Review: Liv, Forever by Amy Talkington

Title:  Liv, Forever 

Author: Amy Talkington

Publisher: Soho Teen 
Publishing Date:  March 11th 2014

Pages: 280
Genre:  YA Paranormal Romance

Series: Stand Alone
Source:  Audio

  

When Liv Bloom lands an art scholarship at Wickham Hall, it’s her ticket out of the foster system. Liv isn’t sure what to make of the school’s weird traditions and rituals, but she couldn’t be happier. For the first time ever, she has her own studio, her own supply of paints. Everything she could want.

Then she meets Malcolm Astor, a legacy student, a fellow artist, and the one person who’s ever been able to melt her defenses. Liv’s only friend at Wickham, fellow scholarship kid Gabe Nichols, warns her not to get involved, but life is finally going Liv’s way, and all she wants to do is enjoy the ride.

But Liv’s bliss is doomed. Weeks after arriving, she is viciously murdered and, in death, she discovers that she’s the latest victim of a dark conspiracy that has claimed many lives. Cursed with the ability to see the many ghosts on Wickham’s campus, Gabe is now Liv’s only link to the world of the living. To Malcolm.

Together, Liv, Gabe, and Malcolm fight to expose the terrible truth that haunts the halls of Wickham. But Liv must fight alone to come to grips with the ultimate star-crossed love.

I was so super excited about this book. The cover, the title, the synopsis, screams creepy. I was uber super excited to get it on audio. The Book started off creepy, remained creepy, and ended creepy. The creep factor was definitely there. The book was well paced, thrilling, and at times very romantic. I was completely invested in the mystery of the dead girls. I really enjoyed this book. There was a lot to like and just a tad not so much on the like.

Liv gets invited to attend a prestigious boarding school which is creepy and lovely. Liv is a teen who loves art, poetry, and really not people. She was raised in many foster homes and adopted as a teenager. For once she feels her life is going in a great direction. The new school will have an art studio that will be just hers, this is what she wants to concentrate on. Things change after the first supper. She is picked by a very good looking , popular boy to dance and from that moment her life changes. She falls in love, gets killed, and spends the rest of her time as a ghost trying to solve her own murder. There is one boy, Gabe, who can sometimes see her and always hear her, and a boy, Malcolm, that can do neither but who sticks around because he loves her. Things get kind of hairy when the wrong boy is accused of the murder and time is not Liv’s friend. All three work together to uncover the horrible secrets of Wickham Hall.

I am going to start with my thoughts on the audio and my love for the narrator. She was perfect. The book has short chapters from the different ghosts that roam Wickham Hall and they narrate their own story of their death. Each ghost has a very distinguished voice, background, and story. The narrator does an outstanding job making these characters their own. She does a great job on Liv too. I had no issue connecting with Liv or any other ghost. She did an amazing job on Malcolm and Gabe too. Loved this narrator. She gets 5 hearts just for the narration.

Now on to the story. The story was good. I liked the secrets, the ghosts, the mystery. It was all very alluring and made for the perfect gloomy, creepy, gothic, ghost story. I was in deep from the very first chapter, which is from a dead girl’s POV. The author did a tremendous job in capturing my full attention and keeping through the entire story. It was one of those books I couldn’t stop thinking about when I wasn’t reading or listening.

The story was also filled with some pretty cool characters. I really liked Liv. She was pretty awesome from the beginning. She was distant from many but when she cared she really cared. She was intense and extreme with everything she did. I feel this comes from most artists. She was full of emotion but rarely showed it. She was afraid of getting close to someone and didn’t quite know how. Of course this leads to me point what I didn’t like about her. She was pretty cool for the most part but once Malcolm enters the picture, she seemed to change pretty quick on the distant front. She kind of went way deep too fast with Malcolm. It didn’t bother me enough to put me off, but it was a bit annoying at times. I chalked it up to her extreme and intense tendencies. When it came to finding the murdered and solving the mysteries of Wickham Hall, she rocked. When it came to being friends with Gabe, she rocked. When it came to her relationship with Malcolm, didn’t rock so much but was still tolerable.

Gabe was a cool character. He was the cliché loner outcast type, but I grew attached to him pretty quick. He had issues because he could see ghosts. I could imagine this driving anyone a bit loony and detaching himself from the rest of population. He was pretty cool with Liv and eventually Malcolm. Malcolm was a bit of sap. He wasn’t who he pretended to be in front of his crew but he was with Liv. He loved her from the very beginning because he could be himself around her. An artist, sappy, and poetic. He was alright in the end, but not my favorite character.

The one thing that did bother me was the romance. It was so insta love, and very obvious.. three encounters and they were madly in love…..I think this would have turned me off complete except… once I could ignore the instant love part… there were some pretty darn romantic scenes. Not hot and on fire but poetic romantic scenes. The two love birds were poetry lovers and artist so you can imagine the romance. It was a very nice change of scenery from the physical passion I see in most books. I do feel the love story would have been perfect if it wasn’t rushed.

So the characters, the creepy ghosts, the mystery, the romantic scenes win over the insta love issue for me. I just couldn’t put the book down and that made this read travel to the 4 hearts category. There was some negative for me but very very little.

A very intense and creepy book.

Amy Talkington is an award-winning screenwriter and director living in Los Angeles. Before all that she wrote about music for magazines like Spin, Ray Gun, Interview, and Seventeen (mostly just as a way to get to hang out with rock stars). As a teenager in Dallas, Texas, Amy painted lots of angsty self-portraits, listened to The Velvet Underground and was difficult enough that her parents finally let her go to boarding school on the East Coast. Liv, Forever is her first novel.

Review: Such Sweet Sorrow by Jenny Trout

Title: Such Sweet Sorrow 

Author: Jenny Trout

Publisher:  Entangled Teen 
Publishing Date:  February 4th 2014

Pages: 304
Genre:  YA Retelling/Mythology Adventure

Series: Stand Alone or Unknown Series
Source: Paperback

  

Never was there a tale of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo…But true love never dies. Though they’re parted by the veil between the world of mortals and the land of the dead, Romeo believes he can restore Juliet to life, but he’ll have to travel to the underworld with a thoroughly infuriating guide.

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, may not have inherited his father’s crown, but the murdered king left his son a much more important responsibility—a portal to the Afterjord, where the souls of the dead reside. When the determined Romeo asks for help traversing the treacherous Afterjord, Hamlet sees an opportunity for adventure, and the chance to avenge his father’s death.

In an underworld filled with leviathan monsters, ghoulish shades, fire giants and fierce Valkyrie warriors, Hamlet and Romeo must battle their way through jealousy, despair, and their darkest fears to rescue the fair damsel. Yet finding Juliet is only the beginning, and the Afterjord doesn’t surrender souls without a price…

I was very excited to read this book. I haven't spent much time or seen many Shakespeare retellings so I thought this one would be a great one to check out. I was grabbed by the cover and by the title. Unfortunately the story and the characters did not grab me. I found it very difficult to connect to the characters or get caught up in the story. It had a great concept but I feel it wasn't carried out well. It was quite a boring read for me.


Romeo lost his Juliet and now he is on a mission to find her in the Afterjord and bring her back. Hamlet is out for revenge for her father's murder, he has been instructed he needs to find the gateway to the Afterjord. They team up together to work out their missions. Along they way they find Juliet and they are a fearsome threesome through the Afterjord fighting, surviving, and discovering.

I want to say that I loved the idea of the book. It sounded so intriguing. I though it would be really really good. I wish I could say I thought it was but I just didn't like the book. I had some major issues with the book that kept me from wanting to really finish it but I also wanted to know the ending, so I kept on reading. It didn't do me any good. The story does not have an ending. So I added that to my list of problems. 

So first... I didn't care for the characters, of course I didn't dislike them either. I felt non committal to any of the characters in the book. They all had their moments that made me giggle or made me feel they were honorable or good... but they were far and few between. I just didn't connect with them. '

Juliet had my attention the most but I can't say much other than she was fearless, loyal, and she had some pretty great ideas while in battle. Romeo had a few good qualities, but mainly he was just whiny and selfish. Hamlet was at least humorous. For the most part. He had the best one liners and I think, given a bit more time with him, I could have really liked him. There just wasn't enough character building or personal interaction to really get to know the characters.

The pacing was a bit off for me too. The beginning was very slow and even once the action began, it was non stop battling for their lives. I know that sounds like it would be great, but it wasn't. I felt there was too much fighting and too much detail in the fighting to be enjoyable as a book. As a movie it would probably rock. It just wasn't exciting for me at all. 

The writing was also confusing to me at times. They povs would switch between Hamlet, Juliet, and Romeo and was written in 3rd person. This would normally be fine, but the characters did not have a distinguishable enough voice for me to differentiate  between them. It took me a while to figure out who I was following at the moment. 

That brings us to the ending. It finally started to catch my attention... in the last 50 pages of the book, then the book ends with no real resolution. The ending felt as if it will be a series, but I am not positive of this. Either way I am not happy. The ending left me needing resolution... so if its not a series.. no resolution. If it is a series... I have to read more or no resolution. Either way no resolution. 

I feel awful for not liking this book. It happens rarely and I really wanted to enjoy this book. I just didn't care for it at all. I do think it will appeal to those readers who love a non stop action adventure book. The positive of this book, the action scenes were written well enough to picture it all in my head... like a movie. I just prefer more character development and interaction. More story. And an actual ending. 

This was a boring and detached read for me. 

Jenny Trout is a writer, blogger, and funny person.
Writing as Jennifer Armintrout, she made the USA Today Bestseller list with Blood Ties Book One: The Turning. Her novel American Vampire was named one of the top ten horror novels of 2011 by Booklist Magazine Online.
Jenny also writes award-winning erotic romance as Abigail Barnette.
When she’s not writing, she’s sleeping or otherwise incapacitated.
She is a proud Michigander, mother of two, and wife to the only person alive capable of spending extended periods of time with her without wanting to murder her.

Review: Death Sworn by Leah Cypress

Title: Death Sworn 

Author: Leah Cypress

Publisher:  Greenwillow
Publishing Date: March 4th 2014

Pages: 352
Genre:  YA High Fantasy

Series:  Death Sworn #1
Source: Audio

  

When Ileni lost her magic, she lost everything: her place in society, her purpose in life, and the man she had expected to spend her life with. So when the Elders sent her to be magic tutor to a secret sect of assassins, she went willingly, even though the last two tutors had died under mysterious circumstances.
But beneath the assassins’ caves, Ileni will discover a new place and a new purpose… and a new and dangerous love. She will struggle to keep her lost magic a secret while teaching it to her deadly students, and to find out what happened to the two tutors who preceded her. But what she discovers will change not only her future, but the future of her people, the assassins… and possibly the entire world.

This was a very anticipated read for me. Everything about the book really drew me in. I was happy to find it on audio and dove in. I enjoyed the listen, great story and great characters. It was a refreshing read for YA fantasy. Not too deep but more than a light read. The only issue (small issue) I had was the pacing. It lacked a bit for me. Other than the pacing, wonderful read.

Ileni is sent on a suicide mission. She is sent to the cave of assassins to teach those assassins magic… her real mission… find out who killed the teachers prior to her. Two have ended up dead. Ileni is OK with this mission, it gives her purpose. Her magic is slowly dying and she is afraid of what will come after its gone. All she is, is her magic. She ends up with a shadow, a guardian, an assassin all to herself, to protect her, his name being Sorin. Being with him, talking with him, she has learned many things. Her thoughts of these assassins slowly change. She learns more about who they are, what they are trying to do, and how easy it is to kill. She also falls in love. She sets forth to uncover the mysteries behind the deaths of previous tutors and comes to learn that all she thought is not all that is right.

The story I loved. I loved the assassins vs. the magic makers, killing vs. peace…I enjoyed they story at its place and where it was headed. There was a lot to the story and the author did a great job with the world building. It was not over done or under done. I felt that I was able to quickly grab on to the world, who was who, and the conflicts. I was invested in the story pretty early one.

The pacing of the story was the main issue for me. There were some really awesome parts in which I could not put the book down. I was very into everything that was happening. Then there were times I was just a tad bit bored and spaced a bit. It didn’t deter me from wanting to finish the book. The exciting parts put a hold on me that really got me through the slow parts and I was able to move on and really enjoy the story and the characters.

The characters I adored. I really liked Ileni. She started off a bit naive when it came to the assassins. Not really her fault, She only knew what she was taught. What I loved about her, she wasn’t afraid to forget what she learned and change her mind with what she was experienced instead of what she was taught. She had an open mind. She had a bit more trouble opening up her heart. She started off a bit distant, stand offish. She had a mission, she didn’t care for killers, and she had a great desire to stay alive for as long as she could. She was committed to her mission. She was loyal. Even when it seemed she may have been headed in the wrong direction, she held on to her loyalty… She just figured out how to expand her loyalty. She was a strong, brave, and very intelligent. Great character.

Sorin was also a fantastical character. I fell in love with him from the very beginning. He was an assassin, yes, he was trained to kill, yes, but from the very beginning, clearly he was one of the good guys. He was very honest, very hard, but he had goodness going on. He fully believed in his mission and would not fault from it. He changed his ways a bit when it came to Ileni and that is when his hardness began to falter. He fell in love and it changed him. Only a bit though. Only enough to save her hide when needed, he still stayed true to his beliefs. He wasn’t arrogant, he wasn’t cruel, he wasn’t a jerk. He wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies either. He treated Ileni as an equal, I liked that very much. Of course that didn’t stop his need to protect her, but only in the moments she needed it. Wonderful character.

There is love in the story… written just perfect. Not overwhelming, not instant, just right. It was sweet and deep. It grew over time as it should. Started out with a spark and took off from there. It was not the center of the story but I would say it plays a pretty big part overall. I think it will be even more prominent in the books to come. The only issue I had with the romance.. it was forbidden in a way and of course there will be lots of obstacles in the way. In the end I am sure they will be together and all with be wonderful… but until then it will be a very hard road.

The ending was the best part.... I loved the relationship play out, the story come together, it felt as if the story was just beginning for me. It had a conclusion but only to the main issue in this story... there is still so much more to come, so much story left, the ending was not the conclusion and I can't wait to read more. I think the best is yet to come. This story was just build up. 

A great addition to YA High Fantasy. Enjoyed it very much and look forward to reading more in the series. 

Leah Cypess wrote her first story in first grade. The narrator was an ice-cream cone in the process of being eaten. In fourth grade, she wrote her first book, about a girl who was shipwrecked on a desert island with her faithful and heroic dog (a rip-off of both The Black Stallion and all the Lassie movies).
After selling her first story while in high school, she gave in to her mother's importuning to be practical and majored in biology at Brooklyn College. She then went to Columbia Law School and practiced law for almost two years. She kept writing and submitting in her spare time, and finally, a mere 15 years after her first short story acceptance, she sold her first novel.
Leah currently lives in Brookline, Massachusetts with her husband and children.

Review: Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

Title: Fire & Flood 

Author: Victoria Scott

Publisher:  Scholastic Press 
Publishing Date: February 14th 2014

Pages: 304
Genre:  YA Science-Fiction Thriller/Adventure

Series:  Fire & Flood #1
Source: Hardcover

  

A modern day thrill ride, where a teen girl and her animal companion must participate in a breathtaking race to save her brother's life—and her own.

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she's helpless to change anything.
Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It's an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother's illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there's no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.
The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can't trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?

I was so excited for this book. The cover is so gorgeous. The story sounds intense. I couldn't wait to read the book. I nabbed it to read as soon as I cold. I absolutely, positively, emphatically loved this book. There was just a tad bit of a problem with pacing at the beginning, but once it picked up it truly was a page turner. I couldn't read the pages fast enough, I couldn't gobble it up fast enough, It was truly wonderful, just brilliant. 

Tella has a very sick brother, and older brother she just adores. She feels helpless until she receives a creepy message on a strange device, enter the race, win the race, get the cure. For her brother, there isn't a choice. She finds a way to enter and race. Now she must find a way to win. The race isn't a normal race. Its full of danger, extreme circumstances, and evil creators. Of course the best part, each contender has a Pandora, and animal friend, protector, helper with extreme abilities.  Tella and her Pandora meet many others contending for the cure. Other contenders and Pandoras. Some friendly, other not so much. 

The book started off a little slow for me. It wasn't until all the characters showed up on the book before it took off for me. It was about 10 percent through or so. Once it took off, it took off. I was a bit worried in the beginning, I didn't think I would get into the story. I was wrong. The story kept getting more intense with every page turn. I normally read a multiple of books and shift back and forth depending on my mood. This book took precedence over all the rest. 

Everything pretty much rocked for me in this book. The setting, the story, the tone, and the character building. I loved them all. The story did have some similarities to Hunger Games, but not enough to deter me from really enjoying the book. The main similarity I came across was the creators being much luck like the game makers and it was pretty much a dog eat dog world in the race. The object isn't to kill other contenders, but they creators don't frown upon it either. The contenders came in all ages.... young as 10 or so up to older adults. The only thing the contenders had in common was a a sick loved one, someone they were racing for. The story never goes into what kind of sickness all the family members have, but we do find out how they got sick to begin with. The origin of the race isn't explained until the very end of the book, but the origin didn't seem to matter to me. The only thing that really stood out for me and led the story, was the actual race. Getting to the next leg, possibly the end. It was a very exciting read. Even though the race was my main focus and it is the main focus of this book, the series is going to be about so much more. I am really happy that the storyline will have a bigger world to explore. 

The setting was pretty cool, first the jungle, then the desert. Both settings were well written, The details were just enough to put me there with the characters and hold the visuals in my mind, but didn't take over the story.  Each setting had their own problems, traps, and things to work through, set backs. Both were agonizing and murderous. I wouldn't want to be a part of either for sure. The settings and the intensity of the race set the tone for the story. Very extreme, very dangerous, very time sensitive. It was quite a nerve-racking experience. 

The characters were of course my favorite part. I was a bit concerned at first. I wasn't sure I would connect or like Tella. I couldn't have been more wrong. I didn't connect to her first, but it didn't take long to find her personality, who she was, and what she stood for. She was a sensitive girl. One I liked very much. She was strong, but her strength took second string to her heart. She cared intensely. She didn't go mediocre or half way. She gave her entire heart to everyone who deserved it. She was loyal, trustworthy, and driven. In the end I considered her a true friend. 

There was romance, and the heart throb that was attached to that storyline, Guy, Oh he was so wonderful. I admit I like the stand offish boy characters, as long as they do it right. Guy did it right. He was a loner, stand offish, but he also couldn't help but caring, protecting, helping... not just Tella but all that he considered part of his world. He was pretty amazing. 

The romance was slow but fast. It was fast because only a month passes in the book, it was slow because it didn't go from nothing to romance. The attraction was there, but they weren't concerned about relationships, they were concerned with staying alive and winning the race. So over the month of the race, the romance built and it was good. I loved the romance int he book. 

So yes there was tons of goodness that worked together perfectly to create an outstanding journey for me and I am in awe of this book....my only complaint... the ending..... Ugh I hate non existent endings. No cliff hanger but no conclusion either. Now all I can do is wait in agony. 

Amazing, incredible, marvelous extraordinary. The next one can't come out soon enough. 

Victoria Scott is a teen fiction writer represented by Sara Crowe. She's the author of the FIRE & FLOOD series published by Scholastic, and the DANTE WALKER trilogy published by Entangled Teen. Her books have been bought and translated in eleven foreign markets including the UK, Turkey, China, Poland, Germany, Australia, Israel, Taiwan, Brazil, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.
Victoria lives in Dallas with her husband and hearts cotton candy something fierce.

Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Title: Cruel Beauty 

Author: Rosamund Hodge

Publisher:  Balzer + Bray 
Publishing Date: January 28th 2014

Pages: 346

Genre:  YA Fairytale Retelling/Gothic Horror

Series: Cruel Beauty Universe #1
Source: Audio

  

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.

I was so totally excited about this book. Love everything at first glance. Love the title, love the cover, love the summary. What's not to love right. I wasn't disappointed. The book was everything I expected and more. It was dark, it was romantic, it was exciting, it was a bit creepy, it was beautiful. 

Nyx was promised, by her father, as a payment for a bargain he made with a monster, a demon, someone that has entrapped their land and is seen as pure evil. Nyx will marry him when she becomes of age. Which she does and is dropped off at his front door. She isn't just to marry him but is expected to conquer him, kill him, even if it means killing herself in the process. Once she gets to the castle, Nyx finds that things aren't that simple and the demon, Ignifex isn't what she thought him to be. She embarks on a journey inside the house to find what she needs to destoy him. She has a bit of help from Shadow, which is well a shadow. What Nyx doesn't expect to happen, her hesitation in defeating the monster who has enslaved her or the fact that she may be just as evil on the inside. 

I am not sure where to begin with this review. I know without a doubt I am over the tops in love with this book, the characters, the story line, the writing, the setting, it was all just superb, out of this world, magnificent, lovely, an so many more words I could use to describe the wonderfulness of this book. So I may run on a bit and possibly get off track because this book totally muddled my brain. 

One of my favorite things about this book was the writing. The writing was just beautiful, dark, poetic. I loved the flow and fluidity of the words. I am not one that talks about the writing much, except to say if I liked it or not. The writing in this book made the book for me. The writing style gave the book character of its own. I felt I was in another world, a world of its own, a world I loved. 

The goodness doesn't stop there. The story line was very alluring, romantic, and very mythical. I love Beauty and the Beast. It is my favorite fairy tale and I was really happy to see the dark come back into play. I also love Greek mythology or any mythology really, and I felt the mixture of mythology with fairy tale was genius. I couldn't think of a better fairy tale than Beauty and the Beast for this particular mixture. It brought on the dark and gave the story a great Gothic feel. Not only was there mythology but there was also fairies. More dark, more horror, more awe. 

The romance as also spectacular for me. There was a bit of insta love, but to me, it belongs in fairy tales. So I actually really loved the romance. It wasn't sweet and loving, it was passionate and frightening, grim, tragic. It fit with the characters very well. There was a bit of love triangle but not really. It all made sense in the end and felt like it was meant to fall just as it did. 

The characters were a love hate relationship. I loved and hated everyone of them and they will remain some of my favorite characters in many books to come. The main character Nyx was a very strong and determined girl. She knew her destiny and she accepted it. She didn't accept it well though. She hated her father, was bitter towards her sister, and was angry at her aunt. She accepted her purpose but despised it every inch of the way. It wasn't until Ignifex and shadow drew out her dark emotions that she started to accept things as they were and started to see so much more of everything else. She did have issues with self pity but that changed throughout the story. 

I really loved Ignifex. I know he was the bad guy, supposed to be evil and all that, but really he wasn't all that. He had more than one side to him and even though he was a bit unpredictable, I saw through his charades and fell for him. Every now and again his ugliness would show and I would wan to slap him, but he seemed to always redeem himself in some way. Although his redeeming qualities weren't the best either, I could see there was so much more underneath the horrid stuff. 

Shadow was another main character. I liked him enough. He had some pretty dark secrets, I knew from the beginning he wasn't who he tried to come off as. A nice guy. He was sweet but he had also had a dark side. I didn't quite connect to him as well as I did Ignifex, but I still very much liked him, he was a very wondrous part of the story. 

The pacing was just right, the book was slow but only in the sense I didn't feel rushed. There was so much to take in and enjoy I appreciated the slowness of things happening. I was able to savor it all. It was a bit predictable, but um its a retelling so yeah that would happen. It was a great spin to a classic fairy tale. 

This book will forever own a part of my heart. I will read and re- read, and probably memorize this book. 

Rosamund Hodge grew up as a homeschooler in Los Angeles, where she spent her time reading everything she could lay hands on, but especially fantasy and mythology. She got a BA in English from the University of Dallas and an MSt in Medieval English from Oxford, and she now lives in Seattle with seven toy cats and a plush Cthulhu. Visit her on the web at http://www.rosamundhodge.net/