Book Review: Tris and Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

Title: Tris and Izzie
Author: Matte Ivie Harrison
Publisher: EgmontUS
Expected Release Date: October 11th 2011
Format: e-book, arc
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 2 stars

A modern retelling of the German fairytale "Tristan and Isolde", Tris and Izzie is about a young witch named Izzie who is dating Mark King, the captain of the basketball team and thinks her life is going swimmingly well. Until -- she makes a love potion for her best friend Brangane and then ends up taking it herself accidentally, and falling in love with Tristan, the new guy at school.

My Review
I'm not familiar with the fairytale Tristan and Isolde although I may have seen the movie when I was little. Still can't remember what it was about it except from the fact that it's a love story between two star-crossed lovers... I think. So I jumped in to read this one since I always love me a good love story.

I'm not familiar with the author, haven't read anything else from her, but I liked her writing. It was simple and the story had a nice pace, without any boring moments. I wouldn't say the same for the plot though. Although I liked Izzie a little I found the story lacking a proper structure. The author doesn't give us time to know the characters and I ended up not caring about them. The scenes and dialogues between them seemed unrealistic. I mean how breaks up with his girlfriend and then after two minutes starts kissing his ex-girlfriend's best friend? Not really...

Tristan's and Izzie's love wasn't believable either. It was like they were forced to love each other or better Izzie was forced to love him... after leaving Mark. I was expecting swoon worthy moments from them but I was disappointed. Tristan was plain, one dimensional and I couldn't have cared less for him.

Sometimes Izzie would sound and act like a child. In a few scenes she sounded like those spoiled brads and I wanted to smack her head but then she would do something and change my opinion. Her attitude made me not care about her. I don't really have a problem with characters even when they are bad written as long as the plot is good. The plot or the idea behind it is good and could have been better if it was better developed.

Overall, I would say pass on this book. I didn't hate it but I didn't like it either. The cover though is amazing!

My Soul To Take >> Book Review

My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent 

Soul Screamers, Book 1

paperback pages: 279

My Rating 2 stars

Something is wrong with Kaylee Cavanaugh 

She doesn't see dead people, but...

She senses when someone near her is going to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next...

My Review

Kaylee is girl with a supernatural ability to sense when someone is going to die.

With her mother dead and her father far away she tries to come in terms with what she has. Panic Attacks.

Kaylee is not crazy. She might think that she is but she isn’t. Of course everyone around her thinks she is. Her cousin isn’t really sympathetic and either her aunt. Forced to live with her dad’s brother she has to learn to live by “those” panic attacks. Because that’s what doctors are telling her. When she finds her shelf on the verge of screaming her lungs out it’s because she is having a panic attack.

Nash doesn’t think that that’s the case so he sets forward to explaining Kaylee what she really is. She is a bean sidhe and has the ability to tell when a person is going to die.

Kaylee is confused and thinks that maybe Nash is crazy until students at her school stsrt dropping dead for no reason.

It was fun to read a YA that wasn’t similar to many other books out there and Kaylee was easy to like. Nash was one sexy guy and Tod even though he is a riper I couldn't help myself but feel bad for him and I even liked him. I hope I see more of him in the next books.

I gave two stars to the book mainly because I didn’t see the development between Nash and Kaylee’s relationship. I like it when you can see their growth and struggle and then be a couple. In this book they jump right into being a couple. It wasn’t bad but I just prefer my stories otherwise. Other than that the story was fast paced with some slow parts in the middle but throughout enjoyable. I will be definitely read the second book and hope I like it more because the storyline is very promising.

So far there are 4 books and a prequel.

My Soul to Lose (prequel)

My Soul to Take #1

My Soul to Save #2

My Soul to Keep #3

My Soul to Steal #4 (out on January 1th 2011)

Frosy

Buy the book at Amazon | Book Depository  (Paperback Format) 

This Lullaby >> Book Review

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

paperback pages: 345

My Rating 2 stars

The science of breaking up...

Remy always knows when to give a guy "the speech"-right after the initial romantic rush, but before anything gets too serious. She's had her fair share of boyfriends, and she's learned all there is to learn from her mother, who's currently working on husband number five. 

So why it is that Remy can't seem to dump Dexter? It can't be his name. it can't be that he's messy and disorganized. And it certainly isn't that he's a musician-just like her Remy's father, a man she never knew because he left before she was born. Could it be that Remy's romantic rules to live by don't apply anymore?

My Review

The story fallows Remy and her rules about romance which she doesn’t believe that exist. She thinks love only happens in fairy tales and will go all the way to prove it to Dexter. She doesn’t do relationships but somehow she can’t seem to dump Dexter. After a lot of events in her life and a very open mind conversation with her mother she realises that love is always there, you just need to find the right one for you. And you won’t find if you don’t try at all.

It was an o.k. book. I thought this book would be pretty much a love story between Dexter and Remy....and well didn't seem like that to me. Everyone was telling what a great book this is and I was excited when I bought it but felt disappointed after reading it.

I didn't like the characters....Remy was so selfish she just wanted to be only for herself.... and never thought about the others when it come to feelings she just cared for her own feelings.... Her friends on the other hand...I would like to see more about Jess' life... it's seems more complicated than Remy's.... Lissa is the typical teenage girl.... Dexter is the total opposite of Remy... He is funny... he lives for the present not just sitting around and watching others living their lives.... he lives his life to the fullness. I admire her mother though, even if she has been hurt so many times she still believes that all these things (love) were worth going for.... 

So, this book to me, it wasn’t the love story I expected... it was a well written book though talking about our lives and that we should live our lives at the fullness because we just have one life and it is better to live it ,even if we get hurt, rather than staying in the shadows... Because in the end we will be able to look back and say that we grabbed every opportunity it was given to us.... 

So yeah it was a good book but don't expect a big love story.... not like that... anyway I think it's worth reading it because of the message this book gives....and I will probably try another book of hers cause I really like the way she writes.

Frosy

Buy the book at Amazon | Book Depository (Hardcover Format)
and Amazon | Book Depository (Paperback Format)