Review: Enchanted

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
Harcourt Children's Books
Release date: May 8, 2012
Pages: 320
File size: 338 KB
Format: Hardcover
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It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past - and hers?

I love fairy tale retellings, so when I finally got a copy of Enchanted from the library, I was really excited. I couldn't wait to finish the book I was reading so I could dive into Enchanted. Before I got the book from the library, one of the pages at the library branch where I work asked me if I had read it yet. We started talking about it, since she was reading it, and when I asked if it was good, she said, "It was until Chapter 10." That worried me a little, but I eagerly started reading anyway, and tried to forget about what she had said. Despite that, I was really anticipating Enchanted to go downhill once I hit chapter 10.

Here's the thing: there wasn't really anything to go downhill from. I wanted so much to love this book, and while I didn't hate it, it didn't have the wow factor I was hoping it would have. And it certainly didn't get worse after chapter ten; the writing remained consistent, the plot was consistently paced, and I wasn't really bored of the story.

What I was, however, was confused. I wasn't expecting Enchanted to be a fairy tale mashup, but that's exactly what it was. I can't even tell you all the fairy tales that are present in this book, but The Frog Prince, Jack and the Beanstalk, and The Princess and the Pea are some of them. And it was complete fairy tale overload. I didn't want to read about a bunch of fairy tales; I wanted to read a retelling of one fairy tale. In one way, it was kind of cool to see how fairy tales can all exist in one world, but they collided to much in this world. I'm disappointed in that, because I think Alethea Kontis is a lovely writer. Her character were well-developed, the story was, for the most part, interesting, and she definitely wove a world I could believe I was a part of with her words, but the focus didn't quite seem all there to me.

Review: The Shade and the Unholy Priest

The Shade and the Unholy Priest by Tannis Skye
Publisher: Tannis Skye
Release date: May 2, 2012
Pages: 166File size: 666 KBFormat: eBookImage and summary from Smashwords.

SUMMARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS In the sequel to The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels, Kai’s only hope at becoming human again is tracking down the allusive Unholy Priest. Sax does not want to be found and he won’t make it easy for the trio; a shade, a human and a new clairvoyant. But even with Sax’s power and knowledge, can Kai really break through the Nine Lower Levels and hope to stand a chance at stealing back his soul? This one thing is the all that keeps him from being human; the only thing keeping his lips from Riley’s infectious smile. Abaddon is not someone to be crossed, least of all by his creation. With Kai captured and right where Abaddon wants him, all seems lost. Then, out of nowhere, a brilliant light encasing Riley’s body and flashes within the Lower Levels, halting Abaddon’s deathly blow. Bound by a power stronger than his own, Kai is forced to watch as the human he has unwillingly grown to love, appears within the Lower Levels in the most unpredictable way. Was defying the impossible worth Riley’s catatonic state? Has Kai risked the girl he loves even more than his soul? 

 

My first thought when I finished The Shade and the Unholy Priest was, "Wow." Tannis Skye really blew me away with this book. The writing in The Shade and the Unholy Priest is so much stronger than it was in The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels. Her descriptions are incredible. There was one description in particular of snow that just stunned me. It was on page 27, and the snow with the moonlight and the idea of pearls of water solidifying. . . . I loved it. It made me so incredibly happy, but then it made me wish that I could see that exact sight in real life. It's a small scene, but it's my favorite part of the book.

Like I did with The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels, I also loved the scenes where Riley drew, and I loved reading about what she drew. I learned more about Riley in this book, but it was the scenes where she drew that really told me the most about her, and that made her really come alive for me. I'm so glad I got to know her better in this book, too, because it made me like her so much more than I liked her in The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels. I liked it that she was vulnerable and willing to admit it, even if it was hard for her to do so. I loved seeing her relationships develop further with the other characters.

And the end of the book completely left me hanging! I've never read anything like this--a shade trying to recover his soul from hell--and I love it. (Side note: I also love it that there are vampires in this book, but they're not necessarily nice, like the infamous Cullens. I'm not really a vampire fan, but if there's going to be vampires, then they better be mean!) By the end of the book, I was surprised that it didn't end quite the way I thought it would (and the way I wanted it to!), and I thought, "How am I supposed to wait for the next book?! I need to know what happens NOW!" I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out. I'm pretty sure that it is going to be made of awesome.

It's that time of year again. . . .

I know that I have been absent on my blog lately. I wish I could say that it's going to be better, but in all likelihood, it won't. Why?

My summer semester of MLIS school started yesterday. In addition, beginning July 1, I will be serving on a Young Adult Library Services Association committee for a year. With school, work, and that committee, I don't except to be doing much blogging.

That said, I do have a few reviews that will be posted this month or next month, since I received the titles for review. I can't guarantee when they'll posted, but they will be posted.

Have a fabulous summer, everyone, and I'll be posting when I can!