Sara

Review of Poison and Mirrors by Holly Hook

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Synopsis (from Amazon):
Mara’s always had to have an attitude. There’s no room to be a pushover when you’re the bottom rung of the social ladder and you live in an orphanage. Her crush, Eric, probably doesn’t realize she exists. Or he’s too afraid of her black makeup and warped sense of humor.

But when she finally draws Eric’s attention, strange stuff happens to Mara and they’re right out of a fairy tale. A teacher’s tie nearly chokes him to death and classmates turn into donkeys…and it seems all this dark magic is aimed at her. Worse, she’s been having a nightmare about a very red and dangerous apple. Someone’s trying to keep her away from Eric at all costs—someone jealous. Could her best friend, Sara, be trying to eliminate her?

Mara must get to the bottom of this fairy tale nightmare if she is to survive. And it might take more than an attitude to learn the truth.

Review:
Oh, my heart! What happens when best friends are torn apart, despite having spent all their lives together? This novel had an amazing twist, and I absolutely loved it. Nothing is at all what it seems, and it seems that all are able to be manipulated, especially when key facts are left out about who they are.

This novel does call into question the people working for the king attempting to overthrow Fable– is everyone as complacent as he believes?

Star Rating: 

Review of Spellbound by Sara Celi

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Spellbound
By Sara Celi

Star Rating: 
Genre: Young Adult Fairy Tale Retelling
Number of Pages: 248
Winter 2018

Synopsis: (From Amazon)
This beauty is a real beast… High school senior Holly Kent has everything she could ever want perched at the top of Eastside Country Day’s social structure. She’s one of the most gorgeous girls in school. She wins every award. All the boys want to date her. And all the girls want to be her. But when a jealous rival casts a spell and ends Holly’s reign as queen bee overnight, she loses it all—including her beauty. Forbidden to reveal her situation to anyone,  Holly must adjust to a new life and find out if she has the strength to change her heart before it’s too late. Carson Isaac lives on the fringe of Eastside’s social scene. He never quite fit in, but an education at one of the city’s best schools could help jumpstart his future. Then, one fateful winter day, he sees his secret crush—the real Holly Kent—for the first time. Nothing will ever be the same. As romance blossoms, can Holly and Carson navigate their new reality in time? Or will they be bound by the evil spell forever?

Review:
While some part of this novel were a little flat (Holly’s relationships with her parents) it did well to show how fake people can be, and how they care very much for appearances. In that regard, the novel reminded me of the book Beastly by Alex Flinn (which is also a great book). There were great lessons to be learned, and depth to our protagonists.

This book left me with so many questions though! Did they ever become cordial with her old best friend again? What did she decide to do after high school? How did her relationships with her parents change?

Looking for a nice YA fairytale retelling: read this book!

Author Biography: (From Amazon)
Amazon Top 100 and Barnes & Noble Bestselling Author, Sara Celi, has lived all over the United States. She calls the Greater Cincinnati area home.

Sara has spent more than a decade working in journalism and broadcasting, with jobs both on-air and off-air at TV stations in Louisiana, Ohio, and Oklahoma. Her work has appeared in numerous online publications, magazines and newspapers, and she is a contributing author to Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Positive. Since the release of her debut novel, The Undesirable, in 2013, she has authored several other works, including Hollywood Nights, Natural Love, Prince Charming, and The Palms.

Sara graduated cum laude from Western Kentucky University in 2004.

In her spare time, she likes to read, shop, write, travel, run long distances, and volunteer her time to local charities.

Want more of Sara Celi’s books? Stay up to date at http://www.saraceli.com, or sign up for her mailing list using this link: http://saraceli.com/?page_id=446