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Lottie disney bookworm (1056 KP) rated So This is Love in Books
May 16, 2020
Never has a title of a book made me sing one verse over and over (and over) again. Seriously, I have been wandering around the house humming “So this is love” so much my husband probably thinks I have got myself a new fella!
‘So This is Love’ is the latest in the Disney Twisted Tale series and has been eagerly awaited by yours truly. The latest novel, by Elizabeth Lim (who also wrote the Mulan inspired tale ‘Reflection’) explores what would happen to the classic Cinderella tale if Cinders did not try on the glass slipper for the Grand Duke and scamper off towards her happily ever after. How would Cinderella fare if a dramatic stand off resulted in the remaining slipper shattering into a million pieces?
However, it is not, as you may suspect, Lady Tremaine who smashes the second glass slipper but Cinders herself. Lim’s Cinderella has her head firmly on her shoulders and is all too aware what the power of possessing this shoe may mean to herself, the Prince and the kingdom if it fell into the greedy hands of her relatives. Thus, in an act of bravery, she destroys her ticket to a happily ever after and faces the wrath of her stepmother in the process.
This is the first point in the twisted tale where we see a completely different Cinderella than we have ever seen before. After a dramatic turn of events Cinderella leaves her family home for good and finds herself at risk of a life living on the streets. However, Elizabeth Lim has not abandoned all aspects of a fairy tale: a chance encounter and a new friend present Cinders with the opportunity to find work within the palace where she once danced the night away.
In my opinion, the traditional Cinderella would go running straight to the Prince, explain her story, rely on her beautiful face and live happily ever after. Thankfully for the realists amongst us, our twisted tale Cinderella agonises over the possibility that the Prince is more in love with the idea of the “runaway princess”: she decides that their relationship would never work and that she should focus on her career and creating an independent life for herself.
This was such a refreshing character trait: I loved the fact that, although Elizabeth Lim did not change the time period of the novel, she modernised the main character into a young woman who does not need rescuing. Quite the opposite, as Cinderella soon finds herself witnessing corruption within the palace: can this Disney Princess become a hero and save the kingdom?
Lim’s Cinderella is truly a modern role model: she is resilient, sometimes stubborn but altogether kind and most importantly, she faces her fears despite overwhelming periods of anxiety in some of the most emotive and beautifully written pieces I have read in a long time.
In an Instagram post to Elizabeth Lim (@elimpix) I told her that this Cinderella is the version I would prefer my boys to chase after. However, on reflection that isn’t true. This Cinderella doesn’t deserve to be chased and hunted down in order to fit into a pretty shoe. This Cinderella is a partner in every aspect: working for the good of the kingdom and a ruler in her own right. This is the Cinderella I would want my boys to be worthy of.
‘So This is Love’ is the latest in the Disney Twisted Tale series and has been eagerly awaited by yours truly. The latest novel, by Elizabeth Lim (who also wrote the Mulan inspired tale ‘Reflection’) explores what would happen to the classic Cinderella tale if Cinders did not try on the glass slipper for the Grand Duke and scamper off towards her happily ever after. How would Cinderella fare if a dramatic stand off resulted in the remaining slipper shattering into a million pieces?
However, it is not, as you may suspect, Lady Tremaine who smashes the second glass slipper but Cinders herself. Lim’s Cinderella has her head firmly on her shoulders and is all too aware what the power of possessing this shoe may mean to herself, the Prince and the kingdom if it fell into the greedy hands of her relatives. Thus, in an act of bravery, she destroys her ticket to a happily ever after and faces the wrath of her stepmother in the process.
This is the first point in the twisted tale where we see a completely different Cinderella than we have ever seen before. After a dramatic turn of events Cinderella leaves her family home for good and finds herself at risk of a life living on the streets. However, Elizabeth Lim has not abandoned all aspects of a fairy tale: a chance encounter and a new friend present Cinders with the opportunity to find work within the palace where she once danced the night away.
In my opinion, the traditional Cinderella would go running straight to the Prince, explain her story, rely on her beautiful face and live happily ever after. Thankfully for the realists amongst us, our twisted tale Cinderella agonises over the possibility that the Prince is more in love with the idea of the “runaway princess”: she decides that their relationship would never work and that she should focus on her career and creating an independent life for herself.
This was such a refreshing character trait: I loved the fact that, although Elizabeth Lim did not change the time period of the novel, she modernised the main character into a young woman who does not need rescuing. Quite the opposite, as Cinderella soon finds herself witnessing corruption within the palace: can this Disney Princess become a hero and save the kingdom?
Lim’s Cinderella is truly a modern role model: she is resilient, sometimes stubborn but altogether kind and most importantly, she faces her fears despite overwhelming periods of anxiety in some of the most emotive and beautifully written pieces I have read in a long time.
In an Instagram post to Elizabeth Lim (@elimpix) I told her that this Cinderella is the version I would prefer my boys to chase after. However, on reflection that isn’t true. This Cinderella doesn’t deserve to be chased and hunted down in order to fit into a pretty shoe. This Cinderella is a partner in every aspect: working for the good of the kingdom and a ruler in her own right. This is the Cinderella I would want my boys to be worthy of.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2623 KP) rated Murder’s No Votive Confidence in Books
Oct 23, 2019
This Debut Has My Vote of Confidence
This Memorial Day Weekend is going to be busy for Stella Wright. Not only is it the start of tourist season for her native Nantucket Island, but, thanks to her best friend, she has landed a job providing candles for a wedding taking place over the weekend. This job includes a large and elaborate unity candle, but before the couple can walk down the aisle, Stella finds the candle broken next to the body of the bride’s estranged uncle. When the police are quick to arrest a local bartender, Stella is certain they have the wrong suspect. Can she use the fact that she’s helping with the wedding to find the killer?
I didn’t get as much reading time as I am used to when I picked up this book, but I felt like the book started off a little slowly. That might just be me, however. Things definitely picked up in the second third of the book, and I was impressed with some of the twists we got as we neared the super fun climax. The characters really grew on me, especially Stella. There are hints we might be in for a love triangle, but I think it is clear who Stella’s love interest should be, and I really liked him, too. The suspects are good characters and strong as suspects. I felt the island could have come to life a bit more, but again, that might have been my lack of reading time to fully immerse myself into the story. Overall, I enjoyed this debut and I’m definitely planning to visit Stella again.
I didn’t get as much reading time as I am used to when I picked up this book, but I felt like the book started off a little slowly. That might just be me, however. Things definitely picked up in the second third of the book, and I was impressed with some of the twists we got as we neared the super fun climax. The characters really grew on me, especially Stella. There are hints we might be in for a love triangle, but I think it is clear who Stella’s love interest should be, and I really liked him, too. The suspects are good characters and strong as suspects. I felt the island could have come to life a bit more, but again, that might have been my lack of reading time to fully immerse myself into the story. Overall, I enjoyed this debut and I’m definitely planning to visit Stella again.
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Capital by John Lanchester
As soon as I read the blurb for this, I realised I'd seen the serialisation that was on TV a couple of years ago. I couldn't really remember much of the detail so it didn't really spoil the book for me.
Set on Pepys Road, a street in London, that has become expensive to live in purely due to its locality, we meet quite a cast of characters, some who live on the road and some who have connections in other ways.
We have Roger & Arabella Yount, a couple who are well off but still live well beyond their means; Petunia, an elderly lady who has lived on Pepys Road the longest and is dying of a brain tumour; a Pakistani family who own the corner shop on the end of the street and Freddy, a Premiership football star from Senegal. All receive an anonymous postcard with the message "We Want What You Have". The story follows a year in the life of these and many other characters. I really enjoyed it - the people were a real mix including many different cultures and I thought it was a good social character study. Not a great deal happened but I didn't mind this (but I do wonder if it needed to be almost 700 pages long). I hadn't heard of this author before but I'd be interested to read other books he has written.
Set on Pepys Road, a street in London, that has become expensive to live in purely due to its locality, we meet quite a cast of characters, some who live on the road and some who have connections in other ways.
We have Roger & Arabella Yount, a couple who are well off but still live well beyond their means; Petunia, an elderly lady who has lived on Pepys Road the longest and is dying of a brain tumour; a Pakistani family who own the corner shop on the end of the street and Freddy, a Premiership football star from Senegal. All receive an anonymous postcard with the message "We Want What You Have". The story follows a year in the life of these and many other characters. I really enjoyed it - the people were a real mix including many different cultures and I thought it was a good social character study. Not a great deal happened but I didn't mind this (but I do wonder if it needed to be almost 700 pages long). I hadn't heard of this author before but I'd be interested to read other books he has written.
Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) rated The Princess Bride in Books
Sep 19, 2018
Nostalgia (2 more)
Characters
Plot
Great Nostalgia!
For the past week or so I have been struggling to read. Nothing has seemed to grab my attention and due to stress & drama in my life I had to put down books that I would have otherwise loved. Needless to say, I needed something that would help put a smile to my face. I've been putting off reading The Princess Bride simply because I love the movie so much. It's one of those books where I have always worried that it would ruin the movie so I've always put it off even though I owned the book for years. With the mood I've been in, I figured that this was the perfect time to revisit old characters in a new way and boy am I happy I did.
The Princess Bride is a cute quick read. The audiobook has a fantastic narrator & I loved Rob Reiner reading the book to me. It just made it that much better. Don't expect this book to be a beautifully written masterpiece because it isn't. The writing is basic and it's definitely a midgrade book. It's something that you can read to your children and know that they too will enjoy the actionpacked book.
All in all, I'm giving this 5 caffeinated stars. Partially due to nostalgia but mainly due to it being a dang good midgrade book that is sure to pull you into the story.
The Princess Bride is a cute quick read. The audiobook has a fantastic narrator & I loved Rob Reiner reading the book to me. It just made it that much better. Don't expect this book to be a beautifully written masterpiece because it isn't. The writing is basic and it's definitely a midgrade book. It's something that you can read to your children and know that they too will enjoy the actionpacked book.
All in all, I'm giving this 5 caffeinated stars. Partially due to nostalgia but mainly due to it being a dang good midgrade book that is sure to pull you into the story.
Merissa (14132 KP) rated The Beginning in Books
Dec 17, 2018
For a prequel novella, this book packs in a lot of information in a relatively short amount of time. Cecily is a 'royal' Witch but she is royally fed up with her life. She wants to live like a human but is being hassled to be the one who gives birth the one long awaited, the one who will save the witches. Unfortunately, this means that she has suffered through nine miscarriages. I don't mean one or nine relationships though. She is there as a brood mare, along with the other royal witches, until the Tenth is born.
She meets up with her friend, only to find out that the meeting was just a ruse to try and get her to continue. Hurt by the betrayal, she leaves and finds her way to a bar where the music tempts her inside.
Like I said, there is a lot of information in here that will delight and tempt you, and definitely leave you wanting to know more - about Cecily, about James, about the situation they find themselves in, about their world in general.
With no spelling or grammatical errors that I found, this was an enjoyable and quick read, perfectly leading on to the next book in the series - A Late Summer Bloom. Definitely recommended.
* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
She meets up with her friend, only to find out that the meeting was just a ruse to try and get her to continue. Hurt by the betrayal, she leaves and finds her way to a bar where the music tempts her inside.
Like I said, there is a lot of information in here that will delight and tempt you, and definitely leave you wanting to know more - about Cecily, about James, about the situation they find themselves in, about their world in general.
With no spelling or grammatical errors that I found, this was an enjoyable and quick read, perfectly leading on to the next book in the series - A Late Summer Bloom. Definitely recommended.
* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!