Review 93. Carrie Ryan – Hare moon.

Title: Hare moon.
Author: Carrie Ryan.
Pages: 40.
Published: April 5th 2011 (first published March 23rd 2011)  
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0375979999 (ISBN13: 9780375979996)
Sort: Part 0,5 of ‘The forest of hands and teeth.’
Part 1: The forest of hands and teeth.
Part 2: The dead-tossed waves.
Part 3: The dark & hollow places.

Tabitha can’t shake the feeling that something exists beyond the fences of her village. And when she sneaks out, past the gates and down the path into the Forest of Hands and Teeth, she meets a boy who teaches her heart things she never knew. But love in a world surrounded by so much death doesn’t come without its sacrifices, and Tabitha gradually realizes just how much she’ll have to give up to live among the Unconsecrated.

Rating:

I absolutely love "The forest of hands and teeth" series, so I had to read this book about Tabitha. There is no time to connect with her and the story about her life is too short to get to know her. It’s all about her desire for answers; her hunger for more. She decides to sneak out on the path outside the gates, where she meets a boy called Patrick. Every Hare Moon they will meet again, but one day he doesn’t show up.

When Tabitha becomes part of the Sisters after their suspicion that she is up to something, she stumbles on a book. It tells the story of the Return and it suddenly becomes clear to Tabitha: the Sisters are right. But can she resist Patrick’s desperate question when he asks Tabitha to hide him and his brother in her city after an Unconsecrated attack?

The characters are plain. There is no real description about Tabitha or Patrick and I couldn’t feel the growing love between them. I could expect that, since it's a very short story. The ending was very unexpected and it actually made the whole story go from 2 princesses to 3.

Review 92. Gail Carson Levine – Fairest.

Title: Fairest.
Author: Gail Carson Levine.
Pages: 326.
Published: September 19th 2006.
Publisher: HarperCollins.
Sort: Stand alone, but in the same world as Ella Enchanted.

In the kingdom of Ayortha, who is the fairest of them all? Certainly not Aza. She is thoroughly convinced that she is ugly. What she may lack in looks, though, she makes up for with a kind heart, and with something no one else has-a magical voice. Her vocal talents captivate all who hear them, and in Ontio Castle they attract the attention of a handsome prince - and a dangerous new queen. In this masterful novel filled with humour, adventure, romance, and song, Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine invites you to join Aza as she discovers how exquisite she truly is.

Rating:

Aza has the most beautiful voice of them all, but she believes she has one of the ugliest faces. Left by her real father and mother in an Inn, Aza grew up in a loving family. They always believed that she was special, even when she isn’t that pretty. Because sometimes, beauty comes from within and Aza has a wonderful heart.

She also has a special talent. She can make different voices and let them come from other objects. Illusing. When she goes to the Royal wedding from the King and his new Queen, her talent is discovered. The Queen – Ivy – wants to use her voice as her own, since her voice isn’t as pretty as she looks. Aza can’t decline, because Ivy uses evil methods. She is stuck, but her developing friendship with the prince makes everything much better.

Can Aza escape from the Queen?

Opinion.
First of all, I could identify with Aza. A huge period of my life, I felt ugly and I never believed anyone could fall in love with me. I felt so sorry for her and the fact that she couldn’t see how special she was. Everybody – except her family and the prince – treated her so badly! I hate the fact that appearance are so important. I was so glad that she discovered that beauty is more than just a pretty face – and that she is beautiful in her own way.

Second, this book is loosely based on Snow white and I love the originality. Instead of dwarves, she gets Gnomes and she even got locked up in the famous mirror. Snow White isn’t my favorite princess, but Aza captured my heart. She totally deserved her prince. Their love developed – no instant love after a kiss.

The only thing that bothered me was the singing. I liked it when they performed, but they also sing random lines in a conversation. Can you imagine that? That you are talking to your best friend and suddenly, they break out into singing? It was.. too strange for me.

If you are looking for a different spin with a lovely heroin, definitely take a look at this book!

Top 10 Tuesday (21). Vivid worlds/settings.

Hosted by: The Broke and The Bookish.

This week our topic is: a freebie! I picked:

Top Ten Most Vivid Worlds/Settings in Books.

1. The magical world of Harry Potter. J.K Rowling uses so many details in the Harry Potter books. From the way they can transport (Thestrals, Flu powder and Apparate are my favorites), the different food (chocolate frogs with the moving wizard cards, yeah), the secrets in Hogwarts and the places they visit to the vivid characters.

2. The world of Tamir - Lynn Flewelling; Skala. Tobin is actually a girl, hidden inside a male body by dark magic. She must be protected, because she is the girl from the prophecy. She/he is haunted by a ghost and she has no idea what is waiting for her in the future. The land is plunged into darkness and is suffering under the hand of King Erius. In the beginning is a map and I have a weak spot for maps.

3. The dark times - Markus Heitz; Ulldart. Such a shame that these books aren't translated into English. There are 9 books and they are fantastic! Detailed, rich and filled with amazing characters. There are several story lines and the world of Ulldart is a wonderful place to stay. The main story tells about a prophecy which claims that The Dark Times will return.
And there are maps in every book and a list with names. Heitz is a true genius. I've read these books in a short time, because the quality is high. They never get boring and I love them so much + the covers are SO pretty.

4. The seven waters - Juliet Marillier. A beautiful house in an enchanted forest, do I need to say more? This is the place where everything starts. As you all know, I'm a huge fan of Marillier's writing style. Her books have a Celtic influence and it's just magical. All her characters are admirable. They are flawed, but also strong and loving. There are several other places and ever time I read those books, I can see them in my head: like I'm walking right there. There is also a map and a list with names and words.

5. The court of The Tudors - Philippa Gregory. It's a delicious place in books. Gregory does a wonderful job at sketching life at court. Everybody is trying to gain more power and money - and they will do anything to achieve that. There are no true friends. You can trust no one, because they will stab you in the back if they have to. Intrigues, plotting, a King who can't make up his mind, I love it!

6. Ancient Metropole - Christoph Marzi.
Another series that isn't translated into English. I only read Lycidas & Lilith (the other books are still only available in German) and I love it! It's a world which exists under London. It always reminds me a bit of Harry Potter. It's filled with magical (scary) creatures. There are werewolves, fairies, demons, talking rats; name it and it's there. Emily is the main character and she is such an intelligent, sweet girl. Together with her best friend Aurora and new made friends, she must unravel the mystery that is going on. Why are there so many disappearing children?

7. The forest of hands and teeth - Carrie Ryan. Not a place where I would like the live, but it's a beautiful creation. It's a dark place with scattered cities, ruled by The Sisterhood. Everybody believes that they are the only survivors, but it appears that there is a world behind the gate. Most of the world is filled with Unconsecrated, moaning for flesh, but there is more. The descriptions are incredible.

8. The treachery of beautiful things - Ruth Frances Long. Forget those sweet faeries, this is the real deal. They are beautiful, but deadly. They are selfish, but they live in a gorgeous palace in a forest. There are so many creatures there and the details made this place very vivid.

9. The Fey kingdoms from The Iron Fey - Julie Kagawa. First; it's Julie. If you want a great world-building, you must read her books. Second; I want to meet Puck & Grimalkin, so we can be best friends. Third; the different courts sound fantastic and I would love to visit them.

10. The world of the fairy tales - Several authors. Wouldn't it be amazing to walk besides Cinderella when she visits the ball? Or to live with Snow White and the seven dwarfs? Or to watch Belle and the Beast dance together?

So, tell me all about your freebie!

Review 91. Stephanie Perkins – Anna and the French kiss.

Title: Anna and the French kiss.
Author: Stephanie Perkins.
Pages: 372.
Published: December 2nd 2010 by Dutton.
Sort: Part one of ‘Anna and the French kiss.’

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

Rating:  

“The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you.”
 
Anna’s parents are divorced and her rich father believes he has a great idea: he puts Anna in a boarding school in Paris. He tells her it will be a wonderful experience, but all Anna thinks about is what she leaves behind. A good job, a best girlfriend, her little brother and her crush.

On her first day, she meets Meredith and her friends: especially Étienne St. Clair. He is this perfect boy every girl wants to be with – and every boy wants to be him. He has the looks, the popularity and the personality. Only downfall is his egocentric dad who keeps Étienne away from his sick mother.

Anna starts to fall in love with him, but there is a little problem: he has a girlfriend, Ellie, and he isn’t planning on breaking up with her. He doesn’t want to be lonely and he is afraid for his mother. Will they ever get together or will Anna stay with her fling Dave?

Opinion.
As you can see, I wasn’t blown away by this book. This is the main reason why I try to stay away from hypes; most of the time, they don’t deliver. Was it cute? Definitely. Did I like the writing-style? Yes, I did. So, let me tell you why my rating is low.

1. Anna. Like all the other girls, she falls in love with Étienne’s looks right away. But, she is actually pretty easy with her feelings, because Dave is also in the picture – and not to forget the crush in her hometown. She develops a friendship with Étienne, but she keeps whining that his gorgeous looks distract her and that she wants more. What she had to do was stay the hell away from him, because he has a girlfriend.
2. Étienne. The perfect boy who has everything, but to make the storyline a bit more complex, throw in a sick mother and a bad father. Girls swoon around him and he never got the guts to tell Meredith that he doesn’t like her. Poor, naive girl. He stays into this bad relationship with Ellie, because he is afraid to be alone? Yeah, alright. I don’t like these perfect, pretty boys and he just wasn’t fair to Ellie and Anna.
3. All. the. drama. Anna and Étienne keep walking around each other in endless circles, making a lot of fuss and drama in the meantime. Fighting, staying friends, wanting more, fighting, blablabla. Just get on with it already! You like him, he likes you, the end. I have the feeling I actually read the same thing over and over again until they finally made their decision.
4. Alcohol. I don’t like drinking, but I know that it’s something personal. What I find distracting was the fact that the author made it seem like it’s perfectly normal to get wasted. Anna has never been drunk before and I liked that about her, but after the whole puke-and-lose-my-memory-situation I had to roll my eyes.
5. Mean girls and boys. There were so many stereo types. Every girl Anna doesn’t like is a mean girl (Amanda) and every boy Étienne dislikes is a bad guy (Dave). The only people in between are Meredith, Josh and Rashmi; who doesn’t really play a bigger role than making Anna feel better about herself.

I hope that I don’t get all the fan girls hating on me now, haha, because everybody seem to love this book. I guess it’s also because I normally don’t read these type of books. Perhaps Perkins should have thrown in some zombies to make it more spectacular for me ;)

Feature & Follow (15)

Hosted by: Alison can read.

Q: What is a deal breaker for you in a book?

I actually have several deal breakers, but I will pick three:

I'm not a huge fan of love triangles if they are bad written and only there to spice up the boring storyline. Sometimes, they can work. For example: in the Iron Fey I could totally understand Meghan's confusion between Ash and Puck. *Team Puck, yeah*

One thing that makes me quit a book: unlikable characters, especially the main character. If I can't connect with the MC, I don't like the book. Bonding is so important for me.

And one of the things that is bugging me at the moment is the whole love for the terrible-bad-boys. There is nothing swoonworthy about a boy who treats his girlfriend like crap! What's wrong with the sweet relationships where boy and girl are respectful for each other? I do like it when they 'hate' each other in the beginning, because I enjoy sarcastic conversations like Throne of Glass, but there are limits.

So, what is your deal breaker?

Review 90. Emma Cornwall – Incarnation.

Title: Incarnation.
Author: Emma Cornwall.
Pages: 352.
Published: September 18th 2012.
Publisher: Gallery Books.
Sort: Stand alone.
Source: Edelweis & Publisher.

In the steampunk world of Victorian London, a beautiful vampire seeks out the author of Dracula–to set the record straight . . . If one is to believe Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire tale, Lucy Weston is Dracula’s most wanton creation, a sexual creature of the night who preys on innocent boys. But the real-life Lucy is nothing like her fictional counterpart—and she demands to know why the Victorian author deliberately lied. With Stoker’s reluctant help, she’s determined to track down the very fiend who transformed her—from the sensual underworld where humans vie to become vampires, to a hidden cell beneath a temple to madness, and finally into the glittering Crystal Palace where death reigns supreme. Haunted by fragmentary memories of her lost life and love, Lucy must battle her thirst for blood as she struggles to stop a catastrophic war that will doom vampires and humans alike. Ultimately, she must make a choice that illuminates for her—and for us—what it means to be human.

 Rating: Favorite.

In the beginning, I struggled with this book, but after a few chapters I was sucked into this story. I could not put it down and I was mesmerized by the world and characters Emma crafted. This book puts vampires in another light and there is even a touch of another magical creature.

“She and I were one, Lucy and the being who had clawed her way from the grave. We inhabited the same body, shared the same mind, had the same memories.”

From the first page, we are plunged in Lucy’s new life. When she awakes in a coffin, she knows something strange is going on. After digging herself out of the earth, she visits her old house. Her parents and sister are gone, but she finds some clues in a book written by Stoker. It’s exactly her story, but he added wrong details and she hunts him down in order to get answers.

It appears that something bigger is going on and on her way to find her maker, Lucy gets information out of different corners. Felix, a close vampire to Lady Blanchard, and Marco, a Protector. Apparently, Mordred – the vampire king – disappeared around the day she was turned. With him gone, the balance between humans and vampires is in danger. It’s up to Lucy and Marcus to find him.

It won’t be that easy, because danger lurks every where. It's a race against the clock and they better find Mordred before it is too late.

Opinion. 
The first thing I noticed about this book are the rich details. The world-building is incredible and beautifully crafted. During Lucy’s quest to find her maker, she gets a lot of information. At the end, everything falls together into this amazing plot. The little bits and pieces really deliver that Victorian feeling without getting too much. The background story of every character and happening was so well-thought. It’s fast-paced and filled with great characters.

Lucy is very likable and clever. She is strong and the opposite of whiny. When she finds out that she is a vampire – and be aware of the fact that these creatures are unknown at this time - she manages to deal with it in a great way. Then there is of course Marco. There is a romance between them, but it develops good and it plays a small role. I liked him. Despite his believes, he opens up for Lucy and he is protective in a cute way. 

There are no sparkling vampires in this book. They are beautiful, but deadly and you better watch out. I would not turn my back on them. There is this scene where vampires are fighting against each other.. believe me, that won’t be a pretty sight.

The only critic I can think of, is the ending. Everything from the important storyline is tied together, but there is still room for your imagination on one detail. I wish I knew.. I will be keeping an eye on this author, because I can’t wait to read another book from her.