Of Curses And Kisses
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Set at a boarding school for modern royals with a sprinkling of Beauty and the Beast… Will the...
The Charm Offensive
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In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy--reminiscent of Red, White & Royal Blue and...
The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women's Stories
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For a King renowned for his love life, Henry VIII has traditionally been depicted as something of a...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2163 KP) rated Strawberried Alive in Books
May 9, 2022
This book starts right out with the action. The plot is a little different, which I mostly enjoyed. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite work out, leaving us with a climax that felt a little rushed. Don’t worry, everything makes sense. The characters we love are all here, which is wonderful since I love spending time with them, and their interactions provide some great laughs. Much of the action takes place around Old Town Scottsdale, so we get to meet more of Mel’s business neighbors, which is fun. Of course, they also serve as suspects, and they do a great job of it. This book will leave you craving cupcakes, so watch for four delicious sounding recipes at the end. Long time fans will be happy to visit these friends again. If you are new to the series, you’ll soon find herself devouring all of them almost as quickly as you would a cupcake.
Merissa (11935 KP) rated A Little Christmas: Terrence in Books
Dec 19, 2022
From the very beginning, I was hooked by this book. From the gift fairy bringing a squishy, to the trauma of being discovered. My nerves were on tenterhooks, heart pounding, for poor Terrence. Although I was sorry for what happened to the rest of the staff, the maid who found Terrence didn't get a second thought. That was private and shouldn't have been shared by her with anyone, let alone slimy Jerry.
Warner was everything I wanted him to be. More importantly, he was everything Terrence needed him to be! Caring and nurturing, he supported Terrence and guided him, although Warner himself sometimes needed some guidance from Austin.
This was a gorgeous read, set over Christmastime but that didn't overpower the story between them. I really hope Austin has his own story. This sad Daddy needs a boy of his own. HIGHLY recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
The Dragon's Rose (Grym Hollow #1)
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Rose Briar’s life is the furthest thing from a fairy tale, but she's about to marry the Dragon...
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Going from a shunned mate to top pack female… Has never been more satisfying. Born human and...
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Louise (64 KP) rated The School For Good and Evil in Books
Jul 2, 2018
It's starts off with two girls from the little village of Gavaldon, Every four years for the past 200 years 2 children are kidnapped by the 'Master'. One good and one bad child, it can be two girls,two boys or one of each are taken from their homes forever and believed to be sent to a school for fairy tales.
There is one child, Sophie who has lived for this moment, she is determined to become a princess and meet her Prince Charming and leave the dreary village for good. Sophie is beautiful,the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon and strives for perfection for she knows her time has come and to make sure she is picked she makes sure she carries out good deeds on a daily basis like befriending Agatha.
Agatha is the complete opposite from Sophie, she is not beautiful, she wears black frumpy clothes and keeps to herself. The night the 'Master' comes, children are locked up whereas Sophie encourages it by opening her window and leaving cookies. Agatha tries to rescue Sophie from the Master but just ends up being caught as well, hoping that they will be able to find their way home again.
All is not as planned, when Sophie is dropped into a river of Sludge she finds she has been put in the wrong school and there must have been a mix up of some sort as Agatha has been put in the good school. Sophie is to train to become a witch, henchman or some horrendous creature. With lessons on uglification and surviving Fairy-tales, she instantly seeks out the Headmaster to explain the mishap. Agatha is also out of her comfort zone with glamorous girls in pink dresses with only boys and manicure's on their minds, she wants to return home to Gavaldon as soon as possible but first she has to persuade Sophie. The master has other plans, will Sophie eventually get to the good side? will Agatha get to home?
The two castles are amazing, in the front of the book you get a map to view the two sides of the school. The good side, you have glass rooms,rooms made out of candy, groom rooms, everything possible to make you a princess. On the evil side, you have dungeons and torture chambers which smell of damp. The teachers in the school are composed of a two-headed dog that can remove their heads and attach to other bodies, there are werewolves, fairies, gargoyles,witches and princesses.
Sophie believes that she has been put into the wrong school however as you she develops throughout the book there are sides to her that are not always good. She was angry that she was put in the wrong school,I mean she has dreamed about this her whole life and will do anything to get there.
Agatha is an outcast in the school of good because she doesn't conform to wearing pink dresses and swooning whenever a boy is in the vicinity. However she is a really caring character and doesn't believe that she could ever be beautiful and nor do the others in the good school.
Then there is the love interest - of course there was going to be one! His name is Tedros and he is the most handsome boy in the school of good and not to forget King Arthur's son. He instantly gets all the girls attention, even Sophie's from the other side of the school.
I only had some minor problems with the book, I felt that the author was trying to describe too much at once and it became quite confusing to keep up with. The vanity in this book was overwhelming it set a clear line between ugly and beautiful. This is a middle grade book - impressionable teenagers are going to be reading this. You don't need to be beautiful on the outside the be a princess... it's what on the inside that counts.
This book was fast paced, easy to read (at points) and definitely worth a read if you love fairy tales.
Overall I rated this 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Son of a Witch in Books
Apr 16, 2018
Wicked is the story of Elphaba, Oz's Wicked Witch of the West. Her story tells us about her birth, her childhood, her school years, and how she eventually came to be the Wicked Witch of the West. Throughout the course of the book we meet Glinda, the Good Witch (and Elphaba's college roommate), the Wicked Witch's flying monkeys, and the Wizard of Oz. The Wicked Witch, unsurprisingly, is not as evil as she's painted to be. Her sister, though...I might not call her wicked, but dictatorial? Yes. Wicked also introduces Liir, Elphaba's son. His story is the sequel, Son of a Witch.
In Son of a Witch, we watch Liir try to decide who he is and what he wants to do with his life. Is he really Elphaba's son? What does that mean for his future? Should he take up her mantle and her responsibilities? So many people seem to think it's his duty to do so, but he's not Elphaba. She never confided her dreams and goals to him, so he doesn't even really know what those duties are, much less if he wants to take them up. Son of a Witch is really the story of an identity crisis, but it's an identity crisis with the added pressure of entire tribes and races of peoples looking to Liir for help, or guidance, or simply answers that he does not have.
I very much enjoyed both books, and I'm excited to find out there are two more in the series. I definitely had some unanswered questions at the end of Son of a Witch, and was disappointed when I thought that was the end. I also plan to look up the author's other, similar books - Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Cinderella), Mirror Mirror (Snow White), and many others not based on fairy tales. Or recognizable fairy tales, anyway.
Reading these two books has also made me want to re-read the Oz series - I read most of them years ago in middle school, but I think I may try to grab them from the library again. Oz is such an interesting world, and re-reading them after reading The Wicked Years might shine a whole new light on them.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Wicked in Books
Apr 16, 2018
Wicked is the story of Elphaba, Oz's Wicked Witch of the West. Her story tells us about her birth, her childhood, her school years, and how she eventually came to be the Wicked Witch of the West. Throughout the course of the book we meet Glinda, the Good Witch (and Elphaba's college roommate), the Wicked Witch's flying monkeys, and the Wizard of Oz. The Wicked Witch, unsurprisingly, is not as evil as she's painted to be. Her sister, though...I might not call her wicked, but dictatorial? Yes. Wicked also introduces Liir, Elphaba's son. His story is the sequel, Son of a Witch.
In Son of a Witch, we watch Liir try to decide who he is and what he wants to do with his life. Is he really Elphaba's son? What does that mean for his future? Should he take up her mantle and her responsibilities? So many people seem to think it's his duty to do so, but he's not Elphaba. She never confided her dreams and goals to him, so he doesn't even really know what those duties are, much less if he wants to take them up. Son of a Witch is really the story of an identity crisis, but it's an identity crisis with the added pressure of entire tribes and races of peoples looking to Liir for help, or guidance, or simply answers that he does not have.
I very much enjoyed both books, and I'm excited to find out there are two more in the series. I definitely had some unanswered questions at the end of Son of a Witch, and was disappointed when I thought that was the end. I also plan to look up the author's other, similar books - Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Cinderella), Mirror Mirror (Snow White), and many others not based on fairy tales. Or recognizable fairy tales, anyway.
Reading these two books has also made me want to re-read the Oz series - I read most of them years ago in middle school, but I think I may try to grab them from the library again. Oz is such an interesting world, and re-reading them after reading The Wicked Years might shine a whole new light on them.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com