Review: Wondrous Strange (Wondrous Strange #1) by Lesley Livingston

Wondrous Strange (Wondrous Strange #1) by Lesley Livingston

Published: October 6th 2009 by HarperTeen

 Rating: 3 out of 5

✤✤✤✤

Available from:
 

✤✤✤✤

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old actress Kelley Winslow thinks that playing the role of the fairy queen Titiana in a production of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream could be her lucky break - if she can pull it off.

But when she meets the handsome Sonny Flannery, Kelley has to face the shocking truth that the world of Faeries is all too real - and that she an unwitting part of it. Sonny warns Kelley that she is no mere mortal, and that she is being haunted by powerful forces from the Faerie realm.

Now, Kelley must come to terms with her heritage - and her growing feelings for Sonny - if she wants to save not only herself, but also the human world that she holds dear.

✤✤✤✤

Review:

For me, its very hard to beat Julie Kagawa's The Iron King series, however Wondrous Strange does a good job.

Kelley is launched into a world of Season Courts, Seelie and UnSeelie, and learns something about her past while she's about it.

While the story is quick and is brought along by great dialogue, and quirky happenings along Kelley's adventure, it must be noted that there wasn't really anything new or greatly original about the story.

Most of the unpredictability happens closer to the end, and around two thirds of the way through I was getting a little bit bored. The romance was slow burning, a nice change from the insta-love bunch, but still was a little too tame with a lacking of passion.

Regardless, I did enjoy it, and will pick up the next in the series, but I wasn't blown away by it.

-CBx

✤✤✤✤

About the Author

LESLEY LIVINGSTON is a writer living in Toronto, Canada. She is the author of twelve books to date. Her first novel, WONDROUS STRANGE, was winner of the CLA Young Adult Book of the Year 2010, a White Pine Honour Book, shortlisted for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Speculative Fiction, and in 2015 was named one of CBC’s “100 YA Books That Make You Proud To Be Canadian”. DARKLIGHT, the second book in this series was a finalist for the Indigo Teen Read Awards. The concluding volume in the trilogy, TEMPESTUOUS, was a finalist for the Monica Hughes Award. These books have sold to more than ten countries to date, and WONDROUS STRANGE has been optioned for film/TV by Shaftesbury Films. Her other trilogies have both won the Copper Cylinder award for Young Adult fiction.

You can find Lesley Livingston here:

✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤

Follow and Like to Read More Bookworm Blogger #YA Reviews:

✤✤✤✤

Review: Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay

Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay

Published: December 9th 2014 by Delacorte Press

Rating: 5 out of 5

✤✤✤✤

Available from:
 

✤✤✤✤

Synopsis:

Game of Thrones meets the Grimm's fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty's daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne.

Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora's throne ten years ago.

Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it's too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?

✤✤✤✤

Review:

After reading so many series, I needed to read a stand alone, and Princess of Thorns fit the bill. I've read Stacey Jay books before so knew I wouldn't be disappointed, and I wasn't.

This isn't a retelling, in its true respect, more of an addition to the original story. After years of mourning the loss of her deceased mother, Aurora persuades her father to marry again. Her new mother is a fearsome magical queen of another realm, who also happens to be her mothers sister and aunt. Queen Ekeeta soon holds the kingdom and its King in a thrall of adoration for her, but Aurora, with the little magic she knows, breaks the curse and Aurora and her brother, Jor, witness the death of their beloved father. Before their own demise, Aurora and Jor are rescued in the nick of time and taken to safety by a kindly guard, who takes care of them and becomes a father figure for the next nine years.  Aurora spends the rest of her childhood planning to retake the kingdom which is hers by right.

Prince Nicklaas is also under a curse. His father loved to rule his own dragon kingdom so much he placed a curse on all his sons to die on their 18th birthday so they wouldn't take his throne. However, the witch who performed the curse changed it without the King knowing. Instead of dying, all the boys turned into swans and didn't die. Prince Nicklaas knows of this curse and hunts for the only way to be redeemed of his feathered fate. He pursued the witch, who eventually told him the only way to escape his fate is to marry a princess of another kingdom. Nicklaas begins his search for the lost Princess Aurora, knowing she's the only one left who can save him, and hoping he can use his wits and charm to get her to marry him before his 18th birthday.

This is a story of adventure, trust and of loss, and learning to deal with that loss. Whilst Nicklaas tends to be flippant and jovial, he carries his burden none too lightly, and feels his fate growing from the beginning. Aurora is more serious. She knows who is accountable for her fate and wants to punish the queen dearly. When Nicklaas and Aurora meet, you can tell fate has a hand and without knowing it, they both help each other overcome the sadness that sits on the horizon, waiting.

Throughout their many adventures, and while Nicklaas believes for the most that Aurora is a boy, their friendship grows steadily. Only near the end do the tangles of emotion hamper them, and that's only because of their stubbornness in trying to do the right thing.

I loved how the twist at the end sorted their relationship out. When they find the witch, the very one who placed the original curse on Nicklaas and his brothers, their paths should have separated but neither of them are that cold hearted as to leave the other behind. When they do, fate strikes again and brings them together for the finale.

For a stand alone, this book had a satisfying beginning, middle and end. And once done, with all ties nicely tethered, the story put my faith back into retelling's of fairy tales. Some authors, particularly Stacey Jay, can do them justice.

-CBx

✤✤✤✤

About the Author

Stacey Jay is a recovering workaholic (or at least working hard at recovering) with three pen names, two small children, and a passion for playing pretend for a living. She’s been a full time mom-writer since 2005 and can't think of anything she'd rather be doing. Her former careers include theatre performer, professional dancer, poorly paid C-movie actress, bartender, waiter, math tutor (for real) and yoga instructor.

You can find Stacey Jay here:

✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤

Follow and Like to Read More Bookworm Blogger #YA Reviews:

✤✤✤✤

Review: The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire #1) by C.J. Redwine

The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire #1) by C.J. Redwine

Published: February 16th 2016 by Balzer + Bray

 Rating: 3 out of 5

✤✤✤✤

Available from:  
 

✤✤✤✤

Synopsis:

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.
✤✤✤✤

Review - The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Synopsis
Two Hearts. One Hope.
Rose has been appointed as a healer's apprentice at Hagenheim Castle, a rare opportunity for a woodcutter's daughter like her. While she often feels uneasy at the sight of blood, Rose is determined to prove herself capable. Failure will mean returning home to marry the aging bachelor her mother has chosen for her---a bloated, disgusting merchant who makes Rose feel ill.
When Lord Hamlin, the future duke, is injured, it is Rose who must tend to him. As she works to heal his wound, she begins to understand emotions she's never felt before and wonders if he feels the same. But falling in love is forbidden, as Lord Hamlin is betrothed to a mysterious young woman in hiding. As Rose's life spins toward confusion, she must take the first steps on a journey to discover her own destiny.

My Review:

I didn't realise this was a 'Christian' novel so sorry if my comments upset anyone.The story was good, very sweet fairytale-ish and I enjoyed it but...

Sometimes there was a little too much swooning and tears whenever she saw either of the brothers. I would have liked a little more backbone from the main character. I felt that the author overemphasised her feelings. One or two words would have been enough but sentence after sentence, it just dragged on.

There was a lot of gazing into eyes but not much dialogue (along with the swooning), I would have preferred a little more interaction and wit from the characters.

I am now aware that this is a Christian novel but I noticed towards the end that the rate of 'O God and O Lord' almost trebled along with copious amounts of bible quotes and praying. It was a little overkill.

The picture setting was great and the author clearly knows her stuff. Gunthur and Hildy were my favourites!

A good read and I've given it three stars but I wouldn't read it again.

 ~

Heres the book trailer! Enjoy!

View all my reviews