Hi guys, I’m so sorry about my absence the past few days, but I was spending time with family, watching Once Upon a Time, and sleeping. It was nice. 🙂 I hope that all of you had an absolutely wonderful Christmas (if you celebrate) or a few lovely days with lots of reading.
Today I’m finishing up my mini reviews of My True Love Gave to Me with Ally Carter’s “Star of Bethlehem” and Laini Taylor’s “The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer.” I’ve already reviewed Rainbow Rowell’s “Midnights”, “The Lady and the Fox” by Kelly Link, and Matt de la Peña’s “Angels in the Snow”, Jenny Han’s “Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me”, Stephanie Perkins’ “It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown”, David Levithan’s “Your Temporary Santa”, Holly Black’s “Krampuslauf”, Gayle Forman’s “What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?” and Myra McEntire’s “Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus” (in one review).
Make sure you come back to tomorrow if you liked my reviews of My True Love Gave to Me. You might like what you find. 🙂
STAR OF BETHLEHEM
It’s only been a few days since I read this story, and I honestly could not remember what it was about. I had to flip through the story to remind myself. So obviously that isn’t a good sign. Liddy is at an airport and doesn’t want to go back to New York. So when she hears another girl trying to get on her flight, she swaps tickets with her. Apparently the girl she swapped with was on her way to Oklahoma to visit a boy she was supposed to be in love with but she was actually in love with a boy in NY. Liddy takes the girl’s, Hulda’s, place to spend a semester with the boy’s family in Oklahoma. But why was she running away from New York?
This story was stupid, you guys. It was absolutely ridiculous, from the story, to the characters, to the ending. It was like a cheesy Disney Channel movie. I don’t really have anything to say about it, other than to remind you that I completely forgot what it was about in less than a week.
THE GIRL WHO WOKE THE DREAMER
Neve lives on the island, where she is a poor girl who was brought there as a child. Her two best friends recently died, so obviously she’s sad and alone. On this island, it is a tradition that on the first of December, male suitors deliver a gift to the porch of the girl they like. The girl can either accept or decline (with a dead rose in the present’s place) and on Christmas Eve, the man reveals himself at a party with the last gift: a ring. Neve has unfortunately drawn the attention of the island pastor, who’s already had three wives, who are all now dead. Though Neve tries to reject his advances, he doesn’t relent. But then she gets some spiritual help.
Okay, so I had high hopes for this one. I’ve never read anything by Laini Taylor, but a lot of bloggers were loving this story. For the most part, I wasn’t disappointed. If I wanted to give an easy review, I’d say I love this one, but if I delve into it farther, it’s a little harder.
This story was an epic, sweeping fantasy romance, which I enjoyed. I loved Taylor’s writing, which was impressive, fast-paced, and pretty. The story was interesting and different from all of the others. On the other hand, there was little to no focus on Christmas, which is what I went into this book expecting. There’s a huge use of a Deus ex-machina to get a happy ending, instead of letting Neve figure out and resolve her problems on her own, which I would’ve enjoyed. Who doesn’t love a strong character? On the other hand (yep, I totally have three hands here), the romance was really cool, and the Dreamer (the spiritual help Neve gets) was so interesting and lovely.
Overall, one of the stories I loved the most for the epic fantasy aspect, but it did have its problems.
So if you enjoyed my twelve mini reviews or if you didn’t get a chance to read My True Love Gave to Me but would like to (hint hint), make sure you come back by the blog tomorrow!!
Caught Read Handed 