Beautiful Story: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures is a book I decided to read based on a recommendation by a friend and I was not disappointed.

The book is set in the rural south of America and although I am not American I still found it easy to relate to the 'small town feel' that Garcia and Stohl convey. The characters have very obvious focus points and it is not difficult to find yourself 'routing for the underdogs' and 'booing the bad guys' within  the first couple chapters.

The supernatural element has obviously well researched by Garcia and Stohl but sometimes an air of 'unlikeliness' does tend to cloud the brain. However it is not over complicated and although some of the scenes in Ravenwood make one think of Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast', the storyline is strong.

By the end of the novel, I came to feel satisfied although some of my dying questions had not come to be answered. Hopefully, book two: Beautiful Darkness will answer some of these questions I am dying to know.

I would summarize the book as simply 'worth reading even if it is just for the experience'.

Captivated by Cloaked

If you haven't read 'Cloaked', you are missing out!! I finished it this morning and have really enjoyed it! This is an absolutely brilliant book, the characters are developed extremely well and the combination of different fairy tales, instead of just one, is genius!

The story is about a boy called Johnny, who works in his family business as a shoe repairer or clobber. His dad left when he was very young and he lives with his mum. The shoe repair shop is situated in a posh hotel in Miami, Florida. One day, a princess arrives and Johnny is thrown in at deep end. She sends him off on a quest and if he completes it he will receive the princess's hand in marriage. A lot for a 16 year old to think about!

Cloaked is a incredible book although I would put a rough age guideline on 13 and above. If you decide to consider reading it you will not regret it!

Introducing the AMAZING Alex Flinn

Over the past couple of months, I have started to read books by Alex Flinn.

The first book, I read was called 'Beastly'.

It was about boy called Kyle who has a TV presenter dad and everything going for him. He was also very handsome and this was his downfall. Kyle believed, he was God's gift to this earth and that he could treat anybody however he wanted. He then meets a girl called Kendra. Under circumstances, which I do not wish to give away, she places a curse on him, that he will be ugly until he finds true love's first kiss.

This was an amazing book, the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast retold in a modern setting. I really enjoyed it and after reading it decided, I would read another of Alex Flinn's books.

The second book I read was called 'A Kiss in Time'

The book was very well written and Alex had me gripped again! The book features, Jack, a boy on holiday in Belgium with his friend Travis. Jack and Travis decide to lose the rest of the group and explore. They come across a kingdom trapped in time with all it's occupants sleeping. When the two friends enter the castle, the fun starts and Jack ends up waking a princess.

The way the story is written is really believable (Alex could convince me that fairy tales exist any day) and the characters are extremely well thought out and you could feel a serious empathy for them.

Alex's new book 'Cloaked' came out in February. I haven't read it yet but I do intend to in the future!