Review of His Reluctant Bride by Sheena Morrish

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His Reluctant Bride
By Sheena Morrish

Star Rating: 
Genre: Romance
Number of Pages: 179

Date Started: November 12, 2015
Date Finished: November 13, 2015

Synopsis:(From Amazon)23343260
Katy has been betrothed to Tariq since she was a young girl and has spent her whole life rebelling against it.

She moved as far away from her home country of Darlaya as she could and has dedicated her life to being independent. She thought that she had won her freedom. Until the day that Tariq showed up and showed her how wrong she was.

Now she is back in her homeland with a man she hates who insists they must marry and the worst part is that the more time she spends with him the more she finds herself falling for him.

Find out just how far Tariq will go to tame his reluctant bride.

Review:
Though this book did end up with three stars, I will say that it is a very low three.  The idea that this novel seems to present from the blurb on Amazon was enough to intrigue me into purchasing it, but that is as far as it goes.  There are far more questionable parts of this novel than there are pleasurable ones.  Blanket statements such as making love “in a rhythm as old as time” are both unimaginative and quickly pull one from the novel.  Though I can understand wanting to use fancy or uncommon words for things (I had been quite a fan of tresses instead of hair), the amount of times Katie plaited (aka braided) her hair was irritating, and was likely used to make it seem like she was doing something special.  There was a plethora of run on sentences and poor grammar, denoting that the book was poorly edited.  The most common and annoying lack of grammar was seen when talking of more than one mistress, in which case you would say mistresses, not mistress’s.

While I thought the overall idea of the novel was sound, the full product seems to be lacking.  Katie is supposed to be seen as an independent woman, yet caves in whenever Tariq kisses her.  Instead of talking to him and confronting him about her suspicions about Amber, she makes snide remarks without ever stating what she believes.  In the end, I am left with two questions relating to the content of this novel.  Did she ever go see her supposed friends Daniel and Gareth again, and pay them back for the money they lent her when she ran away to Paris?  Did she ever bother to tell Tariq she prefers Katie, not Catherine?

There are so many amazing books out there, and this is not one of them.  I suppose I was bound to buy a poor book being promoted by Amazon some day.  Definitely skip this.

Author Bio:
Sheena Morrish has no author biography up on Amazon, therefore there will not be one here.

 

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Review of UnEnchanted: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale by Chanda Hahn

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UnEnchanted: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale
Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 1
By Chanda Hahn

Star Rating: 
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Number of Pages: 234

Date Started: November 10, 2015
Date Finished: November 11, 201513402447

Synopsis:(From Amazon)
Mina Grime is unlucky, unpopular and uncoordinated; that is until she saves her crush’s life on a field trip, changing her High School status from loser to hero overnight. But with her new found fame brings misfortune in the form of an old family curse come to light. For Mina is a descendant from the Brothers Grimm and has inherited all of their unfinished fairy tale business which includes trying to outwit a powerful Story from making her its’ next fairy-tale victim. To break the fairy tale curse on her family and make these deadly occurrences stop, Mina must finish the tales until the very Grimm end.

Review:
The idea that this book series has is a wonderful one– a girl having to take on modern interpretations of the classic fairy tales.  The main characters have good characterization and it’s easy to empathize with them.  I loved the way that colours played into the novel!  I also love that Mina’s only real accomplice probably shouldn’t be working with her, given their differences.  I believe that there will be more to Mina’s little brother, Charlie, later on, and that he will play a pivotal role in the overall series.

The book did have some issues with blanket statements, such as stating that a girl laid claim to her boyfriend “as only a female high school student could.”  Another such statement being, “Brody was every girl’s dream guy.”  (Both of these examples are from Chapter 1)  There is a great little Harry Potter reference when Mina states she is “on cloud nine and three-quarters” in Chapter 7.  There were a few places that I thought could have used a better editing job, but overall, this was a good read.

It will be interesting to see where Hahn takes the books from here, and I look forward to learning more about Mina’s plight.

91AdQEkLXCL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)
Chanda Hahn is a NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY Bestselling Author. She uses her experience as a children’s pastor, children’s librarian and bookseller to write compelling and popular fiction for teens. She was born in Seattle, WA, grew up in Nebraska and currently resides in Portland, Oregon with her husband and their twin children.

Learn more about this author
visit her website www.ChandaHahn.com
Follower her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/chandahahnauthor
Follow her on twitter: www.twitter.com/chandahahn

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Review of Owl in Love by Patrice Kindl

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Owl in Love
By Patrice Kindl

Star Rating: 
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Number of Pages: 224owl-paper-lg

Date Started AND Finished: October 26, 2015

Synopsis:(From Amazon)
Part bird of prey, part teenage girl in love, and now part stalker, Owl Tycho’s life is complicated. It becomes even more so when an inept new shape-shifter appears on the scene. Funny, smart, and supernatural, Owl is a young woman worth getting to know.

Review:
Owl is both unique and odd, while suffering through many symptoms of a regular teenage girl, she is also has to deal with being an owl and the complications that come to her because of that.  Through finding human friendship and realizing that sometimes your undying love isn’t actually love, Owl’s struggles are quite similar to the average teenager.  Unfortunately, while Owl’s parents being old school witches does explain why she has been able to successfully live in the human world as a shapeshifter, the way in which they don’t seem to know or care about the way of regular people (because as witches, they are apparently a class that stands apart from a traditional human), and that detracts quite a bit from the overall story, until towards the last third of the novel.  While the story did take a few chapters to draw me in, especially due to the oddness of Owl’s parents, once I was further along I couldn’t put it down.

Author Bio: (From Amazon)
Patrice Kindl’s first novel, Owl in Love, was an ALA Notable Book for Children, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and an SCBWI Golden Kite Award Honor Book. She lives in Middleburgh, New York.

Check out Patrice Kindl’s Amazon page.


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Review of Love on Laird Avenue by Cindy A Christiansen

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Love on Laird Avenue
By Cindy A Christiansen

Star Rating: 
Genre: Romance
Number of Pages: 211

Date Started: 10/22/2015 (rough guess)
Date Finished: 10/24/2015 (definitely when I finished it)

Synopsis:(From Amazon)laird
Tatum Stewart is trying to make it on her own
without her over-protective father. She starts a new computer consulting business and buys a new bungalow on Laird Avenue in Sugar House, Utah. She has no idea that the forces of evil are working against her that is, Burke Woods. His grandfather owned the home during Prohibition, and Burke wants the valuables stashed in her basement. Tatum’s dream home soon turns into her worst nightmare requiring her to hire the local renovation expert, Ryan Bulldarren. Who knew he would come with his own protection manual when he buys her a Bullmastiff dog as her new security system and sets about sabotaging her dates. Can these two quirky individuals figure out what Burke’s up to before it’s too late? Can they manage to keep their relationship strictly business?

Review:
This book is one of the best romance novels I have ever read, and I didn’t want it to end.  While Tatum was originally annoying and hard to relate to the reasons why made a lot of sense, and it was great seeing her overcome her problems and hangups while trying to become a responsible adult.  While Tatum was a bit hard to like it was impossible not to love Ryan from the start.  Ryan has some legitimate problems that he could have fixed, but his brother and father didn’t realize the amount of strain they put on him by demeaning his intelligence instead of looking for a reason Ryan couldn’t seem to do certain things well.  Together Tatum and Ryan learn that sometimes you have to stand up for yourself, and sometimes an unlikely ally can turn out to be one of the most inspiring people you have ever met.

This book is so incredibly real.  I absolutely love Christiansen’s explanation of Ryan’s life and the tribulations he has had.

MILD SPOILER AHEAD!

Christiansen makes having a disability relatable in a way that not many others could.  There are many people who have likely been in situations like Ryan growing up, and there are probably still thousands of people who have never been diagnosed with learning disabilities and are instead thought of as lesser of a person.  Ryan overcoming his disability and learning how to cope is inspirational to those who may be in similar situations or know people who have been.  Most realistic of all is the fact that Ryan could very well be a real person, who really went through this and learned, finally, how to live life to the fullest.

I really think this novel could have an amazing novella follow up, and I’m sure anyone who reads it would know exactly what I’d like to see!

christiansenAuthor Bio: (From Amazon)
Cindy A. Christiansen writes sweet romance with humor, suspense…and dogs! With over thirty health issues and two autistic children, she struggles to write but finds it cathartic. She loves going where only her characters can take her. She loves dogs and always includes them in her books and features them on her covers. She donates time and money to organizations that help abused and abandoned dogs.

Although she’s an LDS Christian author, she finds writing about a character’s relationship with God as private as she does bedroom scenes. She chooses to let the morals of her characters speak for them.

She lives with her wonderful family and delightful dogs in West Jordan, UT.

Check out Cindy A. Christiansen’s Amazon page.


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Debut book reading!

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My debut book reading has officially been set, and it is going to be rather exclusive, as the book has not yet been released.  I will likely post a few pictures of the event, and I thank all of you who have shown your interest in Pas de Deux thus far.  Once the book is out I would be more than willing to do more book readings, so if that’s something you’re interested in, feel free to contact me.

Speaking of people who have shown interest in Pas de Deux, I met a lovely family at a restaurant on Friday and ended up mentioning my novel.  If you do end up getting a copy when it is available, and you’d like to get it signed, please contact me so we can set something up.

Cover art and public book readings: Oh my!

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As of Monday the 5th I officially have my cover artist locked in!  I’m quite excited for what I believe will be an amazing image.  Please check out the amazing Terrazzo Creative Works.  While he has done some amazing things in the past, I’ve asked Leo to look into a completely new style for this cover, which I hope you’ll enjoy.

I’m also looking at doing my first public book reading, which is quite exciting in and of itself.  It will most likely be set for later this month, and there may be a chance of some participation giveaways.  Once there are more details to share, I will most definitely let you know.

Updates Complete!

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I completed my back log of books read on kindle without reviews posted, which means that I am free!  Moreso, I am free enough to say that this update marks a transition from my old website book reviewing blog to my this page, which will now be linked on my Facebook page! A special thanks to all of those who have helped to create this website’s look and feel, and who have given feedback on the layout and appearance while it was still predominantly under construction.

The book I am currently reading, that I began on Monday, October 5, 2015, is the continuation of Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Series, The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz.  I look forward to sharing my views on this once completed, and so far find it to have a fairly good set up.

If you have any books you would like to recommend or would like to comment on this website itself, please feel free to leave a message below.

Review of A Little Princess; being the whole story of Sara Crewe by Frances Hodgson Burnett

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Star Rating: 
Genre: Young People, Young Adult
Number of Pages: 2649781435142091_p0_v4_s260x420

Season Read: Fall

Synopsis:(From Amazon)
At Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies, young Sara Crewe enjoys the friendship of her classmates and the staff–much to stern Miss Minchin’s disdain. When Sara is unexpectedly impoverished, she is forced to become a servant under Miss Minchin’s control. To escape her dreary life, Sara imagines herself a princess, and her experiences soon teach her that being a princess on the inside counts more than any outward expression of royalty.

Review:
I love this novel so much.  What’s wrong with being a princess?  Being a princess is hard work.  You have to remain poise and collected no matter what adversity strikes you.  You have to do what is good for all above what is good for yourself.  You must also be kind.  Are those not the attributes many like to see in not just women, but all people in society?  There is a great deal of difference between “princess” and “damsel in distress.”  Sara is an amazing character who, despite everything horrible going on around her, tries to remain strong and trustworthy for those who rely on her.And I still love the 1997 movie just as much, although there are some significant changes to what happens.  Most of the changes between the book and movie adaptation could have been done to make it easier to understand the complete story for a new generation, and to tell the story without having a three hour movie.

500px-Frances_BurnettAuthor Bio: (From Wikipedia)
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was an American-English writer of plays and prose fiction. She is best known for the three children’s novels Little Lord Fauntleroy (published in 1885–1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911).

For more information, check out Frances Hodgson Burnett’s Wikipedia page.

 





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