Mini review :Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog

Product Details

• Pub. Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Random House Children's Books
• Format: Hardcover, 256pp
• Age Range: Young Adult

Synopsis

Morgan Sparks has always known that she and her boyfriend, Cam, are made for each other. But when Cam’s cousin Pip comes to stay with the family, Cam seems depressed. Finally Cam confesses to Morgan what’s going on: Cam is a fairy. The night he was born, fairies came down and switched him with a healthy human boy. Nobody expected Cam to live, and nobody expected his biological brother, heir to the fairy throne, to die. But both things happened, and now the fairies want Cam back to take his rightful place as Fairy King.

Even as Cam physically changes, becoming more miserable each day, he and Morgan pledge to fool the fairies and stay together forever. But by the time Cam has to decide once and for all what to do, Morgan’s no longer sure what’s best for everyone, or whether her and Cam’s love can weather an uncertain future.


my review

This book just didn't do it for me. Morgan is rather self-involved and there is no chemistry between her and Cam. There is very little information about the fairy world. I think the book was supposed to be funny, but it seemed sarcastic; not in a good way. It also seemed silly. I was disappointed. If it hadn't been such a quick read, I probably would not have bothered finishing it.

my rating 1/5

Thanksgiving Giveaway- The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate

My Thanksgiving Giveaway: I will be giving away my gently used ARC of The Secret of Joy.

Giveaway to run until December 9th 9PM EST. Winner will be notified by email and will have 3 days to reply to me or another winner will be chosen.

Contest open to US and Canada residents.

To enter just leave a comment with an email address where I can contact you. There are no extra entries so you do not need to be a follower or tweet about this giveaway unless you want to.

Good Luck- winner will be chosen by random.org

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Julia and Valentina are mirror twins; Julia wants them to stay together forever and Valentina wants to go back to college. They are twenty years old and living at home when they discover an Aunt Elspeth that they never knew has died and left them her London home.Elspeth was the twin of their mother Edie. But there are stipulations; they must live in the apartment for one year before they can sell it. Also, their parents are forbidden to enter the apartment. Elspeth and Edie had been estranged for twenty years.

Julia is eager to go, Valentina less so, but she follows her more dominating twin to London. Elspeth's apartment house is next to the famed Highgate Cemetery, where Robert, Elspeth's lover works while writing a thesis on the cemetery and it's residents.

Robert lives in an apartment below the girls and avoids seeing these girls that look so much like his beloved Elspeth. Martin lives upstairs, he has OCD and can't leave his apartment, despite the fact that his wife has left him, unable to deal with his illness.

Meanwhile, Elspeth discovers that she has not moved on to a better place. Her ghostly self is trapped in the apartment.

my review:

I only just recently read and adored Niffenegger's first novel, The Time Traveler's Wife, at the time that mixed reviews for Her Fearful Symmetry were coming out. So I didn't have any particular expectations for this second novel, which is good because even though I have read it, I'm not certain what I think of it.

The relationship between Julia and Valentina is abnormally close and yet strained. Julia seems to like to frighten her more timid sister, yet the idea of being separated from her is very upsetting. And Valentina opts for a very bizarre way to escape from her sister. But yet the story is intriguing at various parts. I'm not certain of the purpose of Martin, the OCD neighbor, but he is one of the more interesting characters in the book and the relationship between him and his wife, Marjike is touching, though she has moved to Amsterdam to start her life anew.

There is a plot twist with the twins, Edie and Elspeth which was silly and pointless to me. But Elspeth's ghost character is quite interesting. The ending was able to be predicted earlier than it should have but still unusual. All in all I'm glad I read it.

my rating 3.5/5

 Product Details

• Pub. Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
• Format: Hardcover, 416pp

Royal Flush by Rhys Bowen (Royal Spyness Series #3)

I really love this series and I think this was the best of them all. Lady Georgiana is thirty-fourth in line to the throne but her family has very little money. Georgie has been living alone in her family home in London, but now it is summer and her secret (secret because if the Queen found out, Georgie would be shipped off to marry a foreign prince) maid service business is quite slow. Georgie's friend Belinda sets her up on a date with a man from out of town who is looking for a dinner companion. This gives Georgie the idea to start a new business, and she puts in add in the paper offering escort services. However, the naive Georgie did not realize what kind of men that would attract. She is saved by Darcy O'Mara, the penniless lord she has a sort-of relationship with. The Home Office discovers what Georgie has done and they ship her back to Scotland, to avoid any scandal for the Royal Family. But Georgie discovers the real reason; someone may be out to harm members of the Royal Family and the police think it is an inside job. Who better to look for clues than Lady Georgie, as the Royal Family is vacationing near her family's castle.

This series is full of great characters. We see more of her long-suffering sister-in-law Fig and brother Binky. Fig is at her wits end as she has a houseful of unwanted American guests, including Wallis Simpson, the married lover of the Prince of Wales. Georgie's mother, who fled castle life when Georgie was two, to marry many other rich men, is also present and the bickering between her and Wallis is very amusing. Darcy pops up in Scotland, mysterious as ever. There is also a female daredevil pilot and Georgie's loud Scottish cousins.

I can't wait for the next book to be released, this is a fun, delightful series.

my rating 4.5/5

Product Details

• Pub. Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
• Format: Hardcover, 320pp

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Miz B of Should be Reading.

Here's how it works. Grab the book you are currently reading, open it to a random page and share two "teaser" sentences from anywhere on the page. Just make sure they aren't spoilers for anyone that may want to read it. Don't forget to list the name of the book and author.

"Charles Dickens is going to murder Edmond Dickenson." It was the second time in eighteen months that I had sat straight up in bed out of a deep laudanum sleep and shouted those words. "No".... "Charles Dickens has already murdered Edmond Dickenson."

- Drood  by Dan Simmons

What Are You Reading Monday?

A book meme from J.Kaye  Book Blog

Last Week:
continued- Drood

abandoned- Posed for Murder and Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

started and finished- Her Fearful Symmetry and Fairy Tale

This Week:
finish- Drood

start-
The Last Dickens
Meridian
Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
The Promised World

Happy Reading!!