Once Upon A Dream Review

Happy Monday!

 I hope everyone had an amazing weekend! I am excited about the reviews and other posts I have in store for this week. So let's get this amazing week started off with a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Once Upon a Dream by Liz Braswell, is an amazing remake of the tale of Sleeping Beauty that we all know and love, except it has a twist to it.

The description was taken from the Goodreads website:

 "What if the sleeping beauty never woke up? Once Upon a Dream marks the second book in a new YA line that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways.

It should be simple—a dragon defeated, a slumbering maiden, a prince poised to wake her. But when said prince falls asleep as soon as his lips meet the princess', it is clear that this fairy tale is far from over.

With a desperate fairy's last curse infiltrating her mind, Princess Aurora will have to navigate a dangerous and magical landscape deep in the depths of her dreams. Soon she stumbles upon Phillip, a charming prince eager to join her quest. But with Maleficent's agents following her every move, Aurora struggles to discover who her true allies are, and moreover, who she truly is. Time is running out. Will the sleeping beauty be able to wake herself up?"

In the original tale of Sleeping Beauty the Prince defeats the dragon, and rescues Aurora from her curse. But what if when the Prince went to awake Aurora he feel into a deep sleep curse of his own, and becomes trapped within the same dream as Aurora? Aurora is lead on a twisty adventure to find a way back to herself, while trying to figure out just who she is. When she meets Phillip along the journey she has to learn to trust him. Can she trust him to help get them both out of the nightmare or is he just another pawn of Maleficent's that will lead her on a wild goose chase?

This version of sleeping beauty had me enraptured from the very first word. It stays true to the story we all know and love, but the twist that Liz puts on the original story gives the reader a new found respect for Aurora. No longer does Aurora have to have a man to save her from her sleeping curse, but in this story the Princess gets to take her own story into her hands, which helps women see themselves as capable of saving themselves, without having to wait for a Prince's kiss.

Go find your own happily ever after readers!



Image taken from the Goodreads website.

To Make Monsters Out Of Girls Review

Happy Hump-Daaaay!

 So I was walking through Target one day, and came across a book that drew my attention to the cover. When I read the description, I decided to give it a try, although this would only be the second book of poetry I have read. I was also worried about the trigger warnings, and didn't know what to expect when I read the warning. However, I decided to give it a try and went ahead and bought it. To Make Monsters Out of Girls by Amanda Lovelace, was not what I expected in a good way. The way she wrote the poems had me connecting with her on an emotional level, and it made me realize that I was holding on to the people in my life who did me wrong. I was in an emotionally abusive relationship, and I realized after reading this book that I need to bury the past and move on.

The description comes from the Goodreads website:

 ""What happens when the man of your dreams turns out to be a nightmare with sharp teeth and claws?"

Winner of the 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Poetry, amanda lovelace presents her new illustrated duology, “things that h(a)unt.” In this first installment, to make monsters out of girls, lovelace explores the memory of being in an abusive relationship. She poses the eternal question: Can you heal once you’ve been marked by a monster, or will the sun always sting?"

This is the first book that I have read by Amanda Lovelace, and I am definitely going to continue to read what she writes. Amanda has found a way to turn her experiences into lessons and add stories that will make people who have been in the same situations as her, believe that there is a way for them to be whole again. These poems are something I wish I could say to my ex, and made me understand that I was not alone in the world. They helped me understand that I need to let go of the past, because if you keep living in the past, you can never really grow to become the person you were meant to be.

One of the poems that stuck out to me when I read it, was the poem that she starts out with. I have provided it for you below taken from the book To Make Monsters Out Of Girls...

"this is the sun-filled sky. these are the singing blackbirds. these are the empty pews. this is the cracked piano. this is the choking choir. these are the withered roses. this is my little black dress. these are my tear-dry cheeks. this is my red lipstick grin. this is your silent eulogy. this is our word-wrapped coffin. and this-this is how i will bury you. -it's much too late to repent, sweetheart."

If this touched something within your soul or you find yourself relating to this in anyway, than you need to pick up this amazing book. Know that your inner monster can be set free if you truly want it to be, and you can believe in yourself again.

Release those inner monsters my friends, and know that you are loved!