: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Loretta Ellsworth

Goodreads.com Summary: When a small mistake costs sixteen-year-old Eagan her life during a figure-skating competition, she leaves many things unreconciled, including her troubled relationship with her mother. From her vantage point in the afterlife, Eagan reflects back on her memories, and what she could have done differently, through her still-beating heart.When fourteen-year-old Amelia learns she will be getting a heart transplant, her fear and guilt battle with her joy at this new chance at life. And afterwards when she starts to feel different-dreaming about figure skating, craving grape candy-her need to learn about her donor leads her to discover and explore Eagan’s life, meeting her grieving loved ones and trying to bring the closure they all need to move on.Told in alternating viewpoints, “In a Heartbeat “tells the emotional and compelling story of two girls sharing one heart.

In A Heartbeat was an interesting read.  You see organ donation in a different way, and it’s because of the two (very different) narrators.  I really liked that you saw the girl who got the heart, but also the one who donated her heart.  It really added to the book, because you actually see the donor and what they were like.  It really shows that donated organs come from very real people who aren’t just made up of body parts.

I thought the idea of transplant recipients taking on characters of their donors really interesting.  You see Eagan and Amelia, and how Amelia takes on some of Eagan’s characteristics.  Of the two, I felt like Eagan was more developed as a character.  She was an ice-skater, she had friends, a boyfriend…all we know about Amelia is that she was sick and liked to draw horses- it was hard to connect with her because she spent so much time recovering.  I just felt like we didn’t get to know her as much.

I did like the alternating perspectives and seeing how two very different girls are now connected.  I thought the alternating perspective worked really well.

While I liked the book, I also have a few issues with it.  Other than 2 different personalities and different interestes, the two girls weren’t distinct nearly enough.  The only way I knew who was narrating was by where they were and what was going on- it just didn’t feel like two different girls were narrating.  There were also a lot of things that were mentioned and never explored.  Like, Eagan’s mom used to be an ice-skater.  It would have been interesting to explore their rocky relationship through ice-skating.  Or Eagan having a baby sister, and no one telling her.  Why was that kept a secret?  And how did she die?

There was just something off…I think it might be Amelia, who’s all about her heart issues.

Final thoughts: I liked In A Heartbeat, and thought it was an interesting concept, especially the idea of cellular memory.  It makes you think about organ donation, and how there are two different sides to it.  I give it a 3 out of 5.

Book: Feast Of Fools by Rachel Caine

Published January 2008 by Signet Book|256 pages|Purchased for my Nook

Genre: YA/Paranormal- Vampires

Check it out at: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Rachel Caine’s Website

Goodreads.com Summary: The wait is over. dig into the feast…In the town of Morganville, vampires and humans live in relative peace. Student Claire Danvers has never been convinced, though-especially with the arrival of Mr. Bishop, an ancient, old-school vampire who cares nothing about harmony. What he wants from the town’s living and its dead is unthinkably sinister. It’s only at a formal ball, attended by vampires and their human dates, that Claire realizes the elaborately evil trap he’s set for Morganville.

Have I mentioned how much I love the Morganville Vampires?  Because I do, and I love it the more I read it.  Feast of Fools is a great book, and I just loved it!

I loved meeting Amelie’s dad, who turns out to be the cure for the disease that the Morganville vampires have.  It was hard to put down, and Caine really knows how to keep her readers interested in what’s going on.

I love that the characters are pretty consistent from book to book.  They’re not all over the place, and I love how loyal they are to each other.  It was also nice to see Shane slowly start to accept Michael.  But then the cliffhanger…now I need to know what happens next!

The book is really well-paced and I love how everything is unfolding pretty naturally.  It really feels like Caine knows where her series is going, and I like that everything that happens doesn’t feel forced.

I liked the characters…I really liked Oliver in this book, but I didn’t really like Amelie.  Considering what was going on, and what we learn towards the end of the book, I’m not surprised, but still.  But learning more about vampires, and seeing ones that aren’t from Morganville was pretty interesting.  There’s definitely something interesting about the world Caine is creating and I love her take on vampires.  I really like Richard Morrell, and he seems like a pretty decent guy.  If things don’t work out between her and Shane, I think I might want her to end up with Morrell.

I just love Myrnin, and he’s so fun to read.  Also fun?  Seeing Claire and Shane and their sexual tension.  I want them to just get together already, but at the same time, I like that the tension is continuing to build.  And speaking of both Claire and Myrnin, I like their relationship.  It’s too bad Myrnin doesn’t have more lucid moments, because they really could learn a lot from each other.

I think Feast Of Fools might be my favorite one (so far, because I’m only on book 4 and there are a total of 13 books out), and I have the feeling that it might be the turning point in the novel.  I mean, Bishop’s blood was tested, and he’s the cure, so everyone will get cured eventually.  The way things keep happening, it might be a while, because they just cannot get a break.  I like that something is always happening.  On the one hand, it’s nice that something always happens because it keeps things moving…but on the other hand, they really deserve a break from the craziness that is their life.

Final thoughts: It’s definitely my favorite book in the series, and it’s just so fun to read.  I love what Caine is doing with her characters and with Morganville as a whole.  It gets a 5 out of 5.

Book: Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

Published May 2011 by Walker & Company|243 pages

Purchased for my Nook

Genre: YA/Paranormal- Mermaids

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Tracy Deebs

Goodreads.com Summary: Tempest Maguire wants nothing more than to surf the killer waves near her California home; continue her steady relationship with her boyfriend, Mark; and take care of her brothers and surfer dad. But Tempest is half mermaid, and as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she will have to decide whether to remain on land or give herself to the ocean like her mother. The pull of the water becomes as insistent as her attraction to Kai, a gorgeous surfer whose uncanny abilities hint at an otherworldly identity as well. And when Tempest does finally give in to the water’s temptation and enters a fantastical underwater world, she finds that a larger destiny awaits her-and that the entire ocean’s future hangs in the balance. 

I really liked Tempest Rising.  I have no idea why it took me so long to read about mermaids, but this one is a good one to start off with!

A lot of things in Tempest Rising are predictable.  There’s a prophecy that focuses on Tempest- a prophecy that says she’s the one who will either join forces with Tiamat, an evil sea witch, or defeat her.  She doesn’t want to be a mermaid at first, but realizes that it is what she wants by the end of the novel.  She has a boyfriend, but in the end, she ends up with a mysterious stranger that turns out to be Selkie prince.

And I didn’t mind that there were quite a few predictable elements in the book.  I loved what Deebs did with mermaids and other ocean beings.  I loved the underwater city Kona lived in, and I can’t wait to get a closer look at where the mermaids live.  As for the human setting, I love that the book is set in San Diego!  I do wish we saw more than the beach, but considering the fact that Tempest loves to surf and the fact that she’s half-mermaid, I totally get why the beach is pretty important.  Plus, Tempest being a surfer makes her becoming a mermaid really interesting.

I loved the characters, and thought Tempest was interesting.  I didn’t care for Mark as her (former) boyfriend or Kona as her current boyfriend.  I felt like the book was more about her choice between land and sea, and while her Mark and Kona do represent her choice, it was kind of distracting.  I liked the relationships Tempest had with her family, especially the one she didn’t have with her mom.

Final thoughts: I really am looking forward to reading the sequel, and learning more about the ocean culture!  It was was a fun read and it was nice to read about mermaids.  I loved the characters and the setting, and while I didn’t love Tempest Rising, I still really enjoyed it.  It gets a 4 out of 5.