Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 352
Series: n/a?
Review Source: Edelweiss

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

My Thoughts:
Cruel Beauty is a lush and dark book, featuring characters that are neither good nor bad. They’re deliciously human, actually, even with our 'Beast' being the Prince of Demons, and a Shade whose motivations you're never quite sure of. Our main character, Nyx, is also interesting. She's been raised as a sacrifice, feeling unloved and unappreciated. No one has truly known her and loved her, and she’s someone who is torn between her duty to save the world (no pressure, really) and her love and deepest desire (to be loved in return).

This is a twisty turny story with prophecies and history and myths. It’s a very descriptive book with a meandering pace, despite the urgent task Nyx has. I can't say it completely held my interest the whole time, but I can't say I disliked it either. The world building here is both incredibly complex and incredibly interesting, and I found myself wanting to delve into the castle to explore alongside Nyx.

I would definitely recommend Cruel Beauty for Beauty and the Beast fans, as well as general fans of fantasy and fairy tale re-tellings. This was a complex and interesting book: not something I fell in love with, but something that fascinated me nonetheless.

The Cover:
Intriguing!

Rating:
[Strong 3/5]

Purchase Links:
Kobo | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Chapters-Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Release Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pages: 464
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2
Review Source: eARC from Macmillan via Raincoast Books

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

My Thoughts:
As of writing this review it’s been a couple of hours since finishing ‘Scarlet’ and all that keeps rolling through my head is: “This is sheer perfection!” Obviously nothing is perfect, but this is the perfect book for me. It’s so much fun to read with all the character banter, bad ass heroines, and larger than life villains. I love how the book has such different sides to it: there are those lighter, amusing moments, but there is also intense action, heartbreak, and romance, all of which made me feel huge amounts of varying emotions.

I loved ‘Cinder’ so much that I couldn’t imagine not loving ‘Scarlet’, but I still wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with having a new main character added in. I don’t know why I even worried for a second, because Marissa Meyer weaves the plotlines together seamlessly, and I guarantee that you’ll adore Scarlet within a page or two. I still have a soft-spot for Cinder, of course, but I never found myself wanting to go back to one part of the narrative over another. The back and forth between the main characters always broke at the absolute perfect place.

Along with the amazing new heroine there are also two gentlemen added into the mix. I honestly can’t decide who I like more. On the one hand there’s the charmingly arrogant and debonair Captain Thorne, who is the main contributor to the book’s comic relief. On the other hand there’s the mysterious and shy Wolf, who I really can’t describe any other way except sexy (yes, I went there).

When you love a book so much it’s hard to pinpoint all the different reasons why it worked so well for you. There are all those elements I mentioned in the first paragraph, there’s the seamless narration switches, and there’s the extremely well written characters. In the case of Marissa Meyer’s writing there’s also incredible world-building. I love the Sailor Moon-esque plot elements that continued on from ‘Cinder’, and in ‘Scarlet’ I also noticed what I thought was a Firefly vibe. I absolutely loved these aspects, and I loved seeing everything come together.

Bottom line: this is a must-read series that I would recommend to all YA fans. I absolutely loved ‘Scarlet’, and the only negative I can think of is having to wait so long for the remaining two volumes in the series.

The Cover:
I wish I could say I love it, but I don't. The only thing I like is the title font.

Rating:
[5/5]

Find Scarlet by Marissa Meyer on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Release Date: January 3, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 387
Series: Lunar Chronicles #1
Review Source: Won ARC + ARC for review from Raincoast

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

In this thrilling debut young adult novel, the first of a quartet, Marissa Meyer introduces readers to an unforgettable heroine and a masterfully crafted new world that’s enthralling.

My Thoughts:
Um, I LOVED it. That could really be my whole review. I loved it, it was amazing, so please read it! However, I assume you might want to know why I loved it, so I will attempt to explain it. You should know, though, that I started off trying to write a more traditional review for ‘Cinder’ but it just didn’t work. I kept digressing into fangirl squeeing, so I’ve decided to write this one in point form. And yes, there is still fangirl squeeing present.

• Right from the very beginning I could tell I would like the book. I mean, how often does that happen?! I was swept up in the character and the plot before I knew it
• So it’s based on a fairytale (Cinderella if you couldn’t tell), yet it’s so unique. I mean, seriously. You get little hints of the original Cinderella story every once in a while and it’s almost like a wink and nod inside joke, but it’s just so original! I can promise you haven’t read a book like this before.
• Cyborg!! When I first heard that Cinder was a cyborg Cinderella I was skeptical. It sounded a little weird to me. But it’s not that weird, I promise. You’ll love it if you can deal at all with sci-fi things like androids and futuristic technology.
CHARACTERS:
• Cinder: So despite the fact of how interesting it is that Cinder is a cyborg (and a mechanic! very handy, as she can fix herself), I promise you won’t think of her as a cyborg. You will think of her as a person with real feelings and emotions just like any human and you will value her in the way that her adoptive family doesn’t (*sniffles* Cinder, I love you!)
• Speaking of: her stepmother and one of her stepsisters -- hate, hate, hate the way they treated her; I was actually in tears at one point because of a horrible thing her stepmother Adri did... you expect the behaviour because of the fairy tale, but it was still horrible to read about
• Kai. Kaiiiiii.... how much do I love him?! He’s just so nice and funny and down to earth, despite being prince and having to deal with so much attention and then so much responsibility as well
• Kai + Cinder = <33333 Seriously, these two have tons of chemistry, and it’s all so forbidden and Cinder doesn’t feel like she’s good enough (because she’s been told all her life what a monstrosity she is b/c of being a cyborg... gahhh Cinder, you are not a monstosity!).. I can’t wait to see where their relationship might possibly go
• Queen Levana: Hate. Haaaaaate. I really think that’s enough said about her, haha. But seriously, how amazing is it when an author can make you dislike a character so much?! Levana is a true villain.
SETTING:
• New Beijing; love the descriptions of the city, the market, the palace... plus the different federations on earth after World War IV... I was fascinated with trying to picture the make up of the world Cinder lived in
• Luna. So Marissa Meyer was a Sailor Moon fanfiction writer for years (um, AWESOME), and you can see that influence in her super cool creation, the moon kingdom of Luna. We don’t get to visit Luna in this book, but we hear about it, and it’s pretty fascinating.
PLOT:
• Cinderella elements: we’ve got the stepmother and stepsisters, a prince, a ball coming up at the palace, and so much more
• How it remains so refreshing and unique despite its basis on a story that everyone knows

Really I could just keep going on and on about how much I loved it, but I think it would get repetitive. I fully admit that I am stingy with my 5 star reviews, but right from the beginning I fell in love with this one, and that feeling just didn’t go away. I adored ‘Cinder’ and I cannot wait to read Book 2.

The Cover:
Not my very favourite cover, but it definitely is cool and applicable to the story.

Rating:
[5/5]

Find Cinder by Marissa Meyer on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.

So I have this kitty named Cinder and (as you can tell from the photographic evidence) she totally wanted to pose with book Cinder. The weirdest thing, though?? Book Cinder's last name is Linh, and my Cinder's middle name in Lynn (no, I totally don't even recall why/when we gave our cats middle names). Anyway, it totally made me laugh and freak out when I first read it.

Also, Tatum wants to say hi as well, because while she is bitter and jealous there isn't a YA book with her name on it (Tatum Lee, for authors taking note), she still thinks she deserves to be a part of this post.

My Sparkling Misfortune by Laura Lond

Release Date: January 18, 2011
Publisher: Dream Books LLC
Pages: 164
Series: The Lakeland Knight #1
Review Source: eBook from author for review

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Lord Arkus of Blackriver Castle readily admits that he is a villain and sees no reason why it should stop him from being the protagonist of this book. After all, Prince Kellemar, an aspiring hero, has defeated him in a rather questionable way. Bent on revenge, Arkus attempts to capture a powerful evil spirit who would make him nearly invincible, but a last-minute mistake leaves him with a sparkling instead a goody-goody spirit that helps heroes, watches over little children, and messes up villains plans. Bound to Lord Arkus for five years of service and sworn to act in his best interests, the sparkling is not easy to get rid of, and of course his understanding of best interests is quite different from what Lord Arkus has in mind.

My Thoughts:
‘My Sparkling Misfortune’ is a super cute story that takes place in a fairy-tale like kingdom. It involves a fairy realm, the place where Sparklings (good fairies) and Gormacks (bad fairies) come from. Arkus is our main character and he thinks himself a villain, yet his actions and words prove that he’s quite heroic. Arkus basically spends his life running from a beast who has been tasked with killing him, and he ends up with a new identity in a kingdom where people think he is their hero.

Arkus provides a very humourous narration. He’s sort of self-deprecating and is almost teasing the reader as he keeps proclaiming what a villain he is. The relationship between the two main characters (Arkus and Tulip -- or Jarvi as Arkus re-names him) is very funny and filled with quips back and forth. As I said, this is a very cute and fun story, and my only real complaint is that it leaves off without real resolution. Some things are wrapped up, but it does leave you hanging for Book 2, as Arkus just decides to end the story at a certain point. Overall a very charming book; a quick read that I think most people would appreciate.

The Cover:
I don't think it really does the story justice; love the old-timey writing, though.

Rating:
[3.5/5]

Find My Sparkling Misfortune by Laura Lond on Goodreads, Smashwords, & Amazon (currently free for Kindle).

Wisdom's Kiss by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Release Date: September 12, 2011
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Pages: 314
Series: n/a, though it can be seen as a companion book for Princess Ben
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Princess Wisdom, known as Dizzy, longs for a life of adventure far beyond the staid old kingdom of Montagne.

Tips, a soldier, longs to keep his true life secret from his family.

Fortitude, an orphaned maid, longs only for Tips.

These three passionate souls might just attain their dreams while preserving Montagne from certain destruction, if only they can tolerate each other long enough to come up with a plan. Tough to save the world when you can't even be in the same room together.

Magic, cunning, and one very special cat join forces in this hilarious, extraordinary tale by the author of Dairy Queen and Princess Ben. An incredibly creative tale told with diaries, memoirs, encyclopedia entries, letters, biographies, even a stage play, all woven together into a grand adventure.

My Thoughts:
This book had a lot of great potential, but it ended up falling flat in a lot of ways. It took me a while to get into it because of all the different characters and perspectives, but eventually the action picked up a bit and I was intrigued. Then something specific happened with two of the characters (which I can’t reveal without being spoiler-y) and I seriously began to resent this book. I kept hoping it might get better, but it really didn’t.

My first major complaint is all the different perspectives. There were just too many characters to keep track of, and the switch to a different format (e.g. letter, memoir, encyclopedia) often cramped the narration style. The two perspectives I really enjoyed were Nonna Ben’s letters and Trudy’s memoir, and it seemed like whenever I was getting really interested in what they had to say I was whisked into another perspective.

I have a hard time finding much of anything positive to say about the book. I didn’t find the characters very interesting: again, I liked Trudy and Nonna Ben, but I pretty much despised Dizzy and Tips, the other main characters, because they were so selfish. There was also the presence of insta-love to the extreme, which was incredibly ridiculous.

The thing is, I think the story had a lot of promise. A more humorous fairy tale type of story sounds utterly appealing, and even the different types of perspectives can be awesome if done well. Instead we’re left reading a choppy story with underdeveloped (and often unlikable) characters. I have to admit that I only finished this book because I got it for review. If it were from the library I probably would have quit half way through, or maybe even sooner.

The Cover:
Meh. I do love how it features the subtitle, though really the cat didn't have a very large part in the book at all, unfortunately.

Rating:
[1.5/5]

Find Wisdom's Kiss by Catherine Gilbert Murdock on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Release Date: August 2, 2011
Publisher: Hyperion Books CH
Pages: 288
Series: n/a
Review Source: NetGalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.
These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.

My Thoughts:
All I had heard about ‘The Near Witch’ when I started reading it were glowing reviews. So perhaps because of this I was just a tad disappointed by the book. I found it really hard to get into. The start of the book was really slow, and the lack of dialogue was also a bit distracting to me. Perhaps if I had been in the mood for a slower, atmospheric story it might have worked better.

The strong point of the book is definitely Schwab’s writing. There were so many beautiful phrases and descriptions, and I also loved the way the setting was described. It was so mysterious, which lent itself well to the fairy tale style of the book. ‘The Near Witch’ really feels like a fairy tale, which I think is appealing to a lot of people.

I guess I’m on the fence with this one. Great writing? Yes, absolutely. Yet I just couldn’t stop myself from feeling bored while reading it. I liked Lexie and I loved the witches, but I just didn’t seem to care that much about the characters, and I didn’t really buy the romance at all. This book seems to be a favourite of a lot of people, but it just couldn’t quite keep my interest.

The Cover: It's alright, but nothing spectacular. I don't get how it relates to the story at all.

Rating:
[3/5]

Find The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon

A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

Release Date: August 9, 2011
Publisher: Candlewick
Pages: 352
Series: n/a
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Rosalinda Fitzroy has been asleep for sixty-two years when she is woken by a kiss.

Locked away in the chemically induced slumber of a stasis tube in a forgotten sub-basement, sixteen-year-old Rose slept straight through the Dark Times that killed millions and utterly changed the world she knew. Now her parents and her first love are long dead, and Rose -- hailed upon her awakening as the long-lost heir to an interplanetary empire -- is thrust alone into a future in which she is viewed as either a freak or a threat.

Desperate to put the past behind her and adapt to her new world, Rose finds herself drawn to the boy who kissed her awake, hoping that he can help her to start fresh. But when a deadly danger jeopardizes her fragile new existance, Rose must face the ghosts of her past with open eyes -- or be left without any future at all

My Thoughts:
‘A Long, Long Sleep’ is a book that I would describe as light science fiction. It takes place in the future, but there aren’t too many technical details at all. In a very loose sense this is a Sleeping Beauty story that is set within a dystopian-lite society. I describe it this way because the society is actually more Utopian on the outside, but there are sinister undertones to the whole plot.

I was totally drawn in by the plot of this story. You could tell that bad things were going to happen, but you could only unwind these horrific details bit by bit. While some of the story was quite predictable, there were enough twists to keep me guessing. The quieter narrative parts of the story worked for me: I found them compelling enough, but I also enjoyed the few action sequences, because they kept things fresh.

Rose wasn’t necessarily a character that I connected with, but it worked somehow. I still cared about her and desperately wanted the sorrow in her life to end. This novel set a certain mood for me that I felt drawn into, and it kept me coming back to see how everything would work out. The ending felt a bit ambiguous to me, but that’s because I like things all wrapped up. Most plot points do get wrapped up, and there is definitely a sense of completion. I definitely enjoyed this book and I would recommend it particularly for readers of contemporary YA, as the story is more about Rose’s internal struggles with loss and identity than it is about the futuristic setting.

The Cover: It's pretty! I bet it looks better in person.

Rating:
[4/5]

Find A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.ca