It's Not Just Disney Movies

I grew up on Disney movies. These are not the same as fairy tales, but my parents didn't know them since they grew up in a different country. My first exposure to fairy tales was via Disney. This wasn't it. I always maintained an interest in these stories, from reading Sisters Grimm to now.

My favourite fairy tale retelling centres around phenomenal writing. I already know the basic story, so how is the author capable of retaining my interest? The books here are not strict retellings. They use elements of the story and explore different parts of the world.

Peter Pan Retelling: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Tiger Lily retells Peter Pan through a very different perspective; that of Tinker Bell. This is not Disney's Tink. Tiger Lily is fiercely protective and has her own life with her tribe. I thought this feeling of her people being indigenous to Never Land was quite fascinating, and this is an extremely fresh perspective on Peter Pan. 

My review is here, or read more about this on Goodreads.

Fairytale Retellings series by Jackson Pearce

Jackson Pearce is one of my absolute favourite fairy tale retelling writers. I can't compare her books to a single fairy tale because she has created a series with an intense mythology drawing from several classic stories like Little Red Riding Hood, The Little Mermaid, and The Snow Queen. My favourite part of Jackson Pearce's story is her amazing character development. Although her books are part of a series, they don't need to be read one after another. Every story is self-contained and deals with different themes. It starts with Sisters Red, a story about two sisters alone in the world, fighting evil. Then, more siblings with a Hansel and Gretel retelling, Sweetly. My personal favourite is Fathomless, because the story gets incredibly dark. The yearning of The Little Mermaid resonates through that entire story. Finally, there is Cold Spell, possibly the most romance oriented of the bunch. 

As an aside, I posted the older covers of Sisters Red and Sweetly because I love them so much more than the redesign. 

Stacey Jay

She has written two fairy tale retellings and they are both amazing: Of Beast and Beauty, which I'm sure you can guess what fairy tale it concerns, and Princess of Thorns. 

Princess of Thorns has a very fantasy-ish vibe, as it is a retelling of Sleepy Beauty, except that it has fairy powers, an extremely stubborn and cursed princess, and believe it or not, a cursed prince too. The slow burn relationship between the two as well as the daring of Aurora is an extremely inventive take on one of my personal favourites. 

Of Beast and Beauty is romantic. It's a story that speaks to the duality of beast and beauty, and this sci-fi version of my favourite Disney movie is so very charming. It's about learning to see past the differences, and it's definitely worth a read. 

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

I know that Hodge has written a second story, Crimson Bound, but seeing as how that's still stuck on my TBR, I can only gush about Cruel Beauty. It's another Beauty and the Beast retelling, and it is amazing. Nyx has some serious attitude, and she is one of my favourite YA characters. She would steal the show, except that almost every aspect of Cruel Beauty is flawless, and there is so much gorgeous writing, storytelling, character development that it's hard to pick what I like best. 

Winterspell by Claire Legrand

Okay, so this is somewhat of a loose interpretation of fairy tale, but there was a Barbie movie about the Nutcracker that I watched passionately as a child, so I feel like Claire Legrand's book works. 

Winterspell's true charm is in the character development of Clara, its main character. Clara begins the story lacking agency. Her desires don't matter and she has to think of her family first. Throughout the novel, Clara learns more about accepting who she is, and really owning herself and her body. She also deals with lots of evil and darkness along the way. What more could you want? 

Books I Haven't Read But Will Still Recommend

I don't entirely feel fair recommending books I haven't read, but I'm looking at the reviews and I know that Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles should somehow find a way onto this list. Also, Crimson Bound, Because Rosamund Hodge. Duh. 

Did I miss anything? Which are your favourite fairy tales, and favourite fairy tale retellings?

-P.E.

With the excitement that has been my life as of late I’ve come to the realization that for once the YA isles of the book store aren’t all empty of new fruits for me to plunder. Indeed I’ve actually missed many and though this makes me a little sad as it signifies my absence from books but it also excites me. There are so many more book for me to devour. One would think by 1000 book long goodreads tbr would have solved that but there is something entirely different about seeing books in a physical state. Dare I say, its magical.

So I browsed the shelves and found some of the books I'd been pining over on the blog like The Young Elites, Exquisite Captive etc.

But what really interested me was the books I'd never seen before but caught my attention. Here is my analysis:

Disclaimer: my status' are composed of brutal honesty. I'm a horribly picky person who writes off books like different flavours of ice cream (hard but do it anyway). Doesn't mean I don't end up picking up the book and hitting myself with it for being ignorant.

Evil Librarian - Michelle Knudsen

I have to say my local library has got some hot new librarians how much should we bet that they are all evil?

Status: Probably not but let's appreciate it's beauty!

The Spirit Glass Charade - Colleen Gleason

Nice glass orb thing!!! I picked this one because I like the cover... #noshame 

I now realize it is the second book in a series.

Status: This one is about Bram Stokers sister and Sherlock Holmes' niece.... will have to make room :)

Some Boys - Patty Blount

This one is definitely my kind of book. The synopsis kills me and I would really like to see how the author tackles the issue.

Status: GIVE ... IT ... TO... MEEEE

The Bodies We Wear - Jeyn Roberts

I like revenge books just as I like the show. I love this cover and damn is the synopsis amazing!

Status: Omg this is perfect!

Vango: Between the Sky and Earth - Timothee de Fombelle

How freaking cute! That cover is gold and the synopsis sounds like a boss. Not to mention the places that the protagonist travels to: Paris, Mediterranean Islands, Scottish Forests!!!

Status: For Scotland!

Did someone say Scotland!

I'm sorry... I had to :)

Have You Read or Added Any of These to Your TBR?

I’m so sorry if you know people with these names, I’m not trying to be offensive in any way. 

I like to think that I’ve heard many names in my lifetime. The names I've heard come from quite a variety of cultures and when I was younger I collected baby names (don’t ask).

Some of my favourite are the more common names:

Girls

Maria

Lila / Laila

Diana

Giselle

Eliza

Cassia

Alexandra / Alexa

I like names that end in A apparently. I especially love these names because they sound nice but also because they can be translated to different languages and have unique and beautiful pronunciations.

Boys

Adam

Alex / Alexander

Dimitri 

Will 

James 

All I could think of was Four because I have Insurgent out for a reread but I did manage to capture some of my favourites. Interestingly enough there are no A's in the end of these ones (not interesting at all.. I know).

Now why am I thinking of names? Well I’ve recently come noticed a lack of ‘normal’ names in books. I define normal as something that would be found in large numbers in any of our daily lives. Like names up on the top of the baby names of the year list. 

I’m fine with most of the name, they are interesting and the authors have obviously thought deeply about them. For example, Beatrice and Tobias from the Divergent series are names we would expect Abnegation's children to have and they change their names once they become Dauntless to match their surroundings. 

But as I read some synopsis’ I find names that make me laugh. Note, a lot of the names I’m referring to come from NA books. I'm not going to mention the books but here are some names as I found them from the synopsis'.

RIDGE

All I can think of is falling off the ridge. I don’t want to call my boyfriend Ridge it’s just so brooding and edgy and no thanks. One can be a bad boy without having it predetermined by their mother.

DARLA

Was that an abbreviation from Darling? Meh.

HUNTER

So manly, I'm 18, have a busted up 4 wheel drive and my name is my status symbol. So sexy.

CLIFF

"Just jump of that cliff, will ya?" -.- I don't recommend using a name for your child if it can be used in a pro-suicide context.

MILES 

So should Canadians and the rest of the Metric world start naming their boys Kilometre? Centimetre?

WEST

How about East?

RAFE 

I'm a bad boy and I wear leather.. Oh yeah.
Araby

KATNISS/GALE/PEETA/PRIM

Very unique to the series but hecka weird.

GRACE/FAITH

Why do these names always belong to a pastors daughter in YA?

I can never understand why authors often go to the ends of the world to find all these names. They sure are fun to read about though and compile into lists!

What's Your Favourite? Do You Have Anymore to Add to the List?

-Mari & P.E.

Whenever I go for a vacation, books are a travelling necessity. Often I take both physical and electronic copies to keep me company. How would I be a complete book nerd if I didn't? Kidding.

This year I'm going to the United States for my vacation. Visiting New York, Connecticut and Atlantic City. Basically city to small town to beach resort so it's really hard to do a theme read which I'm not a fan of either way. Instead I'm going to compile a list of books that I'm dying to read and will probably dig into on the ride there.

Gilded Ashes - Rosamund Hodge

I got this one from the library so I have to read it soon or the ebook will expire. I think this is a good starter read as it will be light and quick. Also, I adored Cruel Beauty! Update: I actually read and loved this one, review to come.

Crash Into You - Katie McGarry

Another follow up for a book I loved. I actually read Pushing the Limits, Dare You To, skipped this one and read Take Me On. Now I want to give this one a go.

Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin

I've been slowly reading this one for year. I'm almost done the latest season but have yet to build up the courage and make up my mind to finish this.

Looking For Alaska - John Green

(MID-VACATION ADDITION)

I actually bought this one a few days ago and am dying to have a John Green book under my reading belt!

I have my Kobo Ereader with me for the vacation so I might find something else to read if my mood asks for it. Generally, I don't read a lot on vacation because I like to be doing a lot of stuff but I'll try to read through some of these.

What's on or was on your vacation tbr?

While you tell me about your vacation lists, why don't you also help me out. All four look amazing but which to you guys recommend I read first? Leave a comment and vote on the poll. Thanks you!

Which do you recommend?

Gilded Ashes

Game of Thrones

Crash Into You

Looking For Alaska

pollcode.com free polls

-MARI

I've been looking around for some fun tag-ish posts when I came around Christy's Book Addiction's idea. So here goes.

10  Books already released on your wishlist

1) Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo

2) The Fault in our Stars - John Green

3) Queen of Tearling - Erika Johansen

4) Since You've Been Gone - Morgan Matson

5) To All The Boy's I've loved Before - Janny Han

6) Curses and Smoke - Vicky Alvear Shecter

7) Played by Liz Fichera

8) Red Rising - Pierce Brown

9) Biggest Flirt - Jennifer Echols

10) City of Heavenly Fire - Cassandra Clare

9  Favorite Covers

8  Not yet released books that you can’t wait for

1) Gates of Thread and Stone - Lori M. Lee

2) This Shattered World  - Amie Kaufman and Meagen Spooner

3) Heir of Fire- Sarah J. Maas

4) Isla and the Happily Ever After - Stephanie Perkins

5) Mortal Heart - Robin LaFevers

6) The Young Elites  - Marie Lu

7) The Winner's Crime - Marie Rutkoski

8) Lady Midnight - Cassandra Clare

7  Auto-buy Authors

1) Jennifer Echols

2) Cassandra Clare

3) Morgan Matson

4) Kristin Cashore

5) Kody Keplinger

6) Marie Lu

7) Maria V. Snyder

6 Book Boyfriends

1) Will Herondale - Infernal Devices

2) Dimitri Belikov - Vampire Academy

3) Alex Fuentes - Perfect Chemistry

4) Four - Divergent

5) Alexander Belov - The Bronze Horseman

6) West Young - Take Me On

5  Books you recommend the most (I'm skipping the most well known)

1) The Bronze Horseman - Paulina Simmons

2) Mistress of Rome - Kate Quinn

3) Between Shades of Grey - Ruta Sepetys

4) Eon - Alison Goodman

5) Don't Breathe a Word - Holly Cupala

4  Books you thought you’d like but didn’t

1) Wild Cards - Simone Elkles

2) Reboot - Amy Tintera

3) Bloodlines - Richelle Mead

4) The Scorpio Races - Maggie Stiefvater

3  Books that made you cry

1) The Bronze Horseman - Paulina Simmons  (Buckets were filled!)

2) Second Chance Summers - Morgan Matson (It hurt my insides but I loved it. )

3) Where She Went - Gayle forman (I love Adam so much <3)

2  Books you never plan on reading

1) The Raven Boys -  Maggie Stiefvater (Not my thing plus birdphobia)

2) The Host - Stephanie Meyer (No thanks, Stephanie)

1 Favorite Genre at the moment

Fantasy

-MARI

It's a well known fact that YA has a colossal number of never ending series. Well, they aren't exactly never ending. Most conclude as trilogies, but we do have duologies every once in a blue moon and then there are series of 6 or 7!

Series are great. They allow the reader to stay in the rich worlds of their imagination a little while longer and they allow authors to further expand their stories, making them more intricate and fabulous. However, to really enjoy a series, one needs self control. The self control to wait 3 years until all 3 books are out. I can't do that and hence, I wait a year for every sequel and while some books continuously floor me, others don't get the chance to.

A lot of the time, my interest dims when the sequel comes out and I put the series off repeatedly until the whole thing is out and I can't make myself read it anymore. There are many reasons for this:

1. I've grown as a reader and don't find the subject matter interesting.
2. Upon further analysis I realized that the book wasn't as enjoyable as I initially perceived.
3. I've forgotten why I even liked it in the first place.

After a quick browse though my GR reading list, I noticed 59 unfinished series. There might even be more.

Too Far Gone

Defiance - C.J. Redwine
Legacy - Cayla Kluver
The Girl of Fire and Thrones -
The Pledge - Kimberly Derting
Delirium - Lauren Oliver
Eve - Anne

Read: 1st book of each series

Most of these books I enjoyed in the moment but they didn't shine bright enough for me to continue thinking about them and want to read their sequels. Now multiple years after reading them, I've come to realize that with the size of my current TBR-list and the volume of new books coming out, I doubt I'll be getting to these.

On The Fence

Read 1 book:
The Assassin's Curse - Cassandra Rose Clarke
Shatter Me -Tahereh Mafi
Masque of the Red Death - Bethany Griffin
The Name of the Star -Maureen Johnson
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin
Anna Dress in Blood - Kendare Blake

Read 2/3:
The Gathering - Kelley Armstrong
Uncommon Criminals - Ally Carter
Bloodline - Richelle Mead

Deep down somewhere I might have given up on some of these, but there is still a trickle of hope. I remember having enjoyed the previous books in these series but they no longer appeal to me as much. I'm still on the fence with Bloodlines, Uncommon Criminals and The Rising because I've read multiple books in the series and I feel it's a waste to give up this late in the race.

Hopefully Soon

Allegiant - Veronica Roth
Fire Study - Maria V. Snyder
Scent of Magic - Maria V. Snyder
Blood Red Road - Moira Young

I've been putting these books off but I know that I'm definitely going to read them. The timeframe in which I will do this however is unknown. I do wish to read all of Maria V. Snyder's books as I think she is an incredible storyteller. Blood Red Road is a book I read a few years ago and adored. However, now that the sequels are available I never feel in the right mood to read them, hence I've put off reading them. As for Allegiant, I'm so scared of being disappointed!

How Are Your Unfinished Series?

-MARI

I'm noticing a descending trend in the number of books I'm reading but thankfully that's not the same with the number of books I'm enjoying. 2013 wasn't the best reading year but it was a year in which I read some of my all time favourite books.

5th: Champion - Marie Lu

I'm a big fan of this series. It's fast paced, action packed and contains two of my favourite characters, Day and June. It's not everyday that one reads about characters as intelligent and compatible as them. In my whole reading career, I've only read one other so it's a treat when books like this come along!

4th: Crown of Midnight - Sarah J. Maas

Something I've come to notice about myself is that I have a fascination with assassins. Crown of Midnight is a perfect example of the kind of assassins stories I like. I love this series.

3rd: Scarlet - A.C. Gaughan

Retellings! To be honest, I tend to ignore retelling despite their reappearance in popular reads. The only one I remember reading is one of Mulan and that's because Mulan is irresistible!

Scarlet on the other hand, is a retelling of Robin Hood with a twist. Robin's band includes a spunky crossdressing girl named Scarlet! Now that I think about it the resemblance to Mulan is probably why I enjoyed it so much :)

2nd: Clockwork Princess - Cassandra Clare

The stunning finale to Cassandra's Infernal Devices literally left me reeling. I'm still a little scarred by this one. Nonetheless, it was fantastic.

1st: The Bronze Horseman - Paullina Simons

Eek! I've talked about this one quite a lot these past few months. It's different, set in Russia which was automatically a whiff of fresh air after the never ending supply of books set in North America. This one really opened my eyes to the fact that I could enjoy books outside of YA, I haven't found any besides this one but I think it's fun to branch out every now and again :)

P.S. Think man in army suit, now think perfect 20th century gentleman. Do you have the image in your head? Now go read this book!

Conclusion:

It's been an interesting reading year. I've read more fantasy and historical fiction, which are quite like me. I read to escape and to travel and these books are the best at doing that!

Recently I've been a little lost when it comes to choosing my next read. With all the books being a part of series I've been really wary of what I'm picking up especially because I don't have time to start any more series. So I compiled a list of standalone books that I've read and enjoyed and also a list that I would like to read. It's the best of both worlds: recommend and receive recommendations!

I Recommend:

Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
Genre: Paranormal
This one had me confused for a good 75% of the book but again that's probably just me. Even after saying that, it is probably one of the most interesting books I've read. It was beautifully written and described and, although slow at parts, everything came together masterfully in the end. A real treat of a read.

Epic Fail - Claire LaZebnik
Genre: Contemporary, Classic Retelling
This one is more on the lighter side with it being a Pride and Prejudice modernized retelling. It's a real treat of a read; a great sunny afternoon happy read. I also recommend this one to those looking for an introduction to Pride and Prejudice, I read this before I read the real works and I'm grateful as it allowed me more insight into the series in a way that I can relate to and understand easily.

Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys
Genre: Historical Fiction
I usually don't pick up stories that are based around the holocaust but this one really intrigued me and for good reason. It's a great story that highlights events that took place in the Baltic under Hitler and Stalin's reign therefore reminding us of a forgotten people while making us fall in love with some new and dynamic characters. It makes you cry, it makes you laugh, but most of all it makes you take a step back and be thankful for all that you have in life. It also makes you look back in history and understand that we are the future and we should learn from the decisions of those before us.

You Against Me - Jenny Downham
Genre: Contemporary
This one is another heart-wrenching tale of family loyalty, love and honour. Reading the synopsis gave me chills, because of the situation the characters are placed in. Anything could have gone wrong, the romance could have gone horribly weary, blowing the whole plot and story out in the water but Downham managed to crack some amazing characters and give them life. They were confused, honourable and loving but also righteous. It made me questions what I would do if I were placed in there situations and I still don't know.

Faithful - Claudia Gray
Genre: Paranormal Romance
I will never be able to write a proper critical review of this one because of its setting; the Titanic. Ever since I can remember, I've been a history nerd. I find old things fascinating and old stories even more. Titanic has been among my all time favourite historic things so when I heard there was going to be a book set on it, you can probably predict my reaction. I ended up really enjoying the book though it didn't blow me away, it did have me involved and interested and the author's decision to make it a standalone increased my enjoyment even more. It was fun, thrilling with all the werewolf action plus 20th century chivalry and the ghosts of Rose and Jack in the background.

On the TBR

• Looking For Alaskta - John Green
• On the Jellicoe Road - Melina Marcchetta
• Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein
• The False Princess - Ellis O'Neal

 I've been meaning to read each and everyone of these for a while now. They are all very well received novels and their authors are also well loved.

In conclusion:

How do you feel about the never ending series in YA. I used to not mind it but recently, it's started to bug me. I remember the day when I could pick up a book become engrossed in it and finish it with a feeling of satisfaction. Now a days I'm finishing a book and then moaning for 3 days afterwards because the sequel will be out in a year's time.

How Do You Feel About Standalones? Any Recommendations?

-MARI