Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Rating:★★★★★

Synopsis: The first book in the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer! See where the futuristic YA fairytale saga all began, with the tale of a teenage cyborg who must fight for Earth’s survival against villains from outer space.

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.

With high-stakes action and a smart, resourceful heroine, Cinder is a Cinderella retelling that is at once classic and strikingly original.

Review: I have read this book before but I finally decided to read the full series!! I had put it off for a while but I shall wait no longer!! This book is brilliant, fantastic, extraordinary and all other synonyms of amazing! The Cinderella story is my favourite storyline of all time and although I don’t read many dystopian books, the dystopian twist on this story was just… phenomenal!

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Book Review: #TheRealCinderella by Yesenia Vargas

Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis: A modern-day teenage Cinderella. An all-star varsity basketball player. Will the chemistry disappear when they go from anonymous to face-to-face?

Geeky Ella Reyes is at the bottom of the totem pole at Westwood High. Her ultra-popular stepsisters refuse to be seen with her at school, and every day she comes home to a mountain of chores.

Ella’s only friend (and maybe crush) lives on the other side of her phone’s screen. She and Baller929 know everything about each other, except their real names.

When they have a chance to meet at her school’s Halloween ball, Ella must figure out a way to get there without her stepmom or stepsisters finding out.

Is revealing her identity to Baller929 worth risking the one good thing left in her life? Or is he too good to be true?

Review: Another Cinderella retelling!!! This one is a modern retelling and I really liked it! So the main character named Ella (Daniela actually) has the whole Cinderella package,evil stepsisters, demanding stepmother and an online crush named Baller929.

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Book Review: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis: Cinderella goes to the con in this fandom-fueled twist on the classic fairy tale.

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfieldmovie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

Review: The Cinderella story retelling is one of my favourite types of books and this one is one of my favourites. It combines fandoms with fairytales and celebrity romances as well as the evil stepmother and stepsisters.

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Book Review: Riches to Rags by Casey L. Bond

My Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis: Most girls dream of being princesses, but one princess just wants to be a normal girl. Ella Carina, crown princess of Aelawyn, knows brutality and lies—she’s seen the way her father rules. Princess. Possession. To her father, the words had the same meaning. She was only as valuable as the alliance formed with her betrothal. Her freedom comes from an unlikely place: an attack on the castle. When the conquering King offers to protect her from the betrothal her father arranged for political gain, she consents. Hiding her within a peasant family is the only way to keep her and her secret safe. In this simpler life, Ella flourishes and catches the eye of the local Blacksmith’s son. For once, she can be herself and make her own choices, but the life of a princess—even one kept secret—was never meant to be easy. Trevor, crown prince of Galder has been searching for Ella, but not because of their betrothal. She is in grave danger from the very people who hid her away. His plan is to show her the truth and help her to safety. Nothing goes as planned. When Trevor finds her, it’s to discover she’s fallen in love with a peasant. Now he has two goals: help her regain her throne… and show her that she belongs with him

Review: I feel like not enough people know about this book! It is incredible! This is a Cinderella retelling and honestly might be the best one I’ve read. This book intrigued me and to be honest I thought it was going to be predictable and basic but it truly was something else. Continue reading “Book Review: Riches to Rags by Casey L. Bond” →

Book Review: The Until Midnight Series by Erin Bedford

So I’m going to review all 3 books in this trilogy in one review because why not. Obviously, there are spoilers in review for book 2 and 3 for the previous book(s). My reviews are also going to be a tad shorter than usual.

Until Midnight

My Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis: This fairy tale has no happy endings only dark beginnings. They call them the Crimson Fold. High up in their castle they look down on my little world and wield a silent control. That is, until the invitations are sent out. I never dreamed I’d be selected. They tell me it’s a privilege. I should be honored. But the fear in their eyes doesn’t lie. If I refuse to go, my family will be shunned. If I go, my life and my body will no longer be mine. It’ll be theirs. At midnight it will be over. At Midnight I’ll be his.

Review for Until Midnight : Oooh!!!!! This book was amazing! This is my first time ever entering the vampire genre (books and films, I’ve never read or watched them as they are always mainstream and I don’t want to follow the crowd). This book mainly focuses on vampires near the end but don’t worry we have a lot of drama before that! Continue reading “Book Review: The Until Midnight Series by Erin Bedford” →

Book Review: The Blood Spell by C.J. Redwine

My Rating: ★★★★ and 1/2 or 4.5

Synopsis: Blue de la Cour has her life planned: hide the magic in her blood and continue trying to turn metal into gold so she can help her city’s homeless. But when her father is murdered and a cruel but powerful woman claims custody of Blue and her property, one wrong move could expose her—and doom her once and for all. The only one who can help? The boy she’s loathed since childhood: Prince Kellan. Kellan Renard, crown prince of Balavata, is walking a thin line between political success and devastating violence. Newly returned from boarding school, he must find a bride among the kingdom’s head families and announce his betrothal—but escalating violence among the families makes the search nearly impossible. He’s surprised to discover that the one person who makes him feel like he can breathe is Blue, the girl who once ruined all his best adventures. When mysterious forces lead to disappearances throughout Balavata, Blue and Kellan must work together to find the truth. What they discover will lead them to the darkest reaches of the kingdom, and to the most painful moments of their pasts. When romance is forbidden and evil is rising, can Blue save those she loves, even if it costs her everything?

Review: I rarely read books set in the past or historical fiction books ( I’ve only ever read 2, The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross and Riches to Rags by Casey L. Bound) but this book was incredible. If I could find more historical fiction books like this, I would definitely read more of this genre. This book was a retelling of Cinderella (fairy tale retellings are one of my favourite kind of books) but it had so much more than the basic story. Continue reading “Book Review: The Blood Spell by C.J. Redwine” →

Book Review: Cinder & Ella by Kelly Oram

My Rating:★★★★★

Songs: Half the World Away (cover) by AURORA, Halo by Beyoncé

These songs are personal to me, they remind me of this book (they may be songs that were popular during the time that I read this, with lyrics that relate to this book or it might just be random)

Synopsis: It’s been almost a year since eighteen-year-old Ella Rodriguez was in a car accident that left her crippled, scarred, and without a mother. After a very difficult recovery, she’s been uprooted across the country and forced into the custody of a father that abandoned her when she was a young child. If Ella wants to escape her father’s home and her awful new stepfamily, she must convince her doctors that she’s capable, both physically and emotionally, of living on her own. The problem is, she’s not ready yet. The only way she can think of to start healing is by reconnecting with the one person left in the world who’s ever meant anything to her—her anonymous Internet best friend, Cinder.
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Hollywood sensation Brian Oliver has a reputation for being trouble. There’s major buzz around his performance in his upcoming film The Druid Prince, but his management team says he won’t make the transition from teen heartthrob to serious A-list actor unless he can prove he’s left his wild days behind and become a mature adult. In order to douse the flames on Brian’s bad-boy reputation, his management stages a fake engagement for him to his co-star Kaylee. Brian isn’t thrilled with the arrangement—or his fake fiancée—but decides he’ll suffer through it if it means he’ll get an Oscar nomination. Then a surprise email from an old Internet friend changes everything.

Review: This book is definitely in my top 5. Cinderella is my favourite princess story, hands down, and this was the best retelling of it I have read (and believe me I have read all I could get my hands on). This is a contemporary retelling of Cinderella. Ella was recently in a car accident that killed her mother and has left her with scars and caused her to have to walk with a cane. Cinder is a cover name for Brian, Brian Oliver who is a famous Hollywood actor and playboy (and closet fantasy geek). Brian and Ella used to chat anonymously usually about their favourite book series, The Druid Prince. Ella is actually a book blogger and this book kind of encouraged me to create a blog (don’t worry I’m not expecting celebrities). When Ella doesn’t answer ‘Cinder’s’ messages for over 9 months, he assumes the worse then out of the blue she emails him explaining that she had been in a car accident (but she didn’t mention her scars or the fact that she is disabled). During this time, Brian acquired himself a fake fiance – his co-actor Kaylee Summers. His management team think that this will change people’s perspectives of Brian and making him seem more mature. Ella has been sent from a small city in Boston to Los Angeles to live with her father that walked out on her and her mother when she was 8. She has a stepmother and 2 stepsisters named Juliette and Anastasia who are all (by the media’s standards) perfect. Continue reading “Book Review: Cinder & Ella by Kelly Oram” →