COVER REVEAL: Spindle, by Shonna Slayton

April 11, 2016 Annelise LestrangeLeave a comment

Hi, there! Welcome to the other book news post of the day! It’s another cover reveal, this one on Chapter by Chapter’s account, for Spindle, by Shonna Slayton! 😀

Spindle

by Shonna Slayton

400 pages

Release Date: October 4^th, 2016

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Genre: YA Historical Fantasy

From the author of Cinderella’s Dress, a brand-new standalone novel that retells the story of Sleeping Beauty, this time set during the Industrial Revolution.

Sleeping Beauty’s happily ever after isn’t the end of the story…

The evil fairy’s magic is still trapped in her unfulfilled curse, and the only way to release it is to see a girl to the death. But the spindle has been hidden away for centuries, until a peddler offers it to an unsuspecting mill girl during the Industrial Revolution.

Briar Jenny had planned to escape her life of poverty and hardship with Wheeler, an ambitious young man who plans to leave the valley and start his own business. Trouble is, he no longer cares for her, fancying the new girl who just moved into town to work at the cotton mill. When Briar tries to use the spindle to win back Wheeler’s heart and secure her future, she has no idea the power she has unleashed.

After pricking her finger on the magic spindle, she falls under a sleeping sickness that slowly claims her body bit by bit. It will take all her strength, to not only survive, but also break the curse and defeat the evil fairy for good.

Personally, I love Sleeping Beauty. She’s my favorite Disney princess at the moment (I keep switching, don’t mind me, haha!) and her story retellings are the one that most grab my attention. So far, I’ve read three, that will be listed on the end of this post, and I can’t wait for Spindle to be my fourth!! Also, I found out that Entangled Teen has an awesome portfolio and I deeply trust them with my YA romances ❤

You can already pre-order Spindle in both paperback and ebook formats at our favorite book buying places! 😀

Shonna Slayton writes historical fairy tales for Entangled TEEN. Cinderella’s Dress and Cinderella’s Shoes, set in the 1940s, are out now. Spindle, a Sleeping Beauty inspired tale set in the late 1800s, will be out October 2016.

She finds inspiration in reading vintage diaries written by teens, who despite using different slang, sound a lot like teenagers today. When not writing, Shonna enjoys amaretto lattes and spending time with her husband and children in Arizona.

The best way to keep in touch is by signing up for her monthly newsletter. She sends out behind-the-scenes info you can’t read anywhere else. Sign up is on the sidebar of her website Shonna Slayton.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube | Pinterest | Instagram | Goodreads | Newsletter

Yes, we do have a giveaway! … For USA lovely residents only. If you are a lovely US resident or have someone that can receive the prize there for you, approach to see what you may be taking home! ❤

One lucky winner will receive:

A paperback copy of Cinderella’s Dress
A paperback copy of Cinderella’s Shoes

To enter this lovely giveaway, just click here: GIVEAWAY!

That’s it, thanks for reading ❤ And thanks to Chapter by Chapter for the lovely cover reveal!

PS: those are the retellings of Sleeping Beauty that I already read:

HAMSTEAD, Katie – Princess of Tyrone, The Fairytale Galaxy Chronicles #1 (review here!) [5 STARS!]
RICE, Anne – The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, Sleeping Beauty series #1 (review here!) [2 stars]
SLOAT, Christy – Slumber, The Slumber Duology #1 (review here!) [4 STARS!]

Princess of Tyrone, from Katie Hamstead (The Fairytale Galaxy Chronicles #1)

April 4, 2016April 5, 2016 Annelise Lestrange7 Comments

Hi, there! You are indeed seeing another review up on the blog, this is not a training, haha! This is my stop for YA Bound Book Tours blog tour for Princess of Tyrone, the first book in The Fairytale Galaxy Chronicles, from Katie Hamstead! 😀

I’ve received my copy from YA Bound Book Tours in exchange for an honest review – thank you again! The moment is here 😀

The Story

Apolline is the kind of girl that you wouldn’t call feminine. Raised by her three fairy aunts on a very small and far away planet, Apolline knows her way around hunting, self-defense and cursing just like the galactic pirates that often stop by the planet for trading. She knows that she’ll have to marry some guy when she reaches her 21th birthday, but she tries to not give it too much thought. It’s not like her aunts would tell her anything anyway.

Allard is the kind of prince that is perfect for his place in the world. Well-mannered, dutiful, highly educated and handsome, Allard has been prepared all his life to rule when the time comes. He knows he’ll have to marry princess Elpida when she reaches her 21th birthday, but tries to not give it too much thought. It’s not like he can break the arrangement.

Allard and Apolline had never questioned their fates until meeting each other. Apolline had never met a man like Allard, so clean, schooled and handsome, and Allard had never known a girl that didn’t faint on his presence – or didn’t know at all that he was that Prince Allard.

They know that their days are counted, as both are betrothed to other people, but how can they simply walk back into their old lives after what they experienced with each other?

Can they walk away and fulfill their fates or will their passion end their worlds forever?

The Analysis

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

I make no secret that Sleeping Beauty is my current favorite princess (come on, her life is too #goals, haha!), so I knew I’d like reading Princess of Tyrone. I just didn’t expect to fall madly in love with it and it was great! I loved the world building, the writing, the switching narrators and styles, how Katie rebuilt Sleeping Beauty’s world and tangled it up with a ton of other fairy tales! It’s just too good to be true ❤ I honestly loved everything on this book, I can’t say a thing! FIVE BEAUTIFUL STARS!

The narrative style switched between first person from Apolline’s point of view and third person from the POVS of Allard and Bryanna. It worked so wonderfully, omg! I already had loved this technique in Slumber [review here and also a Sleeping Beauty retelling that you should totally check out!], so it was nice to see it in good use again!

The plot was simple and, as anyone that knows Sleeping Beauty’s story, I already knew how things would end. The catch here is how Hamstead managed to entwine other fairy tales on the story, like Cinderella, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel and Rapunzel. I loved this tying up to the core and thought that this added the mystery that the reader needs to keep going through the book. Once again, it wasn’t about finding out what happens, but how it happens. If you don’t like predictable stories in general, this book may disappoint you, just as any other fairy tale retelling.

The characters were easily the strongest point in this book, along with the technical stuff. Apolline is another strong female main character, THANK GOD, and Allard is perfect on his imperfection. He is a prince for good and bad and Apolline compensates that, haha! I loved everyone in the book, included evil sorceress Bryanna. It was so good to hate her, haha!

Allard and his best friend whom I imagine several hot gay scenes with during the reading as I’m a sick person Beau White were the perfect double and both made it to My Bookish Boyfriends list! I know, two at once. I really need to start that new religion now, haha! Bookish girls all over the world will support me, I’m sure lol (If you’re new here and don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, please check this post. Laughter is a given, haha!)

Ahem, back to business. This is my third Sleeping Beauty retelling that I can recall and, by far, my favorite. I can’t wait to read the next volumes on The Fairytale Galaxy Chronicles and see just who Beau and Nathaniel, his younger brother, shall marry! Even though I’d love for Beau to fall in love with another man. *sigh*

Sorry, I can’t seem to hold myself these days. More yaoi reading may be in order…

Overall, if you love Sleeping Beauty, kick ass females, swoon worthy boys, beautiful writing, futuristic and high-tech worlds and fairy tales, Princess of Tyrone is your book 😀

Thanks so much for reading! Bellow you can find Princess of Tyrone purchase links, more info about the author and a giveaway!

PURCHASE LINKS

Princess of Tyrone is available in both paperback and ebook formats at Amazon!

AMAZON

ABOUT THE BRILLIANT MIND ALSO KNOW AS KATIE HAMSTEAD

Born and raised in Australia, Katie’s early years of day dreaming in the “bush”, and having her father tell her wild bedtime stories, inspired her passion for writing.

After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dog.

She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing.

When her debut novel, Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh, climbed into bestselling status, she believed she was onto something, and now has a slew of novels now available, and is published through Curiosity Quills Press, Soul Mate Publishing, and REUTS Publishing.

Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports, and be a good wife and mother. She now works as an Acquisitions Editor to help support her family. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

GIVEAWAY!

Yes, we have another giveaway! Everybody dance now! One lucky winner will receive:

$5 Amazon Gift Card
ebook package containing Princess of Tyrone, Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh, and Deceptive Cadence

AND IT IS INTERNATIONAL! To join me on this lovely chance, just click here: GIVEAWAY!

Well, that’s it! Thanks for reading trough it all and thanks again to YA Bound Book Tours for the opportunity, the review copy and the lovely tour!

Slumber, from Christy Sloat (The Slumber Duology, #1)

March 13, 2016March 14, 2016 Annelise Lestrange4 Comments

Hi, there! Hope you had a lovely Sunday ❤ I come back to you with another book review 😀 Today I finished Slumber, the first book in The Slumber Duology, from Christy Sloat! I received my copy from YA Bound Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the chance and let’s go 😀

The Story

It’s been a year since Rory arrived to Spindle Ridge Asylum. It’s been a year since everyone on that awful place tried to convince her that she was a murderer. That she had stabbed her ex-boyfriend Phillip twenty times.

The thing is Rory couldn’t see herself stabbing anyone once, imagine twenty times.

There were also Rory’s dream. She always would dream of the same scene: a huge party for a baby girl being crashed by an evil witch.

The little control Rory had over her reality completely vanishes when a new doctor and a new patient arrive, pledging they would help her remembering who she was and why she’s trapped on Spindle Ridge Asylum. And as much as Rory wants to believe the kind female doctor and the funny and charming male patient, she’s scared. What if they were just playing tricks with her?

What if they came there to break Rory for once and all?

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The Analysis

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

As you probably have guessed, this is a Sleeping Beauty retelling and a good one at that. Rory was pretty decent as a protagonist and I liked how Sloat rebuilt Sleeping Beauty’s world and story. I already mentioned once or twice that Aurora is one of my favorite Disney princesses, so I was jumping in excitement to read this and it didn’t disappoint. Also, I really loved Sloat’s narrative choices, that switched from Rory to Maleficent to Swayer during the book. The only thing that really bothered me was the final battle scene, that sounded rushed, messy and not epic at all. All things considered, it’s a four stars book 🙂

The narrative style was really peculiar and really pleased me, as it brought the best of both worlds: Rory’s point of view was first person styled as Maleficent’s and Swayer’s were third person styled. Besides filling in a lot of blank spaces during the plot, this choice also made it easier for the reader to not mix up who was narrating ❤

you get the best of both worlds.gif

Sorry, I just had to put this here.

The plot was complex and ingenious. As you start reading it already knowing that it is a Sleeping Beauty retelling, some things are pretty obvious since the beginning, but Sloat compensates her reader by building deep and delicious mysteries with the little unknown that she has and manages to surprise you out. Even at the end, I found myself gasping at one of her twists. I take my hat off for her, this girl is on fire.

this girl is on fire.gif

Sorry, it’s been a long day. Moving on.

The characters didn’t amuse me as much as I’d like them to. I loved how Swayer was a breath of fresh air for Rory in that awful asylum and how he was easy going and funny despite everything. Unfortunately I wasn’t so carried away and he didn’t make it to My Bookish Boyfriends list. More luck on the next book, pal!

Rory was a decent enough protagonist. Not over power, not over stupid. You feel that she really wants to believe those strangers that are trying to save her, but at the same time, you feel her fear of being deceived and just end up suffering more. It’s so realistic that my heart clenched for her 😦

I generally liked these book characters, with the exception of Phillip and Aurora’s father, King Stephen. Both were jerks, haha! I mean, they were so well constructed that I hated them. Did I made any sense here? I’m sleepy. #ironiesoflife

As I commented, the only thing in this book that simply didn’t work for me was the battle/final confrontation scene, when Maleficent is discovered. I can’t say more doing spoilers, but I can say that the moment was fleeting and that there was no emotion on it at all 😦 Everything pointed to a big moment for the book, but it ended up being confusing.

Now, let’s take a moment to appreciate this wonderful cover.

miley cyrus hannah montana hugging stuffed animal.gif

Overall, if you like fairy tale retellings, mystery, good writing and cliffhangers, you have to put Slumber on your list!

4star

That’s it, thank you for reading! And thanks to YA Bound Book Tours for the chance of reviewing this jewel ❤

March TBR!

February 29, 2016March 1, 2016 Annelise LestrangeLeave a comment

Hi, there! I finally have my TBR list for March up and running! I failed my February one a little, but this time I will get it right! (More about my failure on tomorrow’s post, haha!)

Here are my March babies!