Queen of Snow: A Snow Queen Retelling by Laura Burton & Jessie Cal

My edition: Kindle Unlimited
Pages: 157
Series: Fairy Tales Reimagined #1
Genre: Fairy-tale retelling, Fantasy, Romance
Published: March 2, 2021
Rating: 1 stars

Synopsis:

Before she was The Snow Queen… she was a Princess on the run.

Princess Aria has one goal: collect the mirror shards to the Mirror of Reason to create a portal that will take her far away from the Chanted Kingdom. Before The Evil Queen kills her like she did to Aria’s family.

But when Jack Smith from Oxford stumbles into her life through a portal in his grandfather’s study, there’s something familiar about him. A connection so strong, she can’t ignore.

Jack is not only shocked to discover that fairytales are real, but confused as to why a pirate is after him.

So, if he wants to survive in this foreign land, and return home, he needs to help Aria complete the Mirror of Reason.

But as Aria struggles to control her ice powers, something awakens inside of Jack.

As his heart stirs for the young Princess, he cannot help but wonder if he’s found his true home, after all? 

Review:

I can’t tell you the last time I 1 stared a book.

Jack is from our world. More specifically, England. At his grandfather’s funeral, Jack sees a woman dressed in white. Then at the wake, Jack finds a mirror in his grandfather’s study where he sees the woman again. Suddenly, he falls through the mirror. He meets Aria who is trying to collect shards of the Mirror of Reason.

I can’t tell you what really transpired throughout the book. Things happened but not a full thought was put behind why they happened if that makes sense. Characters made choices and the reasoning behind them wasn’t fully flushed out I guess that would be a better way of saying it. And of course the worst part of this… insta love.

I can’t even tell you what drew these two together. To be honest, I skipped half of this book after the whole her showing him the mirror which shows one’s true form or something to read the ending. If this was drawn out more and the characters had depth, I think it would have been a decent read. But when my brain immediately starts forgetting what happens while reading, not good.

Sorry just not for me.

The Barnyard Princess by Katherine Macdonald

My edition: Kindle Unlimited
Pages: 202
Standalone
Genre: YA, Fairy-tale retelling, Fantasy
Published: April 23, 2020
Rating: 4 star

Synopsis:

During the annual peace talks, Princess Elodie is less than amused to discover that her childhood nemesis, the arrogant-yet-charming Prince Bastien, has been turned into a frog. Blessed by fairies at birth, Princess Elodie can speak to animals and is now the only one who can help Bastien break the curse before his father declares war on her kingdom. With the help of their servants, Henry and Matilde, and her equally-blessed sisters, they set off on a quest to restore Bastien to his former self, but it is her feelings towards him that begin to reverse.

A charming, lighthearted fairy tale retelling, full of romance and delightful witty banter.

Review:

Even though this is a frog Prince retelling, I feel like there are elements from other fairy tales added in.

Most people thought these were fine gifts. Who didn’t love beauty, after all? People with sense, Elodie would retort. People that can see that beauty is superficial, that it’s all anyone ever seems to notice of a person, and reduces others to simpering fools.

Elodie and Bastien have been nemesis since they attended their first peace talks. Bastien made fun of Elodie’s gifts which were granted to her by three fairies at birth. One of the gifts happened to be talking with animals. This gift comes helpful when Bastien turns up a frog after the first day of peace talks between kingdoms.

Bastien at first seemed like a crappy hero. I ended up liking the bickering between Elodie and Bastien. I just love bickering like this. Super cute and easy to read. This may even be put on my reread list. That’s how cute it was.

A Convenient Engagement by Ashtyn Newbold

My edition: Kindle Unlimited
Pages: 184
Series: Brides of Brighton #1
Genre: Historical, Regency, Romance, Fake Fiance
Published: Oct. 20, 2018
Rating: 4

Synopsis:

A false engagement. A mysterious coast. Two reluctant hearts.

Much to her father’s dismay, Miss Amelia Buxton aspires to become a spinster, just like her eccentric aunt. Growing up with parents who married for every reason but love, she has never seen a joyful marriage. When Amelia requests a summer trip to the legendary waters of Brighton, her father allows her the excursion, but with one requirement: she must return engaged, or agree to the proposal of the man of his choosing.

Crawling with tourists, Brighton is not the town Adam Claridge once loved. When his sister Eleanor disappears without warning, Adam is desperate to bring her home. In his search, he happens upon Miss Amelia Buxton, a young tourist that proves vital in his search for Eleanor. But Amelia is conducting a search of her own—a search for a husband—and Adam has little choice but to offer a fair trade: he will play the role of Amelia’s betrothed in exchange for her assistance in finding Eleanor.

Convenient at first, Amelia and Adam’s arrangement quickly plummets into disarray. Falling in love had not been part of their bargain.

A Convenient Engagement is a sweet and clean regency romance novel.

Review:

Amelia is from Nottingham. Her father is overbearing while her aunt is free. In order to go to Brighton, Amelia makes a deal with her father. She will return engaged or she will marry the man her father picked.

Amelia goes to Brighton with her Aunt Margeret and a maid named Fanny. They have a run-in with Adam on the beach. A man whose sister is missing and his father is ill. Quickly Amelia agrees to help Adam in finding his sister, while Adam agrees to be Amelia’s fake fiance.

What is one thing I love about historical romances? The flirting. I enjoyed Amelia’s sarcastic insults as well. We have lost such good language when it comes to insults and flirting nowadays. Plus what happened to the courtship? Dating is overrated. If I wasn’t married, I’d make a man court me. Also, I wouldn’t mind dressing in regency clothes.

I did find in the author’s note that she was inspired by the real-life dipper Martha Gunn. I did not know that Brighton at one point in history was known for a cure in its waters. I loved finding out about that. I do plan on moving forward with this series. I have a few more books to read but I will love to return for a visit to the Brighton waters in the near future.

Storm Glass by Jeff Wheeler

My edition: Kindle Unlimited
Pages: 353
Series: Harbinger #1
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Sci-fi
Published: June 19th, 2018
Rating: DNF @ 39%

Synopsis:

Theirs is a world of opposites. The privileged live in sky manors held aloft by a secretive magic known only as the Mysteries. Below, the earthbound poor are forced into factory work to maintain the engine of commerce. Only the wealthy can afford to learn the Mysteries, and they use their knowledge to further lock their hold on society.

Cettie Pratt is a waif doomed to the world below, until an admiral attempts to adopt her. But in her new home in the clouds, not everyone treats her as one of the family.

Sera Fitzempress is a princess born into power. She yearns to meet the orphan girl she has heard so much about, but her father deems the girl unworthy of his daughter’s curiosity.

Neither girl feels that she belongs. Each seeks to break free of imposed rules. Now, as Cettie dreams of living above and as Sera is drawn to the world below, they will follow the paths of their own choosing.

But both girls will be needed for the coming storm that threatens to overturn both their worlds.

Review:

There are many worlds. Yet we constantly separate ourselves, by degrees, from the others. We create arbitrary distinctions to set ourselves apart. But let me speak first of the two main worlds that orbit each other. There are those who live in estates and cities that have mastered the clouds and sit on their perch of air to overlook the vast landscapes below. That is the upper world. The world of the wealthy. The world of the gifted. The world where the Mysteries hold sway. The other world is darker. There are neighborhoods of extreme poverty. Winding alleys and street urchins and gangs. This is a world of fog. It is a world of coughing, sickness, and pestilence. It is a world where industry beckons the ambitious to risk their all—and where the mighty and rich descend in shame after their fortunes have been ruined by games of chance and power. These are very different worlds. And yet, they are much the same. 

Cettie is of the world below. She lives in the Fells. All she knows is misery

Cettie had heard people whisper tales that the Fells had once been a thriving industrial center with happy inhabitants, but she only knew it as a smoky, crowded series of mismatched tenements—a place where everything was part prey and part predator. After the sun went down, even the officers were afraid to walk the streets.

Cettie is adopted by Fitzroy. He takes her to his estate Fog Willows. The world of Fog Willows is a complete 180 from what Cettie is used to. Cettie is used to stealing food, but now she is in a house where food is abundant. Though everything is extravagant, there is one thing that remains the same, the people.

Every scullery maid kneeling in grime dreamed of becoming a princess. Every schoolgirl with pigtails, every hungry urchin, every milliner’s daughter arranging feathers on customers’ hats, every seamstress sewing beads into corsets, every baker’s wife gripping a tray of warm buns from the oven, every coughing drudge forced to labor in the accursed cotton mills in the Fells. Every girl alive from one end of the boundless empire to the other, above and below. Except for Sera.

Sera is lonely being a princess. She doesn’t like being trapped in her house with only a governess to keep her company. Her grandfather is the emperor and he can choose his successor anytime. It doesn’t even have to be one of his sons. It could even be Sera. All the more, making Sera feel like a prisoner more than a princess.

I think if there is one thing I have taken from this book, is that no matter your class, you are a slave to your world. Now reason, why I am DNFing instead of putting it away, for now, is simple, I’m bored. I’ve read a couple reviews and some have pointed out that this book is not all the impressive until after 70%. I don’t want to have to force myself to read more than half the book to even care about the characters.

I am falling asleep and I am not attached. Books I have to force myself to read tend to get really bad reviews. I think it’s better to just pull the plug now.

Tithe by Claire Vale

My edition: Kindle Unlimited
Pages: 231
Series: The Offered #1
Genre: Dystopian, YA, Romance
Published: April 14, 2020
Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis:

Pair up or be Tithed!

Two things are ever certain in Ironcross: the beasts outside the wall and the Tithe.

When Senna Rhys turns eighteen, she must go through the Tithe, a rite of passage to adulthood and a selection process that claims ten souls for the treaty with the wall. The unpaired are chosen first—securing the next generation to supply the Tithe is the foundation of Ironcross’ survival.

There’s Gabriel, the gorgeous boy next door with blue, blue eyes. He’s been my best friend since forever. He’s the keeper of my heart.

There’s Kane, arrogant and self-assured and darkly beautiful. He wants everything but my heart and has an irritating habit of catching me when I fall.

There’s Ironcross. The wall that keeps the beasts out. The fear that keeps us in. The Alders who rule with ruthless clarity.

Above all else, there’s the Tithe. The pact and sacrifice and pairings that bind our world.

Tithe is a post-apocalyptic romance and adventure with some disturbing themes set in a dark, dystopian world.

Review:

The story starts off with our heroine on her 18th birthday. Two days before the tithe. Ironcross is a small community that the first settlers walled themselves in when the plague devastated the world and left what is called ferocious beasts outside the wall. Then a family, the Alders, made a deal with the beasts. The Tithe in which ten people who just turned 18 will be sent to the wall. What that means isn’t really explained to the people. All they know is once it’s tithe year over the course of two weeks ten will be gone, never to be seen again.

To tell the truth, I have no idea how I feel about this book. I skimmed. I wasn’t totally invested in the characters. I can’t even tell if this was a love triangle or quadruple or more than four people. There really is too much going on with the whole partner situation. I’m still confused about what exactly the Tithe is.

The heroine started out with the right guy. The guy who was good for her, but I guess he’s the hero, makes a hard moral decision and it throws everything off balance. I don’t think I will go on with the series. I am just not interested in seeing what happens to those who have been tithed and those who haven’t.

The Bad Boy’s Good Girl by Cookie O’ Gorman and Michelle Pennington

My edition: Kindle Unlimited
Pages: 351
Stand alone
Genre: YA, Romance, High School
Published: June 4th, 2022
Rating: 2.5

Synopsis:

Logan King was trouble.

I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on him. But when I challenged him, I had no idea he’d take his revenge so far.

To make up for his inexcusable behavior, his parents gave me a scholarship to King’s Prep Academy. My mom insisted that I accept. Now, I’m the poor, public school girl attending an elite academy for the rich.

Even worse, Logan is here. He rules the school, and he wants me gone.

But I have a dream to chase, and no one, not even a King, will stop me.

Review:

I am really starting to hate the “bad boy” trope. Anymore it’s not really a bad boy but a horrible excuse for a human being. And if he is rich it’s because he is pressured at home to be someone he’s not. That doesn’t give you the right to treat people like they are beneath you. Let’s not forget that an argument was brought up about the “hero” having ADHD and isn’t on medication. I lived with someone who had ADHD, the way Logan was written isn’t someone who has ADHD.

Now back to the bad boy trope, it has been done correctly before. A good example is Patrick Verona played by the late Heath Ledger. That was a bad boy. Logan King is a pompous jerk.

Ava is an okay character. I rooted for her to be with Christopher instead of Logan. Why are heroines set up with love triangles and they choose the toxic guy who is extremely bad for them instead of the one who is right for them?

Logan is technically engaged when he meets Ava. He has an arranged marriage with another girl whose parents made the deal along with his parents. Both Logan and Janelle cheated on each other through the years. While they fight the arranged marriage, they are betrothed to each other. Logan had so many red flags and I really don’t see the appeal.

Now there are a few errors that should have been caught because they are obvious, but the writing is okay. I have read a book by Cookie before. I liked it better than this book. As for Michelle, I have some of her books on my TBR list.

Anyway, I am just glad to be done with this.

To Protect & Serve by Staci Stallings

My edition: Kindle Owned
Pages: 332
Series: Courage #1
Genre: Christian Fiction, Romance, First Responder, Firefighter
Published: May 13, 2012
Rating: DNF on pg 31

Synopsis:

To save others’ lives, they will risk their own…

Houston firefighter, Jeff Taylor is a fireman’s fireman. He’s not afraid of anything, and no situation is too dangerous to keep him on the sideline if lives are at stake.

Lisa Matheson runs a semi-successful ad agency that’s on the brink of falling apart. Her employees are incompetent and her schedule has become exhausting. When she takes on a client with a brilliant idea for a big conference, she thinks that maybe, finally this is her lucky break. However, the fire station wasn’t what she had in mind for finding conference speakers. When she falls for a handsome but shy firefighter, it’s possible that life might just be going her way for a change. The only problem is she can’t control Jeff and the death wish he seems to have…

Review:

First, this book was published five days before my high school graduation making it ten years old. Second, I am not a fan of Lisa.

I am so tired of the stereotypical man-hating woman trope. No, this isn’t she had trauma so she has issues trusting men. That actually has depth to the trope if done right. No, unfortunately, this is an all men are jerks who throw themselves at women. Blugh! Not all men are jerks nor are they all man hoes. I hope one day that men and women will one day be depicted throughout all media outlets with respect.

Along with Lisa hating men, she treats her employees like crap. She is so focused on work that when two of said them said they had plans to get to and left early, she responded without acknowledging what they said. So when she needed something and they weren’t there she thought “As usual, she was alone in the sinking boat.” She thinks she doesn’t need anybody and wishes she could do everything herself. The reason she started her own business and did not go into a bigger firm is that she isn’t really a team player.

This is not a heroine I want to root for let alone read about. I don’t have many thoughts on Jeff our hero but so far he seemed like an ordinary guy. I guess this one just isn’t for me.

Second Chance Ranch by Liz Isaacson

My edition: Kindle owned
Pages: 284
Series: Three Rivers Ranch #1
Genre: Christian Fiction, Western, Romance
Published: Sept. 15, 2015
Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis:

After his deployment, injured and discharged Major Squire Ackerman returns to Three Rivers Ranch, anxious to prove himself capable of running the cattle operation so his parents can retire. Things would be easier if the ranch wasn’t missing 1.6 million dollars, which forces Squire to hire Kelly, the girl who rejected his high school prom invitation, as his accountant.

She’s back in town with her four-year-old son, living in her parent’s basement until she can get her life back together. With fresh ink on her divorce papers and open gashes on her heart, she’s not ready for much beyond her new job on the ranch.

Squire wants to forgive Kelly for ignoring him a decade ago. He’d like to provide the stable life she needs, but with old wounds opening and a ranch on the brink of financial collapse, it will take patience and faith to make their second chance possible.

Review:

Our hero’s name is Squire… I really don’t know how to feel about that name.

Kelly has moved back to her hometown with her four-year-old son after getting divorced. She ends up getting a job at Three Rivers Ranch where her best friend from high school grew up.

Squire now home from the army helps with the ranch. When his older sister’s best friend is hired as their new accountant, old feelings come rushing back.

I don’t really know how I feel about this book. It had its cute moments but nothing wowed me. Also, some of the army stuff didn’t quite seem right, but I could be wrong on that. I need to ask my husband’s best friend who served to see if this author did her research right.

Starlight by Nikki Chartier

My edition: Kindle Owned
Pages: 276
Series: Like the Stars/ Saturn #1
Genre: Music, YA, Romance
Published: August 29, 2013
Rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis:

When an attempt is made on the lives of Canadian boy band, Spaceships Around Saturn, during their USA tour, the guys have to go into hiding ASAP. The Branson sisters are preparing for a summer of beach vacations, pool parties, and festivals.

The only problem? In the midst of the crisis and media frenzy, their secret-service-agent dad volunteered to hide the guys…in their house.

Six-year-old Emery is as ecstatic as any self-proclaimed Saturnite would be, but teens Chloe and Aralie watch their summer plans crash and burn like a falling star. The SAS guys aren’t happy with the situation, either. Bad boy Jules picks fights with Aralie about everything from his Twitter followers to his laundry, and heart-throb Benji can’t escape Emery’s fangirlisms for more than three minutes.

But after the super-cute Milo kisses Chloe during a game of hide-and-seek, she finally understands what Emery means when she talks about SAS being “out of this world.” If this is what Saturn feels like, Chloe doesn’t want to come back to Earth.​

Review:

This used to be named American Girl on Saturn.

The story starts with sisters Chloe ad Aralie coming home from a movie when their dad calls with a cryptic message. When they get home they find out their dad who is a super secret agent has offered to house the boy band Spaceships Around Saturn after shots were fired at one of their concerts. (When you find out why shots were fired, the story is a bit ridiculous.) Chloe is going through getting over guys after being labeled as “the Ice Queen” while being dumped at her senior prom. She so doesn’t want to deal with a boy band in her house. Not to mention the fact that her dad says they have to go on lockdown. That means all of her and Aralie’s summer plans come to a screeching halt.

To be fair, I would freak out if I had plans and they came to an end due to a boy band having to be stashed in my house. Now when I think boy band, I think Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and New Kids on the Block. What the author wrote about was closer to One Direction or some other boy band that is (ahem) “hip” these days. Sorry, I had to. Who am I kidding? I am so NOT sorry.

It was a cute story but wasn’t anything super wow. It is what I call a palette cleanser. After reading a certain book, a book like this can help clean the palette and start fresh. At least it did for me.