This book ties for first place in my favorite reads of the summer. I am a big fan of Mythology. Last year I read a great re-envisioning of the Greek myths and was convinced that that series was as good as it was going to get. Then came The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter. From the first page I was glued to the book. This gem is one of the few books that I actually purchased in traditional printed page format and was so wrapped up in the story that I lugged it around with me all weekend until I finished. There is something so compelling about stories that have the potential of ending tragically and this one has such a clever twist at the end that you can't believe you didn't catch on sooner.
I hate it when I can't connect with a character. I'm an event planner by trade so reading the synopsis of this book it seemed like a no-brainer. But, I couldn't get through the book. I felt that within the first couple of chapters I was slapped in the face by a Bible. There is nothing wrong with being religious but there is such a thing as over saturating the reader with religious context when the book synopsis doesn't come close to mentioning it. This is what appears on Goodreads:
Ever wonder how Italian sounds with a Southern drawl?Bella Rossi's life is just starting to get interesting. When her Italian-turned-Texan parents hand over the family wedding-planning business, Bella quickly books a Boot-Scootin' wedding that would make any Texan proud. There's only one catch--she doesn't know a thing about country music. Where will she find a deejay on such short notice who knows his Alan Jackson from his George Strait? And will Bella ever get to plan her own wedding?For obvious reasons I was taken a back by the complete change in programming, I hate not finishing a book, but there it is.
Fun, fresh, and full of surprises, this flavorful combination of Italian and Tex-Mex highlights the hilarity that ensues when cultures clash.
 Cinder & Ella |
 The cover art instantly captured me and I was really excited about tucking into this obvious retelling of the classic story of Cinderella. What can I say about it except that aside from the title and one or two references the book is nothing like the original. I tried to love it. I really did. I wanted to connect with Cinder and Ella but the story honestly felt disjointed to me. The author seemed to try to tell a story that was so different from the original that she lost her way. It did start out promising and when I thought "okay, it's going to pick up now," it never did. It took me the longest to get through this one of all the books I read this summer and was left feeling like the story could have been so much more. |
The second of three physical books purchased this summer. I couldn't help myself while killing some time at B&N. I had just finished reading Cinder & Ella and wanted something to wash the taste out of my mouth. Having not read the authors first book in the series (I honestly had no idea it was series until I stumbled onto the information on Goodreads) I felt a teensy bit lost in the first couple of chapters but as the story progressed and the history of the main character was explained I was completely enraptured. What a great homage to Cinderella. As opposed to the previous book which I felt screamed it was a re-telling and then dissapointed all around this one just told you it was a fairytale and paid tribute to Cinderella in its own way.
This book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
I previously wrote a full review for this great debut a few weeks ago. I liked it so much I bought one for my 13 year old cousins birthday (she's also a rabid reader). She devoured it in one day.
This is my 1/2 a book, because technically it's not a book in the traditional sense of the word, it's a puzzle compendium (I think that's the word) that uses all of Jane Austens books as well as incorporating different facts from the time period to make one very interesting time filler. For Austen fans this is really a must have.
No comments:
Post a Comment