A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Facts:
Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses (book 1)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genera: Fantasy, YA, Fairy Tale Retelling, Romance, New Adult, Fairies/Fae
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children

Opinions:
My Rating: 4.7 STARS

                When I first heard of Sarah J. Maas, I heard about the Throne of Glass. And EVERYONE I know love that series, like EVERYONE. All of my friends were all saying how "wonderful Sarah's books are" and "how Throne of Glass, is their favorite." And then, there was me. I haven't read the books yet and TBH I didn't even REALLY want to. Yes, they were on my to-be-read list on Goodreads but I wasn't like DYING to read it. So one day while I went to my local library I saw this beautiful book. Its was like it was calling to me, because I was just so drawn to it (I was there to pick up Six of Crows but I forgot all about that when I saw this book). I pulled it out of the shelf and guess who the author was... SJ Maas! I didn't know she had another series out but I was so intrigued with this book because I am a sucker for re-tellings, especially Beauty and the Beast. So of course I picked it up and checked it out and flew through this book. Like FLEW! I was about 40% done before I was called downstairs to eat dinner. But right after I was done with dinner (and the dishes :/ ), I ran back upstairs and read until I knew I had to sleep. But after class the next day, I finished this book and BOY WAS THAT ENDING AWESOME!

                 Okay, enough of how I got this book, lets talk about this book. To start off, I really like the main character Feyre. She was like a Katniss in a Fae world. She (as the younger sister of 2) has to go out in the woods and hunt to feed her family (I really didn't like the fact that her sisters and her dad just left her to do all the work and they stay home complaining about being poor). So one day she goes into the wood to hunt, she comes across a wolf, like a GIANT wolf and Feyre know that it is a Fae. (You should know that the Fae and the humans are not friendly with each other. The fae and the humans went to war a couple hundred years ago and they made a treaty saying to leave each other alone etc.) Well Feyre seeing the wolf gets all mad at all the things they did to the humans and she decides to shoot the wolf. Lets just say it get interesting after that ;P I won't say anymore because I don't want to spoil anything but trust me, it get fuuuunnnnn!

                What I liked: I really like the characters in this book. Feyre was not a snobby, boy crazy, annoying prick but a strong person. Tamlin is sweet and hot. LIKE REALLY HOT. I loved all the things that happen between him and Feyre. :P  Lucien is just hilarious, I love him so much! And there are more characters but I won't say just yet :) I also really liked the whole world and the plot twists (OMG!) and I liked how in the end, everything makes so much sense. I just flowed so well!
             
               What I didn't like: I cant say!!! It will be so spoilery but know that its not the book or anything, it was SOMEONE in the book. Gosh I hate that person!

               All in all, I really enjoyed this story and I can't wait to read book 2 (A Court of Mist and Fury)! This book is great for YA fantasy lovers and fans of fairies and of course SJ Maas fans (which I am now a part of). I hope you enjoy it and if you have read it, let me know what you thought of it etc.!

Happy Reading,
Natasha Morriston

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Facts:
Title: Red Queen (Book 1)
Author: Victoria Averyard
Genera: YA, Dystopian, Fantasy
Publisher: Orion

Opinions:
My Rating: 3.8 STARS

     This book.. Hmmm. Well I like the idea of the red and silvers, that was pretty interesting and the concept of the book was cool. The world was interesting and the powers were fun to read about..but....

Sigh, did anyone else find the plot super predictable? I don't think I have ever read a book where I knew what was gonna happen in the first chapter! 

But I still liked the story even though it was predictable. So I am planning on reading book 2, but I just hope that in in the second book, the plot line will be a bit better. 

All in all, it was a fun and interesting read. Hopefully I won't be able to guess the whole plot within 10 minutes of reading. 

~Natasha Morriston~

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Facts:
Title: City of Bones (book 1)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genera: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Opinion: 
My Rating: 4.2 STARS

This book has a lot of hype and I tried to get into it (twice) and wasn't sucked in. But I will give this another go cause the guy who plays Magnus Bane (in the Movie) is my boo. Like OMG I LOVE HIM! I love all his Asian drama and he is asdfnaosdifnossdfn. So because of him, I will try this book another try. I hope that the third time is the charm :/

~Update~ 
Apparently 3rd time is the charm... I finished this book in less than a day. It was okay in the beginning but once pi start reading, you get into it. Plus, there were plot twists that I didn't see coming so that was great. Gonna go read book 2 real soon, hope I like it!

~Natasha Morriston~

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Facts:
Title: Rebel Belle (book 1)
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Genera: YA, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Opinions:
My Rating: 4.5 STARS

     I think the reason that I loved this book so much was because I wrote a story similar to this one a while back. However, I don't have such a talent with writing so it was left unfinished, but after reading Rebel Belle, I felt like my story had come to life. It was nice seeing how my book might have been like if I had the talent to write it. So that was a nice treat.
     Now, about the book itself: I thought that this was a really cute story with fun characters and twists. I loved the POV this was written it, the way it seemed like the writer was sometimes talking to the reader. I thought that was done very well. The plot was fun, with just enough humor and twists to keep the readers entertained. I also love the characters and that ENDING was amazing! It was a very cute and funny book but it had the action to keep it from being "over the top" girly. I cant wait to get my hands on book 2 & 3!

Happy Reading!

~Natasha Morriston~

Royal Date by Sariah Wilson

Facts:

Title: Royal Date

Author: Sariah Wilson

Genera: Romance, New Adult

Publisher: Kindle Press

Opinions:

My Ratings: 4.5 STARS

I had recently received an email from Amazon one day, informing me about their new program Kindle Scout. It is a place where writers can place their books on this site and other Amazon members can come and vote for our favorites. The winners would then get their books published from Amazon and the people who voted for them will get a free copy of that book. After reading the blurp for this book, I immediately voted for it, knowing this was going to be a winner and... so it was. 

About a week later, I received another email from Amazon telling me that Royal Date had won and was going to be published, I was beyond thrilled. After a month has passed and I still hadn't gotten my copy, I was quite sad. However, a few days later, I got a email telling me I can get my copy now. After the process of logging in and downloading, I started to read. And can I just say that I loved this book! 

This book was truly magical. I was so into the characters and the world that I read the whole thing in one sitting! As a kid, I have always loved the story of Cinderella. I used to dream of a Prince Charming coming to my house, knocking on my front door and giving me a bouquet of yellow roses (yes, yellow). Ah, such childish fantasies. Anywho, back to the story. 

The way the author wrote this modern Cinderella story is just really entertaining and fun. It's one of those book where you are sitting there reading and realize that you are smiling. I think what I liked most about this book was that it felt real. The main character was relatable and genuine and a lot of fun (plus she likes to read). What I liked most about her was that she didn't want the Prince at first. She isn't a gold digger and she isn't fake. That is what made her a great Cinderella.

Unlike the Disney Cinderella, which gave little girls high expectations for boys; this book gives women a high expectation for men. *Sigh* My standards keeps on rising. 

All in all, this was a great modern retake on Cinderella and I highly recommend this book people who believe that sometimes, fairy-tales do come true.

Happy Reading,

Natasha Morriston