Twisted: The Girl Who Uncovered Rumplestilskin’s Name by Bonnie M Hennessy

My edition: Kindle Owned
Pages: 306
Series: Stand-alone
Genre: Fantasy, Fairy Tale retelling
Published: Nov 11th, 2016
Rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis:

An old tale tells the story of how a little man named Rumpelstiltskin spun straw into gold and tricked a desperate girl into trading away her baby. But that’s not exactly how it happened.

The real story began with a drunken father who kept throwing money away on alcohol and women, while his daughter, Aoife, ran the family farm on her own. When he gambled away everything they owned to the Duke, it was up to her to spin straw into gold to win it all back.

With her wits and the help of a magical guardian, she outsmarted the Duke and saved the day.

Well almost…

Her guardian suddenly turned on Aoife and sent her on a quest to find his name, the clues to which were hidden deep in the woods, a moldy dungeon, and a dead woman’s chamber.

This is not the tale of a damsel in distress, but a tenacious, young woman who solved a mystery so great that not even the enchanted man who spun straw into gold could figure it out.

Not until Aoife came along.

Review:

A very different take on Rumplestilskin from the retellings I have read. I haven’t read much of Rumplestilskin’s original story. I need to because I don’t know how much different this is compared to the original.

Normally the retellings I read, the duke is a horrible man and the heroine normally falls in love with Rumplestilskin. Also, Rumplestilskin is a good looking man. In this story, he is ever so much the twisted body that I see in movies and shows as he is depicted.

I really thought this would go a different way than it had. But I still like the story. It kept me entertained. As the first retelling of the year, I found it nice to read through.

Werewolf High: the Complete Sophomore Year by Anita Oh

My edition: Kindle Owned
Pages: 448
Series: Werewolf High #4-6
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal
Publish: May 9th, 2018
Rating: 4 STAR

Synopsis:

The entire sophomore year of the best-selling Werewolf High series is now available in one collection!

Things get more serious for Lucy and the pack in these three books, as they have to cope with dangers both new and old!

The Soul Bond

Sophomore year isn’t shaping up to be the cake walk that Lucy had hoped. Everyone still hates her. She can’t forgive Sam for his secrets. Her father is back and she can’t forgive him either. There’s been no sign of Hannah, and Lucy can’t help but resent her new roommate because of it.

And Tennyson Wilde is everywhere. In the dining room. In her dorm. In class. Even inside her head. She thinks it’s just a residual effect of being in his body, the fact that she can hear his thoughts, feel his feelings. But the more it happens, the worse it becomes and it seems to be awakening something inside her.

Lucy never wanted powers. She never wanted to be anything but a normal girl, but the longer she stays at Amaris, the more impossible that seems.

The Love Potion

Being a werewolf is hard work. Lucy just wants to frolic in the forest chasing butterflies, but real life won’t give her a break. Classes are a drag, classmates even worse. Her dad is trying to kill Tennyson again and being part of a pack has its own problems.

Sam is complicated, Tennyson is a jerk, and her new alpha has no time for her. When a threat on Tennyson’s life goes wildly wrong, Lucy ends up the victim of a love potion, and that’s when things get really messy.

The Time Loop

Lucy is having a bad day. Things are awkward with Sam. She’s failing history. One of her roommates is missing and the other is crazy. Her evil dad is at it again, and this time, he’s not playing around.

Lucy has a choice: leave the pack or stay trapped in this day forever. What do you do when the only way to save the people you love is to abandon them? Will Lucy fight to stay in the pack or fight to save them?

Review:

Spoilers ahead!

Book 4: The Soul Bond
Rating: 4

I think this is my favorite book so far. I love the action. It kept me hooked from the beginning to the end. Though I really don’t know what is going to happen with our triangle but I think in this next book we will find out more.

I do have many questions and I’m seriously happy I have all the books that are out right now. But I also have a feeling I am going to be sad because senior year isn’t out yet and I don’t want to read it till all three books come out.

Book 5: The Love Potion
Rating: 4

Wow… I don’t know what to say. There were so many twists, I kind of got a bit dizzy. Poor Lucy and Tennyson. They don’t know who to trust anymore. But now that I know the ending, it makes since why the twins mother didn’t answer any of their calls.

I wonder what is going to happen with Sam and Lucy now.

Book 6: The Time Loop
Rating: 3.5

This one wasn’t my favorite out of this year’s trilogy but it didn’t suck either. I don’t know where I am going to stand with Sam and Lucy because of what happened in this book.

I like that she had them get together and it didn’t work out because of certain aspects, but that also brings up the question on where her and Tennyson stand.

Moving on to junior year.

Werewolf High: The Complete Freshman Year by Antia Oh

My edition: Kindle Owned
Pages: 425
Series: Werewolf High books 1-3
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal
Publish: June 2, 2017
Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis:

The entire first year of the best-selling Werewolf High series is now available in one collection!

Join Lucy and the pack in the first three books, as they face down all the dangers that come along with werewolves, witches and high school!

Book 1: The Truth Spell

Lucy O’Connor is more IT girl than “it girl” but even though she’ll never fit in, the scholarship to elite Amaris High is an opportunity she can’t refuse.

The day Lucy arrives at Amaris, she sees her best friend, Sam Spencer. But Sam had died three years ago, on the night that had changed Lucy’s life forever. The more Lucy looks for answers, the worse things get for her, as she makes an enemy of the richest, most popular boy in school, Tennyson Wilde.

When the entire school is hit by a truth spell, it seems like the perfect chance to find out what Sam and Tennyson are hiding, but the closer Lucy gets, the more she realizes that the truth is stranger than she ever imagined.

Book 2: The Tiny Curse

Life isn’t going so well for Lucy at elite boarding school, Amaris High. Classes are a struggle. She has no leads on the evil magic user. Sam’s avoiding her, and the entire student population hates her.

But someone hates her more than the rest. Rumors start spreading that lead to Lucy being bullied worse than ever before. Just when she thinks she couldn’t feel smaller, she’s hit with a spell that shrinks her down to only two inches tall.

Forced to rely on Sam, Tennyson and the other Golden to survive, Lucy is determined to get to the bottom of things once and for all. But the more she learns, she finds that being tiny might not be her biggest problem.

Book 3: The Body Swap

Lucy’s world is turned upside down when she learns that her enemy is the one person she never suspected.

Although she has Sam and the Golden on her side, she no longer knows who to trust. Then, when she’s hit with one final spell, she has no choice but to put her faith in the person the she despises the most.

Stuck in Tennyson Wilde’s body, Lucy and Tennyson must work together to break the curse or risk becoming each other for real. But in order to fix things, Lucy will face the greatest betrayal of all.

Review:

Spoilers head!

Book 1: The Truth Spell
Rating: 3.5 stars

I really liked this. I’m quite surprised.

Lucy gets a scholarship to an exclusive school. When she gets there though she finds out a secret. Then the whole school is put under a truth spell. It’s up to her to find out what or who has cast it.

It kept me entertained. Not a complete 5 star but like I said it kept me entertained. I didn’t want to punch any of the characters, well maybe Tennyson.

Book 2: The Tiny Curse
Rating: 3.5

I am so surprised that I am getting into this book. I actually like it. It’s been a long time since a book series sucked me in, especially YA.

Though at times I think it’s the usual corny YA, I can’t help but like it. The heroine is quite funny. Right now I am rusty on how to write reviews again. But alas, a cute YA paranormal read. The romance is on back burner right now and the story is compelling. This one did leave on a cliff hanger though.

Book 3: The Body Swap
Rating: 4 stars

I like this one the most, though I have a feeling a love triangle will be popping up soon. But I could be wrong. Still the romance is the back burner. We get better explanation on why Lucy lost her father and why Sam was with the Wildes.

Why did it have to end? I want more.

Marked by Kim Richardson

My edition: Kindle Owned
Pages: 265
Series: Soul Guardians #1
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Publish: March 15, 2011
Rating: None DNF @ pg 120

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Kara Nightingale’s ordinary life is suddenly turned upside down when she dies and wakes up in a strange new world with a new career—as a rookie for the Guardian Angel Legion. Kara is pulled into the supernatural, where monkeys drive the elevators, oracles scurry above giant crystal balls, and where demons feed on the souls of mortals.

With the help of her Petty Officer and friend, David, Kara hurtles towards an adventure that will change her life forever…

Review:

My first review of 2020. I decided for this year I will go outside my box and start looking for more variety. The first book I finished happens to be a teen YA fantasy.

I rarely read YA anymore but I decided that I should try to read more. Now, some YA makes me want to go to the top of the Empire State Building and scream until people in L.A. hear me. This was one of them.

I didn’t like either character which is why I ended up DNFing. It sucks that the first book of this year is a DNF. But alas, I cannot for the life of me, finish this book.

I tried.