Madly, Deeply by Erica Crouch - Ashley's Review

*I received a copy of this book from Patchwork Press on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Madly, Deeply
Author: Erica Crouch
Publication Date: June 17, 2014

Synopsis: It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea...

Annaleigh Wells and William Calloway had a love even the angels envied. It was as if the universe spun them toward one another, like the stars crafted their souls to fit perfectly together.

With a wedding on the horizon, fate had a change of heart. Whispered warnings from phantoms and morbid nightmares darkened every night—but even visions of the future couldn’t save Annaleigh.

Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s poem Annabel Lee, Crouch’s period romance Madly, Deeply tells the tale of love so great, it cannot be contained in just one life.

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Review: I don't know why I thought that a book that was a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's Annabel Lee would do anything except make me cry ugly tears all night long. I've been excited to read this book since Erica announced it, mostly because I loved her Ignite books and I love retellings, but I seriously should have known better. Annabel Lee is so full of heartbreak and Erica's story remained true to the original while still maintaining a fresh new voice. 

I was hooked on Madly, Deeply from the first sentence. Erica just has this way with words that made me want to keep reading even though I just knew something terrible was going to happen. Her descriptions of Annaleigh, William, and their world are flawless. Instead of telling us how strong their love is, she shows us. Every word, every action drips with their love for each other and it's no wonder even the angels envied it! 

I loved the gothic feel of this book, and I loved the little bit of magic that was woven in. The setting is haunting enough as it is and it just makes everything feel a little bit darker and a little bit more other-worldly. I often found myself thinking, "that seriously did NOT just happen. Things will right themselves in the next section!" The Victorian feel of the book really made this story that much better and I'm not sure it would have had the same impact if it was set in any other time period. I'm also kind of a sucker for books set in the Victorian era, so I just loved all of that. 

One of my favorite parts of this book was how it was broken up into sections based on the stanzas of the original poem. It doesn't exactly follow those stanzas, but it does give an idea of what's to come and what might happen next. The crying, for me, started around the second stanza, and quickly changed to ugly crying by the third stanza (for the rest of the book....). Especially after Annaleigh and William's fight in the cabin. That scene took my hurting heart and broke it into a million pieces. 

The end, although not your typical "happily ever after" was satisfying and still happy in a way. If you read this book, you'll totally know what I mean. I was still crying all over the place, but my heart started to mend so I walked away feeling a little bit better. But Madly, Deeply has stuck with me for several weeks while I've tried to write this review and I just can't get it out of my head.

So I would 100% recommend this book to anyone looking for a re-telling of Annabel Lee that remains to Poe's original poem while still taking on a life of its own. Especially if you don't mind a good cry. This book has all of the feels and Erica's gorgeous writing will probably turn you into a blubbering mess before it's over. I loved everything about this book, and I can't wait to find out what Erica has up her sleeves next! 5/5!


--Ashley

Star Trek: Kahn (graphic novel) - Paul's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Diamond Book Distributors/IDW Publishing on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Star Trek: Kahn
Contributors:  Mike Johnson, Claudia Balboni
Publication Date: June 3, 2014


Synopsis: Witness the shocking origin of Khan Noonien Singh from his earliest years through his rise to power during the epic Eugenics Wars! Behold the events that led to his escape from Earth aboard the Botany Bay! Learn the truth behind his re-awakening by Admiral Marcus and Section 31! It's the origin of Star Trek's greatest villain!

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Review: The graphic novels that have accompanied the recent Star Trek reboot movies have been pretty good. They've shown behind the scenes action and expanded on the movie characters' stories. They also take time to reference the rest of the Star Trek universe, especially past series. 

This graphic novel expands on the Kahn character we meet in the second reboot Star Trek movie, Into Darkness. It's really interesting to compare this graphic novel to the original series episode involving Kahn and the second original movie. 

I give this graphic novel a 4/5 and recommend it to fans of Star Trek, both the new and old. 


--PAUL

A Beauty So Beastly (The Beastly Series #1) by RaShelle Workman - Ashley's Review

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Title: A Beauty So Beastly (The Beastly Series #1)
Author: RaShelle Workman
Publication Date: July 3, 2014

Synopsis: “For your vanity, your cruelty, and your cold unfeeling heart, a curse I leave upon you . . .” 

What happens if the beauty is also the beast?

The stunning Beatrice Cavanaugh is considered American royalty. She has everything except the ability to love. Cursed on her eighteenth birthday, she becomes more beastly than ever, having a newfound craving for raw meat, and an undeniable yearning for the night. Bitterness is her only companion.

After accusing a maid of stealing, a disgustingly kind and exquisitely handsome guy named Adam shows up asking Beatrice to drop the charges against his mother.

Infuriated by his goodness, Beatrice vows to break him. Destroy him. Make him hurt the way she hurts. So she agrees. On one condition: Adam must take his mother’s place as a servant in the mansion.

Because Beatrice won’t stop until he’s more beastly than she is.

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Review: Oh my goodness, this book was amazing! I've never read any of RaShelle's other books, but if they are anywhere near as good as A Beauty So Beastly, I might just have to add them to the top of my TBR pile. This was such a unique, interesting take on the classic Beauty and the Beast story and I can't wait for more!

Beatrice Cavanaugh is, in the beginning of this book, not a girl I would ever  want to be friends with. She's mean to everyone (even her friends) because she has no ability to feel. Like, anything. She's never felt happiness, sadness, guilt, love, or any other feeling. She does things because she can - like renting out an entire movie theatre and inviting only a few people. She's only concerned with who can give her the flashiest gifts, and she takes whatever she wants because nobody will tell her "no." Bea takes the whole mean girl thing to an extraordinary new level.

But I found that I couldn't hate her. Even when she was cold and heartless, I was sympathetic towards her. And then she's cursed and I actually really connected with her. It was really interesting that she's cursed on her 18th birthday and given one year - in most stories, the cursed is only given until his or her 18th birthday. I also really liked the "beastly" twist that RaShelle put in to this story. Bea is a beast both before and after the curse, but I thought it was neat how that definition changes. 

I also really enjoyed the romance in this book. I mean, what's a Beauty and the Beast story without a little bit of romance? Adam has his own secrets, and I was glad that Beatrice didn't just forgive him his faults and move on. She actually takes a little bit of time to think about things and figure out if she'll actually be ok with the things he hid from her. I also appreciated that there was no insta-love. Sure, Beatrice and Adam are physically attracted to each other... but their relationship takes time to develop.  

The plot moves pretty quickly in this book - Beatrice is cursed pretty close to the beginning and things start changing rapidly from there. I never felt like there was too much exposition or anything, and there's enough action in between the explanations that I was never bored. I enjoyed learning about the new species and realms as Bea learned about them, and I'm excited to learn more! I think I would have enjoyed subtle hints about previous books (Snow is mentioned a couple of times, and I only recognized it because I know what the other books are about), so I'll probably reread this one after I read Blood and Snow and The Cindy Chronicles. 

Even though I haven't read the other books in this world, I still thoroughly enjoyed A Beauty So Beastly. RaShelle has an excellent ability to spin a fairy tale and I loved her take on Beauty and the Beast! I would totally recommend this book to anyone looking for a new and interesting take on a classic tale, especially if fairy tale reimaginings are your thing. I can't wait to read the next book and all of the other books in this world! A 4.5/5 from me!


--Ashley

The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz - Paul's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: The Ring and the Crown
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Year Published: 2014

My Pre Reading of The Ring and the Crown

Synopsis: Princess Marie-Victoria, heir to the Lily Throne, and Aelwyn Myrddn, bastard daughter of the Mage of England, grew up together. But who will rule, and who will serve? 

Quiet and gentle, Marie has never lived up to the ambitions of her mother, Queen Eleanor the Second, Supreme Ruler of the Franco-British Empire. With the help of her Head Merlin, Emrys, Eleanor has maintained her stranglehold on the world's only source of magic. She rules the most powerful empire the world has ever seen. 

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Review: I heard so much hype about the book even before it was released. Melissa de la Cruz has an awesome presence on social media. She posted a lot of cool pictures on Instagram with fans and fellow authors wearing flower crowns. Although I did really enjoy this book, it unfortunately did not meet up to all the hype. 

This book is one of those books where the synopsis gives way too much away. I wish I hadn't read the synopsis on goodreads before starting the book. 

I heard this book compared to a YA Game of Thrones, but the amazing characterization and complexities found in George R.R. Martin's epic are not present here. There is the royal court intrigue. There also is the magic, but there isn't that realness and depth that makes me want to try and read a 1,000 page book in one night. I didn't really connect with any of these characters and there were too many. It seems to be the popular thing right now to have a lot of different perspective characters, but it takes a lot of work to get that many characters across. With so many characters, I think this book would make an excellent tv show. It would be like Downton Abbey meets Game of Thrones except with a The CW vibe. There are so many romantic pairings that seem obvious from their introductions. 

Although I didn't connect with the characters, I absolutely loved the world building. The alternate history world where magic exists is what kept me reading. I always like when an alternative history takes some more modern moral stances on social issues. I enjoyed that de la Cruz included queer characters. I also liked that the chapters were very short. I always seem like I read a book faster when the chapters aren't 20 pages long. 

The last 5% of the book is a dump of reveals. It didn't flow well for me. 

I have heard that this is the first in a series, but it definitely can stand alone. I don't know if I will be interested in a sequel unless it is set further in the future and showcases the next generation. I felt everything, although dumped all at once, was tied up nicely in the end. 

Although I didn't connect with the characters, I did enjoy the concept of this book and the world de la Cruz created. I would absolutely watch this as a tv series. Oh, I forgot to mention the pop culture quotes. I loved them! It's always cool when an author connects modern pop culture with an alternative history fantasy. I give this novel a 3.5/5. I do recommend it to fans of fantasy YA, but stay away from synopses! And don't expect something as amazing as Game of Thrones. I think the hype is what might have ruined the book for me. 


--PAUL

My Little Pony: Friends Forever Vol 1 by Alex de Campi et al. - Paul's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Diamond Book Distributors/IDW Publishing on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: My Little Pony: Friends Forever Volume 1
Contributors: Alex de Campi, Jeremy Whitley, Ted Anderson, Rob Anderson, Amy Mebberson, Carla Speed McNeil (Illustrations), Tony Fleecs (Illustrations), Agnes Garbowska (Illustrations)
Publication Date: June 24, 2014

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Pony Tales Vol 1
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Vol 2
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Vol 1

Synopsis: Introducing four tales dedicated to exploring the magic of friendship. First, Applejack and Pinkie Pie enter a baking contest! Then, The Cutie Mark Crusaders team up with Discord, Spike enlists Princess Celestia to help him find a birthday present, and finally, Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor chase down a mysterious ghost.

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Review: I always love reading these My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comics. They compile a few different short stories that focus on just a few characters. In this volume, the first story is a friendly lesson about competition when Pinkie Pie enters a Cooking Contest. 

The Cutie Mark Crusaders are back and I don't know what I'm going to do when they finally earn their marks because their adventures trying to discover themselves and their talents are so much fun. This story shows them interacting with Discord. I loved the Star Trek references in this one. Discord is definitely a Q like character. 

My favorite unusual pairing in this volume is in the third story. Spike looks for a birthday present for Twilight with the aid of Princess Celestia herself.  

In the last story, Twilight visits her Big Brother Best Friend Forever, Shining Armor. They reconnect over their childhood love of monster tracking. The Mario Bros. reference in this one is so epic! The plumbers have the best cutie marks. 

This volume is another great collection of short comics. Like the other My Little Pony comic books, this is a great gateway for young fans to get into comic books and reading. I give this volume a 4/5.


--PAUL

Second Star by Alyssa B. Sheinmel - Ashley's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Farrar, Straus, & Giroux BYR on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Second Star
Author: Alyssa B. Sheinmel
Publication Date: May 13, 2014

My Pre-Reading

Synopsis: A twisty story about love, loss, and lies, this contemporary oceanside adventure is tinged with a touch of dark magic as it follows seventeen-year-old Wendy Darling on a search for her missing surfer brothers. Wendy's journey leads her to a mysterious hidden cove inhabited by a tribe of young renegade surfers, most of them runaways like her brothers. 

Wendy is instantly drawn to the cove's charismatic leader, Pete, but her search also points her toward Pete's nemesis, the drug-dealing Jas. Enigmatic, dangerous, and handsome, Jas pulls Wendy in even as she's falling hard for Pete. 

A radical reinvention of a classic, Second Star is an irresistible summer romance about two young men who have yet to grow up--and the troubled beauty trapped between them.

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Review: So... this book. I'm really torn about it. There were times I loved it and times I hated it. But for all of the problems that I saw with it, I found things that I really liked. I haven't really felt this undecided about a book in a while. 

I think one of my major problems with this book was with Wendy. I liked that she was searching for her brothers, John and Michael, but I didn't like that it didn't really seem like she cared if they were alive or dead... she just needed closure. She mourned for them, but she even says that she was never really all that close to them because they were in their own world. I feel like if I lost my sibling, I would be a total wreck. She's also ridiculously indecisive. She spends the first of the book "in love" with Pete, and then she decides that she's "in love" with Jas for the rest of the book. I mean, come on.

And then, she decides that taking a drug that she KNOWS is crazy addictive and has destroyed lives is a good idea? Especially when nobody even knows what's in it? Ugh. I just wanted to slap her every time she did something stupid. I really wish I had connected more with her or actually felt sympathy for her, but I just couldn't. She's pretty much the worst. 

I was also a little concerned that I thought Jas was the better of the two boys. Like in what universe is a drug dealer better for a girl than the guy who is trying to help kids get off of drugs? I know there's always that "bad boy" appeal, but Jas isn't really a bad boy... he just does bad things to make money and is actually a very sweet guy. The characters are just so messed up and I am so conflicted about all of them.

The plot, however, was written very well and moved along at a pretty decent pace. I never felt like the story was lacking or that there was a lull in the plot. Everything happens for a reason, and by the end I honestly had no idea what to believe. I think that was done very well, and I would be interested to see if there's a sequel that would explain more about what Wendy is going through. I was definitely not expecting the explanation or the ending, so props on that!

I think, overall, this was an interesting reimagining of the Peter Pan story. It's unlike any Peter Pan story I've ever read, and it's definitely on that I'll remember for a while. It wasn't my favorite, and I really hated most of the characters most of the time, but it's still a pretty decent story with interesting twists and turns. If you enjoy Peter Pan stories, and especially want a little romance and mystery, I would totally recommend this book. I'd only give it a 3/5, but I think there's an audience for it. It just wasn't really me. 


--Ashley

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home (Season 8, #1) by Joss Whedon - Ashley's Review

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Title: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home (Season 8, #1)
Author: Joss Whedon, Georges Jeanty, Andy Owens, & Jo Chen
Publication Date: October 31, 2007

Synopsis: Collects: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight, #1–5

Since the destruction of the Hellmouth, the Slayers-newly legion-have gotten organized and are kicking some serious undead butt. But not everything's fun and firearms, as an old enemy reappears and Dawn experiences some serious growing pains. Meanwhile, one of the "Buffy" decoy slayers is going through major pain of her own.

Buffy creator Joss Whedon brings Buffy back to Dark Horse in this direct follow-up to season seven of the smash-hit TV series. The bestselling and critically acclaimed issues 1-5 are collected here for the first time, as are their covers by Jo Chen and Georges Jeanty.

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Review: I started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer pretty late. Somehow I missed it when it first aired on TV, and was introduced to it when all of the seasons were added to Netflix. I'm so glad my friends made me watch it though, because it's probably one of my favorite shows of all time. You can imagine that I was pretty excited to find that, after it was cancelled, Joss Whedon decided to continue the series in the form of comics!

This comic was a little confusing at times, and I think it was because there was too much information crammed into only a few chapters. The "Big Bad" for the season is briefly introduced, and there's also a "monster of the week." It almost felt like Joss didn't really know where to take this season now that its a comic and it took me a little bit to get into it and actually figure out what in the world was happening. 

I really enjoyed seeing old characters and meeting the new ones, especially since there are so many active Slayers now. One of the villains was someone I never expected to see again, and I really enjoyed how there's a flashback to explain how he's still around. I also thought it was kind of hilarious that Dawn has grown up... quite a bit... I actually like her a lot more in these comics than I ever did in the show. 

The comics still follow the continuity of the show, which was really nice. Things are referenced that wouldn't make sense unless you've watched all of the show and things are added that reinforce events that happened in the show. I hope that the next volume feels more like the Buffy I know and love, but this one still felt like it was getting there and I still very much enjoyed reading it. The artwork is fantastic, and it's easy to figure out who is who before they're even called by name. 

I would definitely recommend this to fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you haven't watched the show, this comic probably won't make much sense at all... so I don't think it's something you can just pick up if you aren't familiar with BtVS. I'm excited to read the next installment! 4/5. 


--Ashley