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'.

Fledging the Nest: Fledgling by Natasha Brown

The relationship created by Natasha Brown in 'Fledgling', between Chance and Ana is very realistic, not like those created by authors set to Stephanie Meyer and LJ Smith. Relationship develops a reasonable rate, not too quick, not too fast, as the story progresses. However the relationship is very exciting in the beginning but lags slightly as the book advances, until the critical moments arrive.

Ana is a lovely character and highlights, how difficult it is doing normal things (that we take for granted) can be, for those with heart problems and other difficulties.

Chance's character does not fully develop until the end but this encourages the reader to read on and find out more about him.

The supporting characters create a feel of normality and emphasise the problems that families with children who have medical difficulties face.

Without giving too much away, the supernatural element of the novel is very good and obviously well thought out. Although the idea is not entirely original, Brown has done well to make it her own.

The atmosphere created by Brown out this book is commendable. It is as though a kind of warmth is seeping through the pages.

Meg Cabot's No Airhead!

I've recently, finished reading the Airhead series. I really enjoyed the series and although some of it was slightly predictable at times, the books were very heart warming. The series was a trilogy, made up of three books, 'Airhead', 'Airhead: Being Nikki' and 'Airhead: Runaway'.I read the first book, a couple years back when I got it out of the library. I was going to read the other books but it was hell to get the second book out, so I gave up.

I came to reading them two days ago when I decided that I needed a hearty romance to read and remembered 'Airhead'. The storyline is about a girl called Em Watts, who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and a super-model called Nikki Howard who happens to also be there, after a freak accident, the two girls find the lives crashed together. Em finds herself discovering things about herself including new feelings about her best friend Christopher. The series is very well written and highlights the possibilities of the future.

I hadn't read any of Meg Cabot's books before but I found her writing style easy to comprehend and empathic. The characters of Em and Lulu were developed very well, although I was slightly disappointed with the ending. In my mind, I wanted the ending to be a bomb shell, and a bomb shell it wasn't. I found the hiring of Felix and Christopher difficult to believe and the argument between Em and her mum surprised me but not pleasantly as I couldn't ignore the fact that it took place in a public place.

All in all the book was very good, despite its down sides.

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!