Review: Legacy

Title: Legacy
Author: Cayla Kluver
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: G
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Publication Date: June 28, 2011
Source: NetGalley
My Rating: 4****

[Goodreads | Amazon]

Synopsis


 I noticed his eyes. They were blue, sharp and intense. Despite the youthful glows of his suntanned face, his eyes were cold and unfriendly, suggesting he had great experience in the world and was now expecting the worst.

In her seventeenth year, Princess Alera of Hytanica faces one duty: to marry the man who will be king. But her father's choice of suitor fills her with despair.

When the palace guard captures and intruder—a boy her age with steel-blue eyes, hailing from her kingdom's greatest enemy—Alera is alarmed…and intrigued. But she could not have guessed that their clandestine meetings would unveil the dark legacy shadowing both their lands.

In this mystical world of court conspiracies and blood magic, loyalties will be tested. Courage won't be enough. And as the battle begins for everything Alera holds dear, love may be the downfall of a kingdom.

My Thoughts

…can I just say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book?

The setting for this story is the fictional kingdom of Hytanica. The kingdom has been at war with the neighbouring nation of Cokyri for some time. When the story begins, the war has been over for several years but the people of Hytanica fear that it could begin anew at any moment. After-all, who’s to say it won’t begin again, when no one can really say why it ended in the first place.

We are introduced to the Crown Princess Alera while she is on the verge of her seventeenth birthday.  Normally, this would be an exciting time in a girl’s life, that is, if your seventeenth birthday didn’t mark the one year deadline for you to marry a man who your father deems acceptable and take the throne. To say that Hytanican society is patriarchal is putting it mildly. The author has created a society where a woman is no more than a possession and is good for little more than bearing children and arranging dinner parties. In one year’s time, Alera will be going from her father’s possession to her husband’s. Unfortunately for Alera, the only suitor her father and King deems suitable is one she cannot stand.

As Alera halfheartedly tries to thwart her suitors advances, it is discovered that Cokyrians have been found inside Hytanica – more specifically in the palace. This sets up Alera to begin a bit of a journey of self discovery. She begins to try to assert herself more and been seen as more than just an ornament as she tries to figure out the mystery surrounding one of the captured Cokyrians and his reason for being in Hytanica.

While I truly enjoyed the story, Alrea as a character annoyed me to absolutely no end. I kept waiting for her to wake up and do something, anything. I know that she is from a society that oppresses women and all her female role models and peers are pretty much doormats, but I really wanted her to show just a bit of fire. For the most part, even when she was trying to assert herself, she was weak. I kept wanting to grab her by the shoulders, shake her and light a fire under her behind.

The book, as a whole was very well thought out, if a bit slow going. As I was reading the book, I got about 3/4 of the way through before anything really happened. Even then, the action was very brief and pretty much glossed over. The fact that the book is a fairly easy read is really what kept me going. That and really wanting to know how it ended.

All in all it was really good book. While it could have used more action to keep the story moving at times, there was enough going on to keep the story going and keep me turning those pages. I reviewed this copy from an e-galley ARC copy, but I enjoyed it so I will be picking up a hard-copy on publication day, not to mention the next volume in this three-part series.


This review was done after reading an uncorrected ARC copy courtesy of NetGalley and HarlequinTeen. My priority is to you, and I honour that commitment by being honest! I don’t do reviews for payment, nor do I guarantee favourable reviews for any book/galley/ARC sent to me for review. I promise to stay truthful with you and all opinions represented here are my own. If you are uncertain what this all means, I urge you to read my Review Policy for further clarification. You can also contact me at contact@nicoleabouttown.com.

Review: The Marriage Betrayal

Title: The Marriage Betrayal
Author: Lynne Graham
Genre: Romance
Rating: R
Publisher: Harlequin Presents
Publication Date: July 26, 2011
Source: NetGalley
My Rating: 2**

[Goodreads | Amazon]

Synopsis
Careless passion, pregnancy surprise…

Sander Volakis goes his own way. He’s forged his reputation in business, rather than relying on the family fortune, and indulges his darkly passionate, wild streak – he has no intention of marrying… He doesn’t do country weekends, either. Pitching up at Westgrave Manor is a favour to his father and a bore…until he sees Tally Spencer, so pretty and voluptuous that he can’t resist her. Sander’s looking forward to casually seducing her…little knowing that one night with the innocent Tally could end his playboy existence… THE VOLAKIS VOW A marriage made of secrets…

Sander Volakis has no intention of marrying - until he sees Tally Spencer. He can't resist her . . . little knowing that one night with the innocent Tally could end his playboy existence...

My Thoughts

It has been a very long time since I read a straight up romance book.  After reading this one, I remember why I stopped.  The story is a familiar one.  Tally is self-reliant and from a broken home.  As a result she is looking for love, but holding out for the one.  Sander is a spoiled playboy who is not used to hearing the word no.  Sander likes the thrill of the challenge that Tally brings and wants to sleep with her, but doesn’t want to have a relationship.  Tally puts up half-hearted attempts to resist while still maintaining her secret identity.  Of course said resistance lasts all of a day under the overwhelming onslaught of Sander’s advances that come while he is trying to dodge his deceased brother’s fiancée.  This all happens in a 48-hour period.

Once back home in the real world, Tally tries to stay away from Sander but of course she is unable to resist.  Relationship, if you could call it that, continues and of course she ends up pregnant.  Include the stereotypical “you are trying to trap me and it’s your fault you are pregnant” argument and a blackmail plot that really wasn’t much of a plot but more an ultimatium and you pretty much have the whole story.  The love scenes were nothing spectacular and in all honesty, I found myself skipping over them entirely.  The main characters are both very annoying.  Tally manages to come across as having no backbone at all despite all of her posturing and Sander the playboy is so laughable it’s not even funny.

While the story idea sounds good in and of itself, the execution of it leaves a lot to be desired.  It is a relatively short book at 192 pages and is actually part one of a two part series.  Even though I really didn’t enjoy this book, I am going to read the second one.  It will be interesting to see if after reading the second one if I will like the first one better.

Disclosure: This review was done after reading an uncorrected ARC copy courtesy of NetGalley and Harlequin Presents. My priority is to you, and I honour that commitment by being honest! I don’t do reviews for payment, nor do I guarantee favourable reviews for any book/galley/ARC sent to me for review. I promise to stay truthful with you and all opinions represented here are my own. If you are uncertain what this all means, I urge you to read my Review Policy for further clarification. You can also contact me at contact@nicoleabouttown.com.

Review: Spellbound

Title: Spellbound
Author: Cara Lynn Shultz
Genre: YA, Fiction, Paranormal
Rating: PG
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Publication Date: June 21, 2011
Source: NetGalley
My Rating: 4*

[Goodreads | Amazon]

Synopsis

What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death?

Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Conner, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.

But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

My Thoughts

So when I really started to get into book blogging and reviewing, this was one of the books that I really, really wanted to read.  I was originally drawn to the cover of the book and that is what originally prompted me to choose to read a synopsis of the book when I was browsing on the GoodReads website. (I confess, the cover is usually what draws me into any kind of book).  In my experience with YA books, they can be very hit or miss.  There is usually no happy medium with them and in my opinion fall into either the good or the bad categories.

Well, let me just start off by saying that Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz is a hit and can definitely be placed in the good pile.

What I really love about this book is that even though it falls into the paranormal YA pile, it is not super unrealistic and overly melodramatic.  There is a steady build up in the story and you never feel like you are either being overwhelmed with information or not receiving enough at any given time.

I love that the main character Emma has faced adversity and heartbreak.  What I love even more is that she hasn't let that same adversity and heartbreak break her or crush her spirit.  She continues to soldier on rather than giving up and going all woe is me, she makes the best of the life that she has now found herself in through no fault of her own.  Does it mean that she doesn't experience sadness or upset due to her situation?  No, it doesn't.  Rather she finds constructive ways to deal with her life and what is going on around her.

Cara Lynn Shultz does sarcasm and self-deprecating humor right.  It's not forced, it's not contrived, and it comes across as genuine and a part of the character's personality.  It's used correctly as a tool to illustrate the depth and versatility of the character rather than for comedic effect.  Although, I did find the description of one character's tan absolutely hysterical.  I mean, what is it with this whole tan/fake tan thing?  I mean when did it become acceptable to turn your skin into something resembling cured leather?

The book was an easy read and the characters were likeable, some more than others.  I honestly think that the story works fairly well due to it not being too outrageous.  I mean who hasn't experienced a feeling of deja vu before?  Who hasn't experienced moments of premonition or insight of some sort?  Who hasn't met someone and felt an instant connection to them that they just couldn't explain?

All in all, this was a good book and it was worth the read.

Disclosure: This review was done after reading an uncorrected ARC copy courtesy of NetGalley and HarlequinTeen. My priority is to you, and I honour that commitment by being honest! I don’t do reviews for payment, nor do I guarantee favourable reviews for any book/galley/ARC sent to me for review.  I promise to stay truthful with you and all opinions represented here are my own. If you are uncertain what this all means, I urge you to read my Review Policy for further clarification. You can also contact me at contact@nicoleabouttown.com.