Rapunzel, Rapunzel

Cress by Marissa Meyer

This series just keeps getting better and better and that’s exactly how it should be. This is a review of book three in The Lunar Chronicles and this is my new favorite. I’m pretty sure I’ll say that for each new book that I read in the series but for now Cress is my favorite.

I found Cress’s character to be very endearing and I instantly fell in love with her. Her “crush” on Captain Thorne was so cute and made for some hilarious moments. Thorne’s character really developed and matured in this book. He was actually kind and heroic which is a side of him we haven’t seen until now. I also loved that Cress brought that out in him. He wanted to be those things for her.

As much as I initially loved Cinder my opinion of her decreased in the last book Scarlet. I don’t know what it was but I just wasn’t impressed. But, I’m happy to say she did some pretty spectacular things in this book that made me eager to see her character progress. Kai was adorable as usual but that’s about it. I didn’t see a whole lot of grown in him either. I mean, I understand the difficulty of his position and all but he just wasn’t the character I hoped for.

The story line as a whole was spectacular and I loved every second of it. Cress is inspired by the fairy tale Rapunzel. The similarities in  the story were weaved throughout well and I loved that aspect of it. It held my attention for long periods of time (the longest was four hours straight) and I was constantly surprised by the events and twists. Meyer’s writing is just so easy to read and understand. You can really get inside the story which is exactly what you want your readers to do.

Language: None

Alcohol/drugs: Some characters are mentioned to be drinking

Violence: Gun and fist fights. Someone is tortured with hallucinations and mind control (a power of the Lunars)

Sexual Content: Kissing here and there most of it is mild and some is a little more passionate but nothing more than that.

Spiritual Content: None

Currently Reading: The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry

Next Post: Special Announcement and Full Review of Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

The Girl in the Red Hood(ie)

Scarlet by Marissa Meyers is my first book read of 2016 and I can’t think of a better book to start off the year with. This book was SO GOOD! This is the second book in The Lunar Chronicles. Some people were not as impressed with this next instalment but I was blown away once again. I think I liked it better than Cinder. I’m not going to insert the inside cover synopsis because I don’t want to spoil anything. But, I wrote my own very vague blurb.

Scarlet is inspired by the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. The main character Scarlet lives with her grandmother on their large farm in France. But her grandmother has been missing for two weeks and with no help from the police Scarlet decides to take the search into her own hands. She meets Wolf, a street fighter who has strange antics and piercing green eyes. Meanwhile, Cinder returns in this sequel with a new companion, Captain Carswell Thorne.

THIS BOOK. . .this book. Ugh, it was amazing. The three new characters were such well written editions. I loved Scarlet. She was feisty, head strong, and passionate. I related to her so well and really enjoyed her story. Wolf. Wolf is bae. I can’t give much away about what makes him so cool because it could be a spoiler. But just know…it’s amazing. Captain Carswell Thorne was hilarious. He reminds me a lot of Finnick Odair from The Hunger Games series which is definitely a compliment. He is full of himself, flirty, and loves his spaceship. At times he provided some much needed humor and sarcasm.

The story moved along nicely with plenty of twists and turns. Chapters switched between Cinder and Scarlet’s POVs. I think that the number of chapters in a row allotted each character was perfect. Meyers cut you off at the right time and it felt complete but still was an excellent cliffhanger. Overall, I think this was a strong sequel and moves sets you up for the next novel: Cress.

Language: Very Mild

Alcohol/drugs: There are two scenes in a bar where some of the customers are drunk but nothing further than that is mentioned

Violence: 6

Sexual Content: There is some kissing and

Spiritual Content: None

Currently Reading: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (I’m almost done)

Next Post: Full Review of All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Cyborgs and Booktube

Cinder

 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.

            I am going to use this post to introduce you to two things very close to my heart. Booktube and Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I mentioned Cinder in my 2015 wrap up post so if it looks familiar that's why :)

            Booktube:

 So, if you didn’t know, there is a whole community of people on YouTube with channels dedicated to books. I know, it’s so amazing I need to take a moment…okay, let’s continue. So basically, these young people do book reviews and book related videos. Oh, the joys of spending your afternoon watching people talk about books. Here are the links to some of my favorite Booktubers:

Tasha Polis- https://www.youtube.com/user/tashapolis

Jesse- https://www.youtube.com/user/jessethereader

Christine Riccio- https://www.youtube.com/user/polandbananasBOOKS

Sasha- https://www.youtube.com/user/abookutopia

I also want to introduce you to possibly one of my favorite books ever.

           Ta-da! Isn’t she gorgeous? This book had the whole package, amazing plot, amazing characters, and amazing writing. I finished this 387 page novel in 2 ½ days. Whoop whoop! I’m so excited about this book can’t ya tell? Instead of me blabbering on I am going to insert review of Cinder by one of the Booktubers mentioned above.

Language: None

Alcohol/drugs: There are some drugs used for scientific and medical purposes

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: None

Spiritual Content: None

Currently Reading: Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles book #2) By Marissa Meyer

Next Post: Full Review of Throne of Glass By Sarah J. Maas

Mirror, Mirror

Snow in Summer by Jane Yolen

             A fourteen-year-old girl escapes her evil stepmother by running into the woods. She comes upon a cottage of seven dwarfs and lives with them. All is well, until one day an old woman with a basket of shiny red apples asks for Snow White’s help. And, being the naive but kind girl that she is, she helps her. To show her gratitude for Snow White’s help, the old woman gives Snow one of her apples.

 It turns out that the old women is her stepmother and the apple is poisoned. Snow White dies and the dwarfs mourn her death. They hold a ceremony in the woods with all the forest animals Snow had befriended. As she lays dead beneath a glass coffin the prince arrives. She had met him once before and they sang a duet but that was it.

Well, it must have been pretty spectacular duet because he is so grief-stricken he removes the glass lid and kisses her. A dead, fourteen–year-old girl. She miraculously wakes up and they ride off into the sunset.

Now, don’t get me wrong I love Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It’s such a cute movie and the animation is beautiful. But, when you look at the story-line so literally it seems kind of well…stupid. So, when a book entitled Snow in Summer caught my eye I picked it up to see what it was all about.

With her black hair, red lips, and lily-white skin, Summer is as beautiful as her father's garden. And her life in the mountains of West Virginia seems like a fairy tale; her parents sing and dance with her, Cousin Nancy dotes on her, and she is about to get a new baby brother. But when the baby dies soon after he's born, taking Summer's mama with him, Summer's fairy-tale life turns grim. 

Things get even worse when her father marries a woman who brings poisons and magical mirrors into Summer's world. Stepmama puts up a pretty face, but Summer suspects she's up to no good - and is afraid she's powerless to stop her.

This young adult fantasy novel has a hint of historical fiction as it is based during the early twentieth century (the 20’s I think) in Appalachia. I love fantasy novels and so I was eager to see how Snow White was portrayed in this re-telling. Jane Yolen’s portrayal of Snow didn’t make her out be a naive, stupid girl. She was smart, kind, and wanted the right thing to be done. She was respectful towards her stepmother even when her stepmother was nasty to her.

Her character was much more mature and realistic, as was the story. Her decisions were necessary and well thought through. The seven dwarfs were short men who came to America from Germany with their parents when they were kids. I really like this change in the story and enjoyed their German accents in the dialogue. They were each different but not stereotypical at all which made that part of the story so much better.

The stepmother is so well written. She wasn’t the vain woman filled with hatred for Snow that she is often portrayed as. She’s dark, cunning, deceitful, and manipulative. You don’t really realize what she is doing until a good ways through the book which was refreshing. I actually liked her character a lot.  Not because she was a great step mother (because she's not) but because she broke through the stereotypical evil stepmother persona.

This book made the story of a fourteen-year-old girl who goes to live with seven men into a realistic story of a young girl, who has everything ripped away from her and is trying to uncover the evidence of her misery.

Language: None

Alcohol/drugs: Summer is offered beer in one scene but refuses

Violence: 1.5

Sexual Content: None

Spiritual Content: Summer’s aunt goes to a Baptist church and her step-mother takes her to a church where they practice snake handling as a religious ritual taking Mark 16:17-18 and Luke 10:9 literally. Snow can tell something is wrong with the people there and does not agree with their rituals but her step-mother makes her go.