Archive for Book Review
CINDER by Marissa Meyer Audiobook Review
Series: Lunar Chronicles, #1
Publication Date: January 3rd 2012 by Feiwel & Friends
Rating: 
– Exceeds Expectations | 
Book Summary: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer Audiobook Review Overview:
- One of the best audiobooks I’ve ever listened to. Rebecca Soler is an awesome narrator!
- You can’t help but cheer for Cinder
- Prince Kai is absolutely swoon-worthy
Too many good reviews on other blogs make me wary of picking a book up. But since I was craving some ear candy, I finally decided to pick up CINDER by Marissa Meyer. While it was hard to assimilate to listening instead of reading at first, when I finally got into the CINDER by Marissa Meyer audiobook, I could not stop. CINDER by Marissa Meyer is made of pure awesome.
First of all, Rebecca Soler is a fantastic narrator. Soler can fool you into thinking that the audiobook is done by more than one person because she is that good of a voice actress. Furthermore, she can do accents quite well. I really enjoyed listening to her voice, and I will definitely check out if she’s done any other audiobooks.
But of course, we have to give credit to Marissa Meyer who created this world. At first, I didn’t want to let go of the Cinderella story I know and love because this one was just too different. But I quickly warmed up to the science fiction elements. I thought that the integration of cyborgs and androids among humans to be fascinating.
Cinder is one character you can’t help but root for. She’s the kind of character who was dealt with the worst hand of cards, but still manages to make the best of everything. If something bad can go wrong, it will happen to Cinder. You cannot help but cheer for her and to finally see something good happen to her.
Readers are totally going fan-girly all over Prince Kai. While I am amused that a character has the same name as my dad, I hardly ever believe it when other readers say that a character is swoon-worthy. But I was wrong. Oh my gosh, Prince Kai is definitely a prince charming. He knows how to melt a girl’s heart. Furthermore I love that his character is flawed. Even though he is royalty, Marissa Meyer does not make him invincible in CINDER. The emperor, Prince Kai’s father, is also sick with the disease and it is so heart-breaking to read about Kai’s struggling with the news of his dad’s health.
The romance in CINDER by Marissa Meyer is absolutely heart-melting. Some scenes between Prince Kai and Cinder are just so awkward, you can’t help but give an awkward giggle. Sometimes, I wanted to just smack Cinder and say, Oh my god, how could you do that?! Marissa Meyer keeps readers on their toes when it comes to the romance.
Lastly, I did find the biggest plot twist to be a bit predictable. I honestly saw it coming in the first quarter of the book, which is a bit unfortunate. However, CINDER by Marissa Meyer as a whole still had a ton of shocking twists and turns that literally had me gasping out loud.
CINDER by Marissa Meyer is definitely worth the hype. Meyer takes a classic fairy tale and adds a spin to it that makes it ten times better. Pick up the audiobook if you can because it is honestly one of the best I’ve listened to. If not, I’m sure the book itself will be just as good.
I highly recommend CINDER by Marissa Meyer to fans of fairytale retellings, such as those by Alex Finn, science fiction, and novels with strong female protagonists.
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Book Nerd Reviews
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About the AuthorMarissa Meyer lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her fiancé and their two cats. In addition to her slight obsession with books and writing, she is big on road-tripping, wine-tasting, and hunting for antiques. Meyer is represented by Jill Grinberg. |
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Book Review, Four Stars - Audience: Young Adult, Author: Marissa Meyer, Book: Cinder, Genre: Retelling, Genre: Romance, Genre: Science Fiction, Masterful World-Building, Must Buy, Page-Turner, Publisher: Feiwel & Friends, Romantic Read, Series: Lunar Chronicles | 
1262 words
WHERE I BELONG by Gwendolyn Heasley Book Review
Publication Date: February 8th 2011 by HarperTeen
Rating: – Acceptable | 
Book Summary: Meet Corrinne. She’s living every girl’s dream in New York City–shopping sprees at Barneys, open access to the best clubs and parties, and her own horse at the country club. Her perfect life is perfectly on track. At least it was. . . .
When Corrinne’s father is laid off, her world suddenly falls apart. Instead of heading to boarding school, she’s stripped of her credit cards and shipped off to the boonies of Texas to live with her grandparents. On her own in a big public school and forced to take a job shoveling manure, Corrinne is determined to get back to the life she’s supposed to be living. She doesn’t care who she stomps on in the process. But when Corrinne makes an unlikely friend and discovers a total hottie at work, she begins to wonder if her life B.R.–before the recession–was as perfect as it seemed.
Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley Book Review Overview:
- Corrinne is initially tough to like, but we are warned as a reader
- The ending was unsatisfying
- More of a coming of age than a contemporary romance
The author warns us from the very beginning: Corrinne is going to be quite annoying when we start reading WHERE I BELONG by Gwendolyn Heasley. Corrinne has it all: she’s got the perfect life in New York City and she is just about to start school at an elite boarding school in the fall. Then everything goes wrong. Corrinne’s dad is hit by the recession and he loses his job. And naturally, Corrinne is an awful brat about it. Instead of trying to cope with the drastic changes, Corrinne becomes nothing but a big pain in the butt. But thankfully, Corrinne undergoes a believable transformation in WHERE I BELONG by Gwendolyn Heasley from rich spoiled brat to a mature, understanding 16-year-old. Corrinne does not just wake up one morning realizing how horribly she has been acting. Heasley takes her through various character-building obstacles in WHERE I BELONG that eventually make her into a better and mature person.
Like most novels that take place in the South, I have to just give a shout-out to the mouth-watering descriptions of food that Heasley included. Oh my god, I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. I want cupcakes and basically everything that Corrinne’s grandmother had cooked in the book.
Furthermore, I do like the fact that WHERE I BELONG by Gwendolyn Heasley targets the economic crisis of the recession. It reminds me of another book I read recently, PERFECT YOU by Elizabeth Scott, which also talks about a family’s financial strains.
The ending was a bit of a disappointment to be honest. By the time I got to the last page, I thought, After all that, that’s it?! The author tries to make readers feel hopeful that though it is the end of the book, it is just the beginning of a new chapter in Corrinne’s life. I see the author’s intent, but I can’t get myself to accept it.
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy contemporary, but I would warn readers that this is more about a character’s personal growth and less about romance as the cover would lead you to believe. Furthermore, fans of Elizabeth Scott will probably enjoy this book.
Other Book Reviews:
Book Faery
Unputdownable Books
About the AuthorGwendolyn Heasley is a graduate of Davidson College and the University of Missouri-Columbia where she earned her master’s degree in journalism. When she was a little girl, she desperately wanted to be the next Ann M. Martin- the author of the beloved The Baby-Sitter’s Club series. She’s incredibly grateful that the recession rendered her unemployed and made her chase her nearly forgotten dream. She lives in New York City, teaches college and eats entirely too much mac and cheese for an adult. She’s also currently at work on a second novel for Harper Collins. |
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Book Review, Three Stars - Audience: Young Adult, Author: Gwendolyn Heasley, Book: Where I Belong, Borrow It, Genre: Contemporary, Publisher: HarperTeen | 1047 words
NOTORIOUS PLEASURES by Elizabeth Hoyt Book Review
Series: Maiden Lane, #2
Publication Date: February 1st 2011 by Vision
Book Summary: Their lives were perfect . . .
Lady Hero Batten, the beautiful sister of the Duke of Wakefield, has everything a woman could want, including the perfect fiancé. True, the Marquis of Mandeville is a trifle dull and has no sense of humor, but that doesn’t bother Hero. Until she meets his notorious brother . . .Until they met each other.
Griffin Remmington, Lord Reading, is far from perfect – and he likes it that way. How he spends his days is a mystery, but all of London knows he engages in the worst sorts of drunken revelry at night. Hero takes an instant dislike to him, and Griffin thinks that Hero, with her charities and faultless manners, is much too impeccable for society, let alone his brother. Yet their near-constant battle of wits soon sparks desire – desire that causes their carefully constructed worlds to come tumbling down. As Hero’s wedding nears, and Griffin’s enemies lay plans to end their dreams forever, can two imperfect people find perfect true love?
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Book Review, Four Stars - Amortentia Reviews, Audience: Adult, Author: Elizabeth Hoyt, Book: Notorious Pleasures, Genre: Historical romance, Publisher: Vision, Series: Maiden Lane | 287 words
- Action Packed
- Hahaha Funny
- Keeps You Guessing
- Heartwarmer
- Makes You Think
- Poetic Prose
- Tear-Jerker
