Monday, July 22, 2013

Rebel Spirits by Lois Ruby


Rebel SpiritsTitle: Rebel Spirits
Author: Lois Ruby
Release Date: June 1, 2013
Publisher: Point
Format: ebook
Page Number: 304
Source: Netgalley
 
Synopsis (Goodreads): Lori Chase doesn't know what to think about ghosts. She may have seen a few in the past, but those were just childish imaginings...right? Only now that she is living in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, spirits seem to be on everyone's mind. The town is obsessed with its bloody Civil War history, and the old inn that Lori's parents run is supposedly haunted by the souls of dead soldiers.

Then Lori meets one such soldier--the devastatingly handsome Nathaniel Pierce. Nathaniel's soul cannot rest, and he desperately needs Lori's help. Because Nathaniel was not killed in the famous battle. He was murdered. Lori begins to investigate the age-old mystery, stumbling upon shocking clues and secrets.

At the same time, she can't help falling for Nathaniel, just as he is falling for her....
My Review
Rebel Spirits was okay. I didn't really love it, and I didn't really hate it. I didn't really expect anything going into it.
 
Things I Liked
* I really enjoyed the setting. I felt that it was described really well, and I felt like I was there.
* The concept of the story was nice. It wasn't the most original but I thought it was nice.
* The ending. It wasn't the best, but it left us on a nice note.
 
Things I Didn't Like
*The romance. You knew it wouldn't work out and it bugged me.
* The way the mystery was solved. The thing you need to find just happens to float in front of you? I don't think so.
 
Overall, I thought the book was meh. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I didn't really care for the characters, the plot was okay, and the feeling of the entire book was just kind of bleh.
 
Rating: 3/5 worms
 
 
 
 

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Entwined by Heather Dixon


EntwinedTitle: Entwined
Author: Heather Dixon
Release Date: March 29, 2011
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Page Number: 472
Format: Paperback
Source: Library

Synopsis(Goodreads): Come and mend your broken hearts here.

Just when Azalea should feel that everything is before her—beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing—it’s taken away. All of it. And Azalea is trapped. The Keeper understands. He’s trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. So he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest, but there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

My Review
I adore fairy tales and fairytale retellings. ADORE them. They remind me of when I was a little kid and read underneath my covers at night. And Entwined definitely made me feel that way.
 
When I first started Entwined I thought it was going to be really light and fluffy, but I was wrong. While this book has lots of happy, fluffy moments, it also has lots of darker stuff going on too. There are lots of different things that happen throughout the course of the book that make you want to keep going, because they truly hook your attention. Heather Dixon's writing style also does a great job of keeping you interested. It's really poetic and does a great job of describing all of Azalea's surroundings.
 
Azalea and her sister's are lovely to read about. Azalea is really strong despite what she's going through and I thought that was lovely. She was refreshing to read about because she cared more about her family than she cared about herself. Bramble was my favorite of the sisters. She was just so spunky!
 
Rating: 4.5/5 worms
I would definitely recommend to anyone who loves darker fairy tales!