The Runaway Princess by Christina Dodd

I'm just going to say it here, if anyone reading this is a romance novel kind of person, I apologize. I'll try to be fair, really!

What the back of the book says:

Masquerade

English orphan Miss Evangeline Scoffield has spent her life contenting herself with dreams. But with an unforseen inheritence, she can afford one perfect summer - a summer she will spend the rest of her life remembering. She buys herself expensive clothes, travels abroad, and presents herself as a lady of mystery.

Marriage

But she quickly discovers her mistake, for a darkly handsome man appears at her bedroom door, claiming to be a Crown Prince - and her fiance.

Or the Ever After of Her Dreams?

One look into her eyes, and the prince recognizes her. She is his bethrothed, the runaway Princess of Serephina. All her denials cannot change that, or alter the passion that burgeons between them. To fulfill their destinies, the prince will do anything - abduct her, coerce her, or, best of all, seduce his reluctant bride into his royal world of peril, promise and passion.

What I have to say about it:

First off, I don't really like romance novels. They're unrealistic and superficial and, more often than not, degrading. This one, not an exception. Danior (the Crown Prince of Baminia - one of the two imaginary kingdoms between Spain and France) is a complete jerk to her. But he's a prince, so of course he's a gentleman to everyone else. And they come across nuns as they travel who know she's not the princess, know she doesn't want to go with them, and they let Danior take her anyways. NUNS! My faith in the goodness of nuns has been shattered. But it was all part of a master plan of Santa Leopolda who made a prophesy about them 1,000 years ago, so that's why they let it happen. Rape is threatened on multiple occasions, which bothers me a lot, and Danior refers to sex as mating. Mating. How completely un-romantic. It reminds me of that one song, the "you and me baby ain't nothing but mammals so lets do it like they do on the discovery channel". Nasty. And when she lets it out that she loves him (which is obvious, it is a romance novel), he just smiles and says "Yes. That's what I wanted to hear." Ass. There is some attempt at having a plot, so kudos to that, but it's so unrealistic that I can't hardly stand it. Evangeline starts the book as a fairly independent woman (for the era), but Danior has decided that she has to  depend on him for everything...and she does. And it is good, because that is a woman's rightful place. There's a little bit of salvation at the end, which I won't reveal, but it didn't improve my opinion of romance novels at all. Don't get me wrong, I love a little romance in my novels, but this...it was fluff.

As I said before, I'm not a romance novel kind of girl, so if anyone reading this is, I admit my view is skewed. In that vein, I won't tell anyone not to read it, it's just not my thing.

Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman

I tried to post this the other day, but I was having some issues with it, so here we go again!

What the back of the book says:
"He smiles."Hello."

It's a deep voice. I can feel it reverberate in my chest and echo all the way down to my toes.
 
I know I should leave, but I don't want to. I want to keep my senses like this forever. I'm all eye, all ear, all skin.
 
Persephone lives in the most gorgeous place in the world. But her mother's a goddess, as overprotective as she is powerful. Paradise has become a trap. Just when Persephone feels there's no chance of escaping the life that's been planned for her, a mysterious stranger arrives. A stranger who promises something more—something dangerous and exciting—something that spurs Persephone to make a daring choice. A choice that could destroy all she's come to love, even the earth itself.
In a land where a singing river can make you forget your very name, Persephone is forced to discover who—and what—she really is. "

 What I say about it:

I'm a complete sucker for mythology, especially Greek Mythology. And as far as re-writes of these myths, the Rape of Persephone is one of the most popular. I've even read a few (shocker, right?). This one was different. Persephone actually chooses to leave her mother behind, knowing full well that she's leaving with the god of the dead and will never come back. Not that she's really bothered at first, her mother's a bit of a nightmare. She's sad that she'll never see her friends again, but who cares? She's in love with Hades! And who can't really relate with that feeling? Unless you've never been in love, I guess. But then her mom loses it and starts this horrible drought that starves the mortals and then drowns the ones that are left and while Hades is happy about the extra business, Persephone is guilt-ridden. She finally realizes that her mother loves her and she's trying to rescue her. So when Zeus calls her back to Earth, she goes willingly (again knowing she may never come back-she has a hard time chosing what she wants) but Hades gets her to eat a pomegranate before she goes, binding her to the underworld.
In the end, Demeter understands that her daughter has grown up, and they reach a happy arrangement that Persephone lives with her husband for half the year (winter) and her mother the other half (summer). But us silly mortals got the story wrong about the "Persephone chose to leave" part, which is why we still refer to it as the Rape of Persephone.

I liked it. Persephone seems a little immature at time, like a child playing at being an adult, but I guess I would be too if my mom had locked me away for most of my life from almost all the world. Especially men. But what does bother me is it never explains why Demeter kind of treated Persephone like crap when she got older. My guess is jealousy as Persephone had inherited a lot of Demeter's power. Also of note, Hades sounds freaking hot. I would probably leave with him too if it came right now to it.
All-in-all, an enjoyable book, especially if you like mythology like I do. I would recommend it.

The Princess and the Bear by Mette Ivie Harrison

The Princess and the Bear is another young adult book. It looks like I've got a princess thing going right now...anyways. Review #2! This one I got through my local library from http://www.overdrive.com/, and read it on my Nook. So, on with the review!

What the back of the book says:

"He was once a king, turned into a bear as punishment for his cruel and selfish deeds.
She was a once a princess, now living in the form of a hound.
Wary companions, they are sent—in human form—back to a time when magic went terribly astray. Together they must right the wrongs caused by this devastating power—if only they can find a way to trust each other.
But even as each becomes aware of an ever-growing attraction, the stakes are rising and they must find a way to eliminate this evil force—or risk losing each other forever."

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!!!!!

What I have to say about it:

Well, the first part was super confusing. I found out after finishing the book that there is a book that comes before it, The Princess and the Hound. Reading that first might have been a good idea. But anyways. So, there's this hound who was, for a short time, in the body of the princess but wasn't actually the princess. Then there's this bear, who used to be king about 200 years ago (a little Beauty and the Beast going on there, I think). So they're living in this forest and everythings ok. Suddenly, they come across this cat-man who is using unmagic to destroy the forest. One thing leads to another and now they're going 200 years back in time so the bear can right his wrongs and save the magic. And the hound is coming with him. Now I think the book picked up a little as they're both in human form and can actually talk! Interaction = interesting stuff. I don't want to give everything away, but the book increases (a little) in depth as there are two "wars" going on. Both wars end successfully and the magic is saved! I think, for me, the most interesting part of the book was the change that the bear-king goes through. He struggles with guilt and self-loathing for who he was 200 years ago (when he was King) and manages to move past it and make up for it, so we have a dynamic character here! The hound didn't do much for me, she was super selfless as all dogs supposedly are, but I'm a cat person myself. And as she mentions at one point, cats and hounds just can't live together. Or maybe understand each other. But it works for the purposes of the book, if she was a cat, this book would have been entirely different.

Another note, the author got a little bit gory describing the deaths of animals and people (I did say there was a war), but that could just be my squeamish nature. Besides all that, it's a decent book, and it talks a lot about the relationship between humans and animals, which is more of a theme than anything with magic. If you love nature, the magic will follow! Or, you should respect it because without nature, we won't survive. That sounds like a better theme.

Final thoughts: Nothing spectacular, but I enjoyed it. I wouldn't recommend it for a serious reader looking for the next Harry Potter, but anyone just looking for an easy read on a rainy day might look into it.

Aurelia by Anne Osterlund

So, my first review! I recently (i.e. yesterday) finished reading Aurelia, a young adult/independent reader book by Anne Osterlund.

What the back of the book says: "Aurelia, the crown princess of Tyralt, wants control over her own life. Robert, her former classmate, want Aurelia. And someone wants her...dead. There have been several narrowly escaped attempts to assassinate the princess, but the king has no desire to incite panic by making the information public. Instead, Robert, the song of the king's former royal spy, is allowed into the inner circle to secretly investigate and watch over Aurelia. Robert is determined to help, if only Aurelia would let him! But the princess will not heed the danger around her, and she does not need Robert to save her. Just as their friendship begins to grow into something more, the threat on Aurelia's life becomes paramount. With everything possible on the line - her life, her kingdom, her heart - Aurelia must take matters into her own hands, whatever the cost."

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!!!!

What I have to say about it: Meh. It's okay, as a young adult book. For a young adult reader. It seems jumpy to me, like the author knows what she wants to happen, but kind of just makes it happen without much logic behind it. Or much lead up to it. It was a very shallow book, in my opinion. The characters themselves really seem to act their age (which is around 17ish). Robert bothers me for his lack of insight to his cousin's behavior. Especially at the end (major spoiler) when his cousin tells him this big important setup to reveal who the would-be assassin is has been pushed back an hour. Robert doesn't even wonder at it, he just accepts it! And of course, it's a lie and Aurelia almost ends up dead because of it. Seriously, Robert. You didn't even wonder about it? Or ask why she didn't send him a note, instead of a verbal message? I don't know, I guess that's what I would do. And Aurelia frustrates me. She seems to want the best for her country, but at the end she just walks away. Leaving the country in the (future) hands of the very person who tried to have her killed! Yes, that's exactly what's best for her country.

       In conclusion, it's not a bad book (for young adults), but it just wasn't a book I couldn't put down. I'm glad I only paid $1.50 for it at Borders (store closing sale, so sad!), because paying full price would have been a waste. If you want to read it, I'd suggest a library.

 I will say that this was Anne Osterlund's first book, so here's to hoping her future books only get better! As I'm sure they will, writing books takes a while to master! At least, that's what Castle said.

Welcome!

So, if you've stumbled upon this blog, then I hope you love books! And if you used StumbleUpon to get here, then even cooler! Basically, what you should know about me is I read a lot. Mostly fantasy, some science fiction, some general fiction, and a decent amount of Young Adult (because they're a lot more imaginative than most of the adult books!). And this blog is for me to share what books I've read and think are awesome. Also, if anyone reads this and wants to recommend a book for me to read, then do it!! I'm always on the look-out for new books to read.

Anyways, check back soon! I read fast, and books will be reviewed by me accordingly :)
Thanks for reading!!