Review for Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Tiger Lily is a stand alone fantasy novel written by Jodi Lynn Anderson. 


i have never read anything on Peter Pan before this book. and the only movie i have seen Peter related was Hook with Robin Williams. so i came into this book ignorant of the mythology behind Neverland and its occupants. with this book it doesn't matter if you even know who Peter Pan and Tinker Bell are, you will sink into this novel and be interested in each character that you're introduced to.

Tiger Lily is about Peter Pan's doomed love to Tiger Lily, a wild child from a nearby clan who is betrothed to another. the voice of the narrator is Tinker Bell, which i thought was brilliant. since she can sense other people's thoughts and feeling, you get to know what the other character's are thinking without getting only one side of the story. she was my favorite character next to Tiger Lily. their relationship was both surprising and strong. one cared for the other whether they admitted it or not.

Tiger Lily, the character, is the reason this book is now on my favorites shelf. she is such a strong female role model for young readers. she stands for what she believes in even when it doesn't always work out in her favor. but she makes mistakes too. they were genuine mistakes that people usually make when they're young and i loved her all the more for it. it made her character real; it helped you realize that this amazon was still only 15 and hadn't lived much despite her not aging.

Peter Pan is kind of an asshole but i thought that was a great way to portray how teenage boys act when they're in love. teen love rarely lasts, as it's shown with Peter and Tiger. i was glad when SPOILER Tiger Lily married Pine Sap and learned to love him in her own unique way SPOILER it's a great message to young female readers that first love isn't the last love you'll ever have. you can still move on with your life even if Peter Pan decides that Wendy Darling is where it's at and jumps ship :)

4.5 STAR RATING

Review of Tilt by Ellen Hopkins

Tilt is a young adult novel written by Ellen Hopkins. It is the companion to the adult novel titled Triangles.


every time i read Ellen Hopkins' books, i feel my heart reach out to each of her characters only to have it broken by their troubles. but by the end of each book i find a little ray of hope that they will get through their obstacles and come out stronger. this has never been more prevalent than in this novel.

Tilt is about three teens who are dealing with life as best they can. Mikayla has the kind of love her parents lack until personal mistakes threaten to take everything away from her. Shane is dealing with first love and a family loss in all the wrong ways. Harley is a good girl who isn't sure how far she'll go to be a different person. and i am trying to not tear my hair out while reading this book. Hopkins' always writes in a way that makes me uncomfortable. it's a car crash that i can't look away from. i feel sympathy for these characters while wanting to punch them in the face for all the stupid decisions they're making. Harley was the worst. she was the one who let herself be victimized the most. and yet i related to her out of all the characters. her story just spoke to me. she was the most annoying but the most human.

i love the poetry in this book. as always i read it easily and found different ways to read each "chapter" and found hidden meanings through the characters' voices. i especially enjoyed the black pages after each character's chapter told in a side character's point of view. Alex, Shane's boyfriend, was the best to me. i really got both sides of their relationship and it really had me rooting for them. i wasn't aware that this book was a companion to Triangles. now i'm all the more excited to read it.

4.5 STAR RATING

Review for Rush by Maya Banks

Rush is an erotic romance written by Maya Banks. It is the first of the Breathless trilogy. The second novel is Fever and the third is Burn which are both to be released later in the year. 


an advance copy of the book was provided through Goodreads

BDSM books have been in print for a long time. all Fifty Shades of Grey did was bring it into the spotlight. this book may not be inspired by the BDSM obsession of the public but it did heavily remind me of FSOG.

Gabe is a handsome millionaire who has been lusting after his best friend's little sister, Mia, for some years. now that she is old enough for him (24 to his 36 i think), he is ready to expose her to his kinky ways and change both of their lives forever. Mia is a good character. i found her extremely likable and fun. of course she's had a crush on Gabe since her teen years so the attraction is instant but in a more realistic way than most romance novels. Gabe is a neanderthal. i love me a bad boy but he was just an asshole. i felt no sympathy for this character, which the author tried to do when she introduced his bitch of an ex-wife and how horrible their marriage was. i found myself hoping that Mia would get with a more suitable love interest and Gabe and his evil ex would get back together.

if Gabe treated his ex-wife the way he treats Mia, i don't blame her for making his life hell. he fucks Mia like a high school boy who's getting his first piece of ass and by the grace of God does she have multiple orgasms. the way some of the sex scenes were described, i was surprised how often and amazingly Mia was getting off. it just seemed like a lot of quick and hard thrusting on Gabe's part. only when he took his time to seduce her, which i think only happened twice, was i into the sex. i am so sick of rough and fast sex being the norm for these erotica novels. every once in a while i love a quickie, but not every time.

of course this is the first of a trilogy and Gabe's best friends will each get their chance to shine. hopefully they can pull off being dominant without the asshole undertones. i plan on reading them because i love torturing myself with mediocre erotica.

2.5 STAR RATING

Quick review for The Velveteen Killer Rabbit by Elia Anie

The Velveteen Killer Rabbit, written by Elia Anie, is a dark parody of the classic Velveteen Rabbit. Anie has also written Evil Cats and Evil Penguins. 

an advance copy of the book was provided by Elia Anie through Goodreads

this was a disturbing book. the cute little rabbit that just wants to be loved quickly turns into a scheming murderer to get what he wants. and then when he finally gets it, he's turned into a demented looking rabbit. i have nothing to say about this book except if you want to lightly laugh while reading about a murderous bunny, this is the book for you.

3 STAR RATING

Review of The Essence by Kimberly Derting

The Essence is a dystopian young adult novel written by Kimberly Derting. This novel is the second installment of the Pledge series. The first is titled The Pledge while the third novel is still untitled. The untitled book is set to be released in 2014. 


an advance copy of this book was provided by Simon and Schuster through Goodreads

THIS REVIEW WILL ONLY MAKE SENSE IF YOU'VE READ THE PLEDGE

i vaguely remember reading the first book. i looked back on what i said about it and my memory was jogged about how i didn't love it or hate it. i liked it enough to read the second one. i wish i didn't. i found myself screaming at this book all day. it's a shame that i had to bring in the new year reading this, it was exhausting.

the first book ended with Charlie defeating the evil queen Sabara and taking the throne. This book starts with a prologue about a queen plotting Charlie's death. then you're reunited with all the oldies but goodies. Charlie is dealing with a dark secret while Brooklyn, Charlie's best friend, is dealing with her traitorous father who wants the old caste system back. and that's the only two things that are interesting.  Charlie's secret is that SPOILER Sabara's essence is still alive inside Charlie.

i can't remember if that was hinted at in the end of the first book but this particular conflict for the heroine is what made me dislike this book. it's not Sabara that i have a problem with, it's Charlie. she is so fucking annoying. all of the decisions she makes about her secret are stupid. they only make more bullshit for her to deal with and it was unnecessary. most of the issues Charlie and everyone around her deal with are Charlie's fault. what good has ever come from keeping a secret in a young adult book? nothing, that's what. i just can't stand that Charlie lets herself be victimized BY HERSELF.

and because i couldn't stand this book enough, a weird love triangle is thrown into the story. Yay!!! that's exactly what i didn't need. it was random and poorly put together. i didn't understand why Charlie needed another love interest. she has enough problems with someone trying to kill her and the uprising that's happening inside her kingdom. that would have been enough to keep me reading. i didn't need this teenage melodramatic bullshit.

to end the review, i just want to say that i will be reading the third book. i'm two books in. i might as well finish the series. here's hoping the Charlie dies in the next book!

RATING IS 2 STARS