A Real Fairy Tale

A lot of the books I read are Fairy Tale retellings, but today I am focused on this real life story.



Her dress was PERFECT, the wedding was romantic, and I really am truly happy for them! Great new couple to be the face of Royalty.

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Review: THE LOST SAINT by Bree Despain

THE LOST SAINT
by Bree Despain
Hardcover, 404 pages
Published December 28th 2010 by EgmontUSA

Placement in the Pile: Reaching New Heights

Summary:
Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with the werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process.

Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot, a newcomer to town. But as the two grow closer, Grace's relationship with Daniel is put in danger - in more ways than one.

Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her - not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.

Review:
I hate to give it only 4 stars since I know and love Bree to pieces! But as a reviewer first I have to be honest! *I HATE this part of being a reviewer. But here's the thing...it's more like 4 1/2 stars, I just wasn't AS in love with it as the first one.

But let's talk first about what I DID love! I love Bree's world building. How we go from the little town of Rose Crest to a more global view of the world of paranormals, not just Urbats. It makes the story broader, richer and gives the characters new challenges. The characters in this book are so real. They act real, they act as they should for their age. Does that make some of their decisions and actions frustrating? Of course! We are dealing with mostly teenagers here! Grace in particular is dealing with so much, and I do have to say I teared up a few times at her thoughts and actions -- but at other times felt like the person talking to the movie screen, knowing the character can't hear me but saying "Don't do that!".

THE LOST SAINT has tons to offer. Romance, intrigue, mystery, and it is a great segway into a deeper story. It does end in a cliffhanger as most middle books do, but that is to be expected, although the cliffhanger is very UNexpected!

That said, as a reviewer I have to tell you why I don't love this one as much as the first one. Although there were many things that were mysterious and revealed throughout the book, I found it more predictable than the first book. Maybe it's just me. One of the things I absolutely loved about the first book was that Bree shocked me. This time I guessed too much ahead of time. It was still a fabulous book to read, and I can't WAIT for the next one!

This is definitely one worth reading if you are a paranormal fan. If you have not read the first one, get them both! I will say this book brought me back into reading, and hopefully I will be having more reviews for you more often again. It's always nice when a book reminds you that reading isn't a time killer or a chore, but it's a joy!

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The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell

Summary

The summer of 1889 is the one between childhood and womanhood for Amelia van den Broek—and thankfully, she’s not spending it at home in rural Maine. Shes been sent to Baltimore to stay with her stylish cousin, Zora, who will show her all the pleasures of city life and help her find a suitable man to marry.

With diversions ranging from archery in the park to dazzling balls and hints of forbidden romance, Victorian Baltimore is more exciting than Amelia imagined. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike vision she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to her prophecies. Newly dubbed “Maine’s Own Mystic,” Amelia is suddenly quite in demand.

However, her attraction to Nathaniel, an artist who is decidedly outside of Zora’s circle, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him. And while she has no trouble seeing the futures of others, she has no trouble seeing the futures of others, she cannot predict whether Nathaniel will remain in hers.

When on of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia’s world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she’s not the seer of dark portents, but the cause of them.

• Number of pages: 293

Review

I happen to go back to 1889. Crazy, huh? Well it’s true. This book acted like a portal for me back into the past, and a little secret between you and me? I have always wanted to do that! Now, I can’t really say if it was a historic type of novel with paranormal aspects or maybe fantasy mixed in. But does it matter? What matters is that everything came together in the end to create an amazing novel.

Set back: you have to be on alert the first couple of pages because if you are like me you might get a bit lost. There was a moment of complete confusion in the first couple of chapters that I really had no clue what was going on, who was who, and where they were . . . rest assured that I am a “pretty smart girl”, says my parents, and did eventually figure everything out. (Did you have any doubts?)

Now I absolutely loved everything historic about this novel. Everything was perfectly detailed from the dresses, to the way the language was used, to the . . . I don’t know everything! It all had a very antique feel to it that was extra special to the story. I’m surprised I didn’t end up speaking all prim and proper! (Unlike today where the language is all abbreviated and like straight up lol) I completely loved it.

The psychic part was in a bit of a short supply for a book based on a girl with the gift to see into the future. It started near the middle of the book. It wasn’t like the main feature even then, it was just this extra part in it. I don’t say that complaining. I think it was just the right amount, I’m saying this so you wont just into this book expecting paranormal activities all through this book. In all the girly, frilly moments of this book there was also an equal amount of sadness and depression mixed in from the effects of Amelia’s predictions. It made it all the more special for me because it didn’t seem fake, it seemed very truthful. If at the end of the book they said that everyone ended perfectly happy eating cakes and tea in the parlor then everything that the author was building up to would have totally been a fail. It’s not the most cheerful of conclusion, but it was romantic, perfect, and satisfying. From 1-10? I give The Vespertine an 8.5!

* Note * what really frustrated me was that I had no clue what a verpertine was. In fact, I still don’t know! Or how it has anything to do with the book. I remember it saying something about how Amelia looked into the “Vespers” for her predictions. I looked up what “vespertine” was in the dictionary and something about evening prayers, or something about the evening came up. I guess that makes sense since she looked into the future only at sunset. Hope you have better luck deciphering out what that means! If anyone finds out what it has to do with the book write a comment or something to let me know! Please&thankyou(:

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Non-book related things...that affect me reading books!

So, I am sure you all have noticed how much my reading has slowed down. It is a source of sadness and stress for me because I have so MANY wonderful books to read and review for you!

I just wanted to let you all know why. It is a combination of being gone on vacation (I was in Southern Utah and California for a week and a half), getting ready for and having birthdays (today is my birthday and Saturday is my daughter's birthday), and me being tired and spending my extra time napping rather than reading because....

I'm pregnant with #2!

So don't think I am abandoning this blog! I am coming into my second trimester, feeling better and hopefully will be able to devote more time to reading again soon! I love all of my readers and author friends and will hopefully have more for you soon!

Happy Reading!

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