Fairest - Marissa Meyer (Levana's Story - Lunar Chronicles Supplementary Story)

Now this was a great recovery for Marissa Meyer.  After Cress I was a little worried.

This book tells Levana's story right from the beginning.  It explains why she always wears a shroud and she doesn't have mirrors around and won't appear uncovered in front of the camera.  But it delves into her psyche as well.  Her inner thoughts and fears. 

I didn't like Levana any more but after reading this I understand her better.  This is definitely a must read for the Lunar Chronicles!

Cress - Marissa Meyer (Book 3 in the Lunar Chronicles Series)

Ah book 3.  This one frustrated me a bit.  After the tumultuous Scarlet this one felt a bit flat to me.

Cinder and gangs only hope is a hacker named Cress.  Will Cress be able to give them the information they need to overthrown Levena and bring an end to the blah blah blah man I even feel like it's flat writing this. 

Marissa captures the bare bones of Rapunzel's fairy tale character (long hair - check, isolation - check, rescued - check) but this book feels more like a filler or bridge to the next book than anything.  Nothing...happens...until the very end.  There are conversations and more characters introduced (like Cress) and your knowledge bubble of Lunar fills a tiny amount but all in all this one was a tougher read.

Scarlet - Marissa Meyers (Book 2 in the Lunar Chronicles Series)

Scarlet is the second book in the Lunar Chronicles series.

The book starts off introducing us to Scarlet (aka Little Red Riding Hood).  Scarlet meets Wolf, a street fighter and they uncover clues about Scarlet's grandmother which lead them to Cinder.

Again Marissa Meyer's take on an old fairy tale character is fantastic.  And the love story between Scarlet and wolf is something out of a romance novel (without the naughty bits).  At first I felt this could have been a stand alone novel but Marissa interweaves Scarlet and Wolf into Cinder's story and I started to get little bit of a bigger picture to the whole story/world.  It left me frustrated (as did Cinder) that I didn't have the next book. ><

Cinder - Marissa Meyer (Book 1 in the Lunar Chronicle Series)

I picked this book up at Chapters on a Whim.  One the lovely end displays, the cover captured my interest (what do you know those end displays DO work!)

Story takes place in New Beijing, at a time when a virulent plague is sweeping the country.  The Lunar people are bidding their time, waiting to strike; a young untried emperor has a lot on his hands and one second class mechanically gifted cyborg citizen will be become caught up in a fight for earth itself.

I loved this take on Cinderella.  Marissa Meyer covered all the basic story points: stepmother - check, stepsisters - check, menial labor Cinderella - check, fancy dress ball - check.  But she took the story to a whole new level and transformed it into a new story.  Cinder is a great character.  Marissa has taken the little cinder girl, stripped away what I used to imagine her to be and given her grit, a fighting spirit and cybernetic leg. 

I couldn't wait to read the next one in the series...

The Dressmaker - Kate Alcott

I'm not a history buff but I do enjoy reading books set in any time period.  Kate Alcott writes about the Titanic and the fateful days leading up to and after it's demise.

The story is based on the written testimonies that occurred after the sinking of the Titanic.  She states in the back of her book: "The basic bones of the story are true...All else is fiction, with the exception of a puzzle at the heart of this tragedy for which there is no single answer: why did only one lifeboat make an attempt to save those dying in the water?  It is on that question that my story is build."

The story revolves around Tess, a young woman who became a maid to Lady Duff Gordon just before boarding the Titanic.  As it centers on her and her thoughts and struggles and not on the politics around her I found this book quite intriguing.  Of course the trial and her employer affect her and her life but it wasn't as tedious as I though it was going to be.  Kate Alcott does an awesome job at drawing you into the story and make you want to keep flip pages.

I love how she filled in the human side of the transcriptions and made the people real.  Full gambit of emotions on each character - you love them, you hate them, you love to hate them, you ache for them and you cry for them. 

I would definitely recommend this book

Th1rteen R3asons Why - Jay Asher

I was apprehensive about reading this AND very, very curious.  As a sufferer of clinical depression and having had suicidal thoughts multiple times I thought this book might trigger something dark inside me. 

But this book was nothing like I thought.  The story is about Clay.  He receives a package in the mail from Hannah who had committed suicide a few weeks before and the package contain cassette tapes for him to listen to. 

Reading about the events that lead up to her death and what caused her emotional state was very rewarding and freeing for me.  In life there is cause and effect.  Someone's action's may cause us undue stress and they have no clue.  It was a great reminder for me to remember to watch people reactions and how they react can have nothing to do with me or what I said or did.

The ending was heartbreaking but also I learned something.

This book isn't for everyone but I would recommend it.

The Jewel - Amy Ewing (Book One)

The concept of this novel captured my attention - young women are tested for a special ability and are auctioned off to royalty to be child carriers.  Sounds strange right?  The concept in the back of my mind reading this was always there and definitely colored my feelings reading this HOWEVER the writing was very well done and Amy pulled me into the world she created very easily. 

Describing surrounding, feelings and observation from Violet's perspective.  The story doesn't take place when she's first taken from her home, but instead is from just before she's auctioned off.  Her thoughts on the whole process, with a few flash backs into her past on what happened through he testing and leaving her family.  But not enough of flashbacks that you are confused by the timeline.  Just enough to fill you in.

I really enjoyed this young adult novel and can't wait for the second book! (Cause I'm left with a ridiculous cliff hanger ><)

The Selection Stories - The Prince & The Guard - Kiera Cass

As a companion to the Selection story (America & Maxon) I found this to be a nice filler between. 

It tells the story before the girls come to be selected right up until the first night Maxon meets America.  And it's from HIS perspective.  It's nice to get the story from him - what's going on inside his head and why he made the decisions he did.  I think I would have liked to have read his thoughts throughout the whole selection process but I think that also would have been too redundant reading the selection over again a second time.

All in all a good companion read.

The Heir - Keira Cass (Book 4 of the Selection Series)

America & Maxon's daughter has come of age and it's her turn to do her own selection.  35 suitors picked from the masses.  Will she find her one?

I was excited to read about the continuation on of the Selection series.  I found Eadlyn as a character to be a little well full of herself.  Yes she was raised to be a princess.  Yes she was raised to take over and rule the country.  Yes she needs to be confident and sure of herself.  But I still found her character hard to swallow when I first started reading it.  I find that female characters that are written as overbearingly confident to be not very human and I have a hard time relating to them.  Eadlyn got better throughout the book I started seeing chinks in her armor, making her more relatable and human.  This selection process was quite different that Maxon's in that there wasn't political intrigue attached to the selection process.  But there was intrigue in other aspects of the story to keep it interesting. 

Still worth the read as a continuation on of the series.

The One - Kiera Cass (Book 3 of the Selection Series)

Seriously this series has consumed me.

Finally America makes HER big decision.  Cause this whole series isn't about who Maxon will choose.  This series is told through America's eyes.  It's her journey and her heartbreak and her emotions.

Seriously I'm really happy she worked it all out.  Not that she won't have struggles ahead of her (being from the fifth caste and all that) but I think the ending to America's story was very satisfying.

The Elite - Kiera Cass (Book 2 in the Selection Series)

I could not wait to delve into this book - the second of the Selection series.

Despite all that America went through in The Selection book, she's still standing and one of 6 finalists in the race to win Prince Maxon's heart.  But the stakes are higher now.  With only six left there's more opportunities to mess up and more of a chance for Maxon to see the real person behind the 6 girls left.

Relationships develop between the girls despite the fact that well they are all developing feelings for Maxon.  I found it a tad unbelievable (the girls friendships) but I was enjoying watching the relationship between Maxon and America too much to let that part bother me.

Once again I devoured this book and recommend it to anyone as a quick read.

The Selection - Kiera Cass (Book 1 in the Selection Series)

I hadn't done any research into this book and didn't know this series was like a "thing".  But it's a movement!  And I was not disappointed.

Think Hunger Games meets the Bachelor.  Except it's not kids killing kids.

The story is about America Singer - born into the fifth caste (yes there is a caste system in this book) - a caste dedicated to the arts (singers, artists and generally anything artsy fartsy related).  She's in love with a boy in the sixth caste (below her) when she is selected to compete for Prince Maxon's heart (first caste) in a competition with 34 other girls from across all castes.

The book is filled with teenage angst, doubt, political goings on and romance.  It was an extremely delightful read and I devoured it quite quickly.  If you enjoy young adult reads this is a MUST to put on your read list.  Loved it.

China Dolls - Lisa See

 

I have read all of Lisa See's Novels (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan first got me hooked) and I have been a fan ever since.  I didn't find Shanghai Girls as intriguing as Snow Flower & the Secret Fan but I did enjoy the story of the two sisters and Lisa's follow up on their daughter in Dreams of Joy.

I went into reading China Dolls expecting the same thing as Shanghai Girls & Dreams of Joy.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Lisa weaves a story of three Asian women - Grace, Helen & Ruby - starting before the bombs dropped on Hiroshima until the last part which takes in 1988.  She captures each women's heartbreak, joy and struggles through this era.  She tells each woman's story through interconnecting chapter's from their perspective.  The way she tells the story of the three women in my opinion just totally caught the ever complicated reasons behind our friendships with other woman, the decisions we make within those friendships and after years of closeness, how that bond sticks through everything.

At first all I wanted to read was Grace's chapters but Ruby's pulled me in.  Helen was a mystery to me but the beauty of it all ties together so nicely at the end.  I loved how historically accurate it was, describing in detail behind the scenes of the Asian show girl era.  How truly interconnected show business is and how cutthroat.  There were definite parts where I was outraged on the characters behalf!  She also touches on other areas of human suffering and through the eyes of Grace, Helen and Ruby the reader really begins to understand how much a person can go through even if you've never experienced anything personally.

I would recommend this book to anyone and I know that this book will find a place on my bookshelf for me to pick up and read again and again.