Review: Princess of the Silver Woods by Jessica Day George

Princess of the Silver Woods by Jessica Day George

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published December 11th 2012 by Bloomsbury USA Children's Books

Source: ARC, NetGalley
Buy the book:  Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From Goodreads:

When Petunia, the youngest of King Gregor's twelve dancing daughters, is invited to visit an elderly friend in the neighboring country of Westfalin, she welcomes the change of scenery. But in order to reach Westfalin, Petunia must pass through a forest where strange two-legged wolves are rumored to exist. Wolves intent on redistributing the wealth of the noble citizens who have entered their territory. But the bandit-wolves prove more rakishly handsome than truly dangerous, and it's not until Petunia reaches her destination that she realizes the kindly grandmother she has been summoned to visit is really an enemy bent on restoring an age-old curse. The stories of Red Riding Hood and Robin Hood get a twist as Petunia and her many sisters take on bandits, grannies, and the new King Under Stone to end their family curse once and for all. 

The reader hits the ground running right from the beginning of this book. I thought this was a good thing until I realized I had no idea who half of the characters were. We're introduced to Petunia and her "wolf" right off the bat. These two are written well and really make the story like they should. They are extremely likeable and I found that I connected to them easily. Unfortunately, the other characters weren't so lucky with me. The sisters and their respective suitors were distant and sometimes aggravating to me. This is why I would probably read the other books in the series to get a better understanding of Petunia's story, but in no rush to learn about these others. 

Adding to that frustration was the fact that magic just appeared here and there for no reason to me. However, this is when I realized that this was actually the final installment in the series. Everything finally made sense after that. After researching the series a little, I finally settled into the storyline once again. There were still incidents and actions that happened seemingly random, but the story managed to hold my attention right till the end. The perspective on the fairy tale was unique compared to many others I had read and I actually enjoyed this one the most. 

 

Waiting on Wednesday - March 13, 2013

 Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme from Jill at Breaking the Spine. To join in, share the book or books that you are currently drooling over as you await their release and report back to Breaking the Spine with the link to your post. The gorgeous badge above is brought to us by Lindsay at The Violet Hour!

Why, oh why, do these books have to be so daggum far apart?!? *Sigh*  At least this wait is almost over, but the others to come.... ugh...

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Hardcover, 592 pages

Expected publication: March 19th 2013 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

From Goodreads:

Danger intensifies for the Shadowhunters as the New York Times bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy comes to a close.

If the only way to save the world was to destroy what you loved most, would you do it?

The clock is ticking. Everyone must choose.

Passion. Power. Secrets. Enchantment.

Danger closes in around the Shadowhunters in the final installment of the bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy. 

Review: Undeadly by Michelle Vail

Undeadly by Michelle Vail

Paperback, 272 pages

Published November 20th 2012 by Harlequin Teen

Source: ARC, NetGalley
Buy the book:  Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From Goodreads:

The day I turned 16, my boyfriend-to-be died. I brought him back to life. Then things got a little weird...

Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper—and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath. Within days, she's shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite boarding school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath.

Life at Nekyia has its plusses. Molly has her own personal ghoul, for one. Rick follows her there out of the blue, for another...except, there's something a little off about him. When students at the academy start to die and Rath disappears, Molly starts to wonder if anything is as it seems. Only one thing is certain—-Molly's got an undeadly knack for finding trouble....

 The concept won me over with this book, but the story itself could have benefited from a stronger heroine. 

Molly is a horrible accident waiting to happen. This girl has the luck of a bad penny, but she always seems to just scathe by trouble. In many ways she is a typical teenager trying to make it through a regular school day. However, supernatural incidents keep reminding her that she is not quite normal. Just how not normal she is actually completely unknown to her until she gets to Nekyia. Here events open up a can of worms and Molly has no choice but to fall in line...  Poor Rick. He gets drug along for the horrible ride, but is really a gem in the story. Rath. I adore him for some odd reason. He is a great character and compliment to Molly's naive personality. 

Together, this set of characters will give you a chance to involve yourself in the story along with them. It does start off slow, but Molly's blunders quickly get it rolling. Whining and teenage angst slow it down in several spots as well. If that had deterred from the story, this would have been an easy 5 sticky book. Unfortunately, it made me flip through a few parts to hurry the story along.

Waiting on Wednesday - March 6, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme from Jill at Breaking the Spine. To join in, share the book or books that you are currently drooling over as you await their release and report back to Breaking the Spine with the link to your post. The gorgeous badge above is brought to us by Lindsay at The Violet Hour!

I love a good story with a strong heroine. If this one lives up to its synopsis, it will be sitting on my shelves... Not too much longer to wait!

Poison by Bridget Zinn

Hardcover, 288 pages

Expected publication: March 12th 2013 by Disney Hyperion

From Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she’s the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom’s future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.

But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart . . . misses.

Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king’s army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she’s not alone. She’s armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can’t stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?

Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she’s certainly no damsel-in-distress—she’s the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.

Review: Parallel Visions by Cheryl Rainfield

Parallel Visions by Cheryl Rainfield

Paperback, 146 pages

Published November 20th 2012 by Rain and Sun Press
Source: ARC, NetGalley
Buy the book:  Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From Goodreads:

Visions can kill you. Would you risk your life to save someone else’s?

Kate sees psychic visions of the future and the past—but only when she's having an asthma attack. When she "sees" her sister being beaten, she needs more visions to try to save her, along with a suicidal classmate—but triggering her asthma could kill her. Parallel Visions is the story of one brave, caring girl whose unusual gifts put her own life in danger.

A new YA fantasy from the award-winning author of SCARS and HUNTED

 This was quite the little book. There is a whole lot of ground covered in short span, but the characters make it worth the ride. 

Kate has an interesting dilemma. She has an asthma attack and a vision at the same time. No one believes her and most just think she is just "that sick kid that misses a lot of school." Then life intervenes. Issues with her sister and a friend's sister come up because of her visions and it doesn't lead to where you would think. Instead of creating complete conflict for Kate, it builds her life and opens doors for her that she couldn't have imagined. The build up to that point is a little slow, but then this book really picks up. The culminating events turned this one into a page turner quickly and almost leave you as breathless as Kate. Yes, some may say it is a little predictable and somewhat cliche when it comes to the romance part, but it makes the best out of the number of pages it is allowed. It is definitely a solid good book, but if it had been a "full-length" novel it would have been outstanding!