Under Different Stars Review

Happy Monday Readers!

  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, and is ready to start another week! Today I wanted to review a book that I recently read and loved. Under Different Stars by Amy Bartol had me laughing, crying, and on the edge of my seat to see what happened next. I could't put this book down that I actually finished it in a couple of days, because it is that good!

The description was taken from the Goodreads website:

 "Kricket Hollowell is normally not one to wish upon stars; she believes they’re rarely in her favor. Well versed at dodging caseworkers from Chicago’s foster care system, the past few years on her own have made Kricket an expert at the art of survival and blending in. With her 18th birthday fast approaching, she dreams of the day when she can stop running and find what her heart needs most: a home.

Trey Allairis hates Earth and doubts that anyone from his world can thrive here. What he’s learning of Kricket and her existence away from her true home only confirms his theory. But, when he and Kricket lie together under the stars of Ethar, counting them all may be easier than letting her go.

Kyon Ensin’s secrets number the stars; he knows more about Kricket's gifts than anyone and plans to possess her because of them. He also knows she’s more valuable than any fire in the night sky. He’ll move the heavens and align them all in order to make her his own.

When everything in their world can be broken, will Kricket rely upon love to save her under different stars?"

Kricket just wants to make it on her own until her 18th birthday, so she can be free to live her life without having to worry about case workers. She wants to be able to settle down and find a home to call her own. However, when she is on her way home one morning from work, she discovers that her identity has been compromised and people are after her. She has to figure out how to hide from the two groups that are trying to grab her to take her to her rightful home, and another group who wants to take her home to answer for her crimes. When she is taken by one of the groups lead by Trey, she is taken on one wild adventure that will have her guessing everything she knew about her family and everything she knew about herself. Can Kricket learn to trust Trey or will she be betrayed and have to save herself like she always does?

Kricket is a strong female character, who has survived so much that she doesn't know who she can trust, and knows that she has to protect herself at all costs. She doesn't take any crap off of anyone, and some of the things she says and does will have you laughing and crying. Amy brings the reader into an imaginative futuristic world, that you will believe you are experiencing Kricket's journey and emotions right along with her. Trey is a complicated character, however along the journey you get to understand why he acts the way he does, and somewhere along the line you start to fall in love with him a little. If you like adventure, romance, strong female characters, and a story line that will leave you guessing until the very end, then this book is for you!

Happy journey under the stars my friends!



Image taken from the Goodreads website.

Rising Review

Happy of Happiest Friday's Everyone!

 I hope everyone's week was a good one. Today I wanted to review an amazing book that I stumbled upon one day while looking at kindle books, and after reading the description I knew I had to see what happens. Rising by Holly Kelly takes the reader on an adventure on land, as well as, an adventure under the sea.

The description was taken from the Goodreads website:

 "In a war between the humans and the inhabitants of the sea-humans will lose. Xanthus Dimitriou-the most lethal Dagonian to rise from the ocean-is on a mission to save mankind from annihilation. But first there's one small thing he needs to do... kill a beautiful young woman in a wheelchair. Killing her doesn't start out as part of his plan. He entrenches himself deep in the human world. Aligning himself with his enemies, he prepares to send them to Triton to face their punishment. Then Sara Taylor rolls onto the scene. Xanthus knows at once she's a criminal. And her crime? Being born. She's a human/Dagonian half-breed, an abomination. Killing her should be an easy job. All he has to do is break into her apartment, slit her throat, and feed her body to the sharks. Simple, right? Wrong. If only she weren't so beautiful, so innocent, so sweet... Saving the world may have to wait. It appears Xanthus has a woman to save. But protecting her may cost him his own life."

All Xanthus knows is that he was given a mission, and he is meant to see it through. When he comes on land with a pair of legs, he creeps into Sara's house with the only thought being to kill her. However, when he sees her he can't help but fight his killing instinct, and a power of protectiveness feels him to his core. Sara maybe in a wheelchair, however she has a mighty fine attitude, and she doesn't take no crap from anyone. She just wants to live a normal life, but feels like something is missing in her life. When she meets Xanthus, she discovers that missing part and what her true destiny is. However, will she be able to trust him to protect her, and take her to her rightful home or will she just feel like an outsider forever?

This book is told from two points of view, Xanthus's and Sara's. I like when books do this, because I feel like you get more of the story that way. Holly drags the reader into the story, and makes you wish that you could grow a fin, because when she describes the underwater part it is so amazing. If you are a fan of mermaids, strong female characters, a good love story, and a story where characters find where they truly belong, than this book is for you!

Happy Underwater Adventures Friends!



Image taken from the Goodreads website.

The Juliet Club Review

Hello!

 We have reached the middle of the week, and I wanted to share one of my favorite YA books with you. The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper, takes the reader one a wild journey full of love and laughter. It is set in Verona, Italy and is a summer camp for Shakespeare lovers.

The description was taken from the Goodreads website:

 "Kate Sanderson inherited her good sense from her mother, a disciplined law professor, and her admiration for the Bard from her father, a passionate Shakespeare scholar. When she gets dumped, out of the blue, for the Practically Perfect Ashley Lawson, she vows never to fall in love again. From now on she will control her own destiny, and every decision she makes will be highly reasoned and rational. She thinks Shakespeare would have approved.

So when she is accepted to a summer Shakespeare symposium in Verona, Italy, Kate sees it as the ideal way to get over her heartbreak once and for all. She'll lose herself in her studies, explore ancient architecture, and eat plenty of pasta and gelato. (Plus, she'll be getting college credit for it—another goal accomplished!) But can even completely logical Kate resist the romance of living in a beautiful villa in the city where those star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet met and died for each other? Especially when the other Shakespeare Scholars—in particular Giacomo, with his tousled brown hair, expressive dark eyes, and charming ways—try hard to break her protective shell?

"In fair Verona, where we lay our scene . . . ""

Kate Sanderson is your average American teen, who knows Shakespeare like the back of her hand due to her father. When her boyfriend dumps her for another girl, her heart is broken and she decides never to fall in love again. When she gets accepted to go to Verona, Italy she decides that she will get lost in the world of Shakespeare and forget all about her troubles. However when she gets there she finds that the students want to play a trick on her and Giacomo. So they decide to turn the tables on the students, and go along with their plan. However along the way Kate discovers things about herself, learns to let go, and wonders if you can truly escape from love.

This is one story that will make the reader dive into the Shakespeare world with Kate. You will laugh, get angry, and root for her to figure out just exactly what she wants. You can also relate to Kate's character, especially if you have ever been dumped in High School for another girl. This is one adventure that Shakespeare would be proud of, and any lover of Shakespeare needs to read. Don't let this amazing story pass you by.

Go on an adventure in Verona and find yourself lost in the story readers!



Image taken from the Goodreads website.

Royal Bastards Review

Happy Monday Everyone!

  I hope everyone had an amazing weekend! Today I am going to be reviewing Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts. I will admit the title of the book did initially draw me to pick it up, however after I read the description inside the cover of the book, I knew I had to read it. Although it does start out slow, I continued to read it to see what would happen, and I wasn't disappointed.

The description was taken from the Goodreads website:

 "Being a bastard blows. Tilla would know. Her father, Lord Kent of the Western Province, loved her as a child, but cast her aside as soon as he had true born children.

At sixteen, Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stable hand half brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax’s floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla secretly longs to sit by her father’s side, resplendent in a sparkling gown, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family. Instead, she sits with the other bastards, like Miles of House Hampstedt, an awkward scholar who’s been in love with Tilla since they were children.

Then, at a feast honoring the visiting princess Lyriana, the royal shocks everyone by choosing to sit at the Bastards’ Table. Before she knows it, Tilla is leading the sheltered princess on a late-night escapade. Along with Jax, Miles, and fellow bastard Zell, a Zitochi warrior from the north, they stumble upon a crime they were never meant to witness.

Rebellion is brewing in the west, and a brutal coup leaves Lyriana’s uncle, the Royal Archmagus, dead—with Lyriana next on the list. The group flees for their lives, relentlessly pursued by murderous mercenaries; their own parents have put a price on their heads to prevent the king and his powerful Royal Mages from discovering their treachery.

The bastards band together, realizing they alone have the power to prevent a civil war that will tear their kingdom apart—if they can warn the king in time. And if they can survive the journey . . "

The description basically gives the reader the idea of what the book is going to be about without giving away anything. There really isn't anything about the story that I can say without giving anything away. I will say that there is a lot of romance, but there are no descriptive sex scenes or anything like that. The book does end on a cliff hanger, however that is to be expected because this book is the first part of a trilogy. You will fall in love with the characters, I developed a crush on Zell, but apparently I have a thing for bad boys, lol. If you are able to stick with the story and give it a chance, you shouldn't be disappointed. I actually started to like the story by the middle of it.

With this book it is honestly a hit or miss. It will have a lot to do with what kind of books you like to read, and if you can actually make it to the middle part. If the description doesn't make you 100% sure you want to read it, than I suggest you don't because you probably won't like it.

Happy journeys  my friends!



Image taken from the Goodreads website.

Austenland Review

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

  I hope everyone has a good, safe Thanksgiving tomorrow! As you know I am a huge fan of Jane Austen, and love every single one of her books. Today I am reviewing Austenland by author Shannon Hale. I couldn't put this book down when I read it, and when I saw they were making a movie, I knew I had to see it. I have actually read the book and watched the movie more times than I can count, and each time although I know what is going to happen, I am still drawn into the story.

The description was taken from the Goodreads website:

 "Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.

Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen;or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It's all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?"

Jane Hayes is like every woman who reads Pride and Prejudice, falls in love with Mr. Darcy, well at least she is like me. Jane is giving the once in a lifetime opportunity to go back into Jane Austen's world, wearing the gowns they were, meeting gentlemen, living in Jane's shoes, and basically living every person's fantasy of living in Jane Austen's world. Jane has always wanted to meet her very own Mr. Darcy, and she might just have the chance to fall in love with a fictional character that has come to life.

This book will have you laughing, crying, screaming, and wanting Austenland to be a real place that you can visit. Even if you have seen the movie, which is just as amazing as the book, you still need to read this book, because it gives you deeper look into the story than the movie does. If you love Jane Austen and want the experience of living in her shoes, you need to read this book, and let it transport you to a resort that someone needs to build, because I want to go and find my own Mr. Darcy.

Happy journey into Jane Austen's world my friends!



Image taken from Goodreads website.